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Roth brings together Gerry Keir of The Honolulu Advertiser and John Flanagan of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin to discuss the newspapers' joint operating agreement and broader press questions in March 1994. Both editors agree the JOA is essential: without the antitrust exemption granted by Congress in the early 1960s — when the Advertiser faced bankruptcy — Honolulu would have only one newspaper. Keir calls the proposed legislative tax on newspapers unconstitutional; Flanagan argues it fits a pattern of officials trying to punish the press. On editorial independence, both insist their newsrooms compete vigorously; Flanagan acknowledges the Star-Bulletin's editorial voice has grown more independent over time. Both report expanding their news hole since the 1991 Media Council study, with the Advertiser up roughly 10 percent in weekday space. The conversation turns to harder questions: polls show 18-to-30-year-olds are increasingly disengaged from newspapers and news generally. Keir identifies public "powerlessness" — disconnection from centers of power — as the greatest threat facing Hawaii; Flanagan points to the exodus of young people priced out of the state. Both resist the tabloid-journalism criticism as applying mainly to local television, not to their papers.
Transcript
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