Dirks, which last year brokered the sale of the Maui News to West Virginia-based Ogden Newspapers Inc., is said to be the largest seller of daily newspapers in the United States. The company could not be immediately reached for comment. Dirks will have two weeks to advertise, nationally and locally, with a June 27 deadline to get written indications of interest from qualified buyers. If no buyer is found and approved by the magistrate, the anti-trust lawsuit proceeds. Some observers have noted that the Star-Bulletin's decline in circulation in recent years can be attributed to the fact that it is an afternoon paper.
Readers prefer to have a morning paper, they say.
According to Liberty, no broker has been willing to work under customary commission-based terms, instead asking for flat fees in advance before taking the job, with subsequent payment on closing a sale. Terms of compensation for Dirks were not immediately known. The spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said the unusual proposals reflect uncertainty over a sales price for the Star-Bulletin. Court documents say the buyer, to be approved by the judge, must show the ability to sustain an English-language daily newspaper on Oahu. With no subsidy or interest in Liberty's joint operating agreement with Gannett, a buyer also would have to honor union agreements and find its own publishing arrangements.