Tag Archives: Honolulu Advertiser

Previewing the auction of the remnants of the Honolulu Advertiser

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AuctionWe stopped by today to take a look at what is being offered for sale in Saturday’s auction of the remains of the Honolulu Advertiser.

Frankly, walking through the building that formerly housed both the Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin during the years of their joint operating agreement was sad.

What’s left–lots of used cubicles, chairs, file cabinets, miscellaneous office equipment, most of it dated, a few bits of memorabilia, and memories.

There were a few abandoned awards for past journalistic accomplishments on the counter downstairs just inside the front door. A bulletin board formerly claimed by the Newspaper Guild. Empty shelves and cabinets in what used to be the library and archive.

Items are going to be sold in relatively large lots, and a lot of post-sale bartering is expected, according to auctioneer Joe Teipel.

You can bid on a room full of stuff and just take what you want, then either try to sell what’s left or just walk away. In that case, whatever is left will be sold at a big discount to a buyer committed to any remainders, Teipel said.

In any case, click on this photo to follow our tour through

Former newspaper employees in 60-day limbo

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The Star-Bulletin and Advertiser may be history, and hundreds of former employees now out of work, but those who didn’t get 60 days notice of their terminations apparently can’t just get on with their lives.

Federal law, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, requires a large employer like Oahu Publications to give employees 60 days notice if they are going to lose their jobs. Many, perhaps most, employees didn’t get the full 60 days. Maybe nobody did, for all I know.

But instead of just cutting them loose and making the required payments, Oahu Publications has apparently told employees they are considered “on call” for unspecified duties for the 60 days. And what this means is that they can’t take other jobs without forfeiting the pay and benefits they’re due.

The worst part seems to be the uncertainty and continued lack of clear information from the company.

According to an email circulating among those who distributed the Advertiser:

We have not been able to pin HA down on the guidelines of this “On Call” scenario. No agreement on at least 1, 6, 12, 24 or 48 hr notice, no agreement on what would happen if you do not answer their phone call or are unable to work due to a previously planned event or your other job schedule. You could be fired and forfeit WARN for any or all of these circumstances. HA says that they will deal with them as they happen. In other words, they will be the judge, jury and executioner.

Below is the full email circulating among non-newsroom employees, but I’m told folks in the newsroom got the same information.

from HA spokesman Cliff Jamile last night, no one has yet been terminated. We are all call till end of the 60 day WARN pay period (60 day notice or 60 days pay). We may be called to do some currently undetermined work that should be unrelated to your past job(i.e. district managers should not be delivering papers, spotting, recruiting, soliciting etc.). Working ANY NEW JOB that replaces the job you had at the advertiser will be in essence informing HA that you have RESIGNED FROM YOUR POSITION AT HA and have therefore relinquished your right to the full 60 day warn payment that the fed government requires HA to pay.

ILWU spokesperson Dave Mori: “Until HA can clarify this situation, we are going to tell our DM’s (district managers) not to take outside work unless they wish to resign (from HA and forfeit warn). Furthermore, Full time DM’s who accepted independent agencies have resigned and thus will not get full warn pay and medical. This is our interpretation, if it is wrong, please let us know before it gets out.”

Twice there was no response to this statement from spokesperson Jamile.

SOME IMPORTANT EXAMPLES OF WHAT WOULD TRIGGER THIS SECENARIO

District Managers who have chosen to take independent agencies have in essence resigned from their position at HA and therefore will NOT BE GETTING THE FULL 60 DAY WARN PAY AND MEDICAL.

Any cash work done for by p/t single copy dms to put Star Advertiser racks out before the roll out of the new paper will be telling HA they have resigned and have therefore FORFEITED THE FULL 60 DAY WARN PAY.

Any work done by any HA employee for past or newly created independent Home Delivery Agents will be telling HA that you have resigned and you WILL NOT BE GETTING THE FULL 60 DAY WARN PAY.

As mentioned previously, this on call work should be unrelated to your past job duties. BUT, if ordered to do something, you should just do it. Saying no could be judged to be insubordination and you could be fired, forfeiting your warn pay.

We have not been able to pin HA down on the guidelines of this “On Call” scenario. No agreement on at least 1, 6, 12, 24 or 48 hr notice, no agreement on what would happen if you do not answer their phone call or are unable to work due to a previously planned event or your other job schedule. You could be fired and forfeit WARN for any or all of these circumstances. HA says that they will deal with them as they happen. In other words, they will be the judge, jury and executioner. This is how things are when you are “at will” or “non-union” situation.

If you find any meaningful employment that could possibly pay you LESS then the amount you would get under the 60 day warn notice, you should ask your new employer if you can delay starting your new job until the HA 60 day warn period is over.

Through it all HA has continued to REFUSE to release us from this “on call” status so that we may go on with out lives. And has refused to answer any questions about why they are doing this.

Welcome to another one-newspaper city

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And now it begins. The monopoly is here.

Clients that formerly had printing done by the old MidWeek presses are now hearing what their new rates will be after the Star-Advertiser consolidation.

I’m told Honolulu Weekly, which has been printed by Oahu Publications, was told that its rates would be going up somewhere in the neighborhood of 20%, and that it would have to be reduced to the size of Advertiser’s TGIF weekend section (which I measure as 10-1/2 x 11 inches). Smaller size, less space for advertising, less income.

And others have gotten worse news. One local classifieds publication, a competitor to the Advertiser’s Pennysaver, reportedly was quoted a rate almost double what they previously paid.

I understand that Honolulu Weekly has responded by taking their printing to the Maui News, complete with a new schedule set by Young Brothers for delivery to Honolulu.

Former Star-Bulletin advertisers are probably also going to be facing similar increases, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing about those soon enough.

And back at the Star-Bulletin newsroom, soon to be the Star-Advertiser, at least one staffer has been removing items posted by friends on their Facebook wall, worried about management surveillance.

“Our social media activity is being watched more carefully these days,” the staffer commented to a friend.

Sam Slom, writing in Hawaii Reporters yesterday, described plans to increase the HR footprint.

Watch for new features, more investigative reporting, emphasis on Neighbor Island news and some familiar names soon as we attempt to rescue some good reporters who were laid off by the new paper. Go to our website, http://www.savehawaiinews.com and if you have an idea, a comment, or suggestions, sign up and join the community advisory board.

We are also negotiating for a web press and a commercial site for an expanded media center. There will be a printed side-by-side edition (weekly initially) to the online Reporter, and greater use of technology and local reporters’ talents.

More interesting are Slom’s description of conditions of the unsuccessful “sale” of the Star-Bulletin.

According to Slom, no inventory of equipment was available, the press was offered without maintenance/repair records, the sale included only the starbulletin.com domain but not its archive or web site, audited financials were not available, etc., etc. Very interesting.

I also flagged this item about the Advertiser closing from the Seattle Weekly, and another from the Reality Bites Back blog.

There’s a message from Dayton Morinaga urging paddlers to contact the Star-Advertiser to urge coverage of ocean sports.

My fear now is that coverage of ocean sports will be downsized at this new newspaper.

While I respect my colleagues at the Star-Bulletin, their coverage of ocean sports has been inconsistent. They have not had a full-time reporter write stories on ocean sports for several years now and are currently covering it with “freelancers.”

Hawaii’s state sports truly deserve better.

And so it goes.

Advertiser public bloggers still waiting to hear from new owners

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Bloggers who produce the long list of “public blogs” for the Honolulu Advertiser were told yesterday that they should learn in the next week whether their blogs will be invited to continue in the new Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the newspaper that will be a combination of the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser.

This is the message sent by Sandee Oshiro, the Advertiser’s managing editor for digital and multimedia.

Folks, just a heads up: we were told today that the Star-Bulletin will be sending e-mailed letters to the non-staff bloggers regarding whether their blogs will be picked up for its new site, staradvertiser.com.

None of these would be paid blogs. Please expect a message in the next week or so.

We expect to be here until June 6, but if we don’t have a chance to chat, thank you again for all of your hard work on the blogs. It was my honor to work with all of you.

Mahalo,
Sandee Oshiro