Sale of Honolulu Star-Bulletin to Black completed

Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper chain, completed its sale of The Honolulu Advertiser to Honolulu Star-Bulletin owner David Black early this morning, marking the Virginia-based company's exit from a market that it has served since 1971.

"It's hard to close this chapter and begin a new one," Robert Dickey, president of Gannett U.S. Community Publishing, wrote in an e-mail to Advertiser employees Friday. "But in doing so, I want to sincerely thank you for your dedication to The Honolulu Advertiser and wish you all the best."

Gannett's exodus and the eventual merger of The Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin will leave Honolulu as a one-newspaper town and result in the loss of at least 300 jobs.

For the next estimated 30 to 60 days, The Advertiser will publish as a stand-alone newspaper run by third-party HA Management Inc.

Readers should expect no changes in the newspaper's format during that period and current subscriptions will be honored.

Once the transition is completed, Black will combine the two dailies into a single broadsheet newspaper, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, which will have a combined daily circulation of 135,000 to 140,000, said Dennis Francis, the Star-Bulletin's publisher.

The Star-Advertiser will employ between 300 and 600 people. The two newspapers currently have 900 employees between them.

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