US-based Ogden Newspapers has responded to a campaign urging it to “sell locally” by announcing that it is exploring options for the sale of their Maui Publishing group in Hawaii.
Contract negotiations between the Maui News and the Pacific Media Workers Guild had been ongoing for several years, but recently, signs have begun to appear in local shops calling for Ogden to “sell locally.”
Now the group says it is planning to accept offers from interested parties “over the next few weeks”, having instructed Dirks, Van Essen & April to field inquiries.
Publisher Chris Minford says their ultimate goal is the long-term health of The Maui News and to find “the best model to allow us to continue to serve readers, visitors, and local businesses as the key source of local news and information”.
“We have invested considerable resources and effort into improving operations, and it is possible that the best long-term solution will be an innovative one,” he added. “The dynamics of local news ownership is changing in some parts of the country and Maui is no exception.”
Fifth-generation owner and chief revenue officer of Ogden Newspapers Cameron Williams says since 2000, the newspaper has successfully transitioned into a modern, multimedia news outlet. “However, if the time has come for the next chapter, we are willing to consider options to make that happen.”
Dirks, Van Essen & April’s Sara April says the announcement “presents a special opportunity for a buyer with an appreciation for Maui and the long history of The Maui News.
Founded in 1900, The Maui News is the primary source of local news on the island, reaching readers in print and on mauinews.com, which gets more than one million page views a month.
Serving the islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai, the newspaper was owned by Maui businessman Henry Perrine Baldwin from 1905 until Baldwin’s descendants sold it to Ogden Newspapers in February 2000.