Or more to the point, has closed. Effective immediately. The last one comes out today or tomorrow and I don't think there was any warning at all: No Farewell Issue or even a note from the editor or owner.
What has happened over the last year and a half, is the State-wide Stephens Media Group, a company based in Las Vegas and owner of the West Hawaii Today, Hilo Tribune...basically EVERYONE else on the island, introduced the Big Island Weekly, a supposedly liberal and entertainment weekly free rag, and direct competition to the HIJ. Supposedly they do this: Release a competitor rag, cause the local independent media to shut down, then cancel the fake weekly after it has accomplished it's task.
I enjoyed working for the Hawaii Island Journal, and will be sad to see what happens now. Not only for myself, who is out of a really cool job as a food writer, but for the whole island, which has lost it's own Independent voice.
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