The Advertiser is a perfect example of the trend that swept the country in the last couple decades - morning papers. Back in the day, newspapers came out in the afternoon, and reported everything that had happened up until that morning. Folks would get the paper on their way home, or it'd be waiting on the doorstep, and they'd relax and unwind while reading it. Afternoon newspapers especially made sense in Hawaii - after all, when the markets in New York close for the day, it's still morning here! An afternoon paper, like the Star-Bulletin, can actually report most news from Europe and the U.S. Mainland with less of a delay than a morning paper. In the 80's and 90's, though, morning papers became the style, and the paper-buying public were made to understand that getting their paper earlier was better - even if everything documented in it was, literally, yesterday's news. This did wonders for the sales of morning papers - epitomized by USA Today - and resulted in lost sales for the afternoon papers. The Advertiser's close ties to USA Today publisher Gannett, combined with perceptions that it doesn't really try to cover local issues and investigate stories as thoroughly as the Star-Bulletin, has left me - and no doubt others - with the impression that it's a bit of a media lightweight. Even its web site feels less content-oriented than that of the Star-Bulletin. Of course, depending on the outcome of the current legal mess between the Advertiser, the Star-Bulletin, Gannett, et al, the Advertiser may very well end up being the only game in town as far as the mainstream press is concerned - which would be a shame.



Recommended: No

Describe the newspaper's political views: No political views are evident