The Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper came out in a new tabloid size starting today. Gone is the old broadsheet of old that had been the mainstay of the newspaper for more than 100 years. With dwindling readership, competition from the internet and electronic media, the Star-Bulletin was forced to make a change to this smaller size in order to remain financially solvent.
The smaller tabloid hit the streets today with a 72-page edition. Most of the features readers found in the broadsheet version remain, including the news (of course), sports, business, advertisements and regular columns. Instead of the paper divided into sections, the tabloid is one continuous publication with consecutively numbered pages (1 to 72 instead of A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, etc.).
One thing I've noticed is that news articles all appear as single page continuous stories instead of being broken apart on page B1 (for example) with the bulk of the story reported in whole on another page. This is a welcome development.
The Star-Bulletin like its larger competitor now publishes only in the morning. For years it was an afternoon paper.
Newspapers are a medium in trouble. As more people turn to the internet and many other alternative sources for news and opinion, the relevancy of the traditional newspaper is being marginalized. Circulation and advertising revenue have shrunken in recent years. Newspapers may have to think of new ways to retain readership and stay relevant in a quick changing environment.
One last thing that I'd like to see the Honolulu Star-Bulletin fix is their main website. I don't like the intrusive pop up over content advertising that have plagued the site since late 2008. The Star-Bulletin bean counters have to realize that in the long term, intrusive pop up and pop over advertising that block content are a huge turn off to readers.
Photo: The last broadsheet version of the Star-Bulletin (left) lays folded next to the much smaller tabloid size that was unveiled today (right).
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