Trending
For more than 126 years, The Maui News has chronicled the history of life on this beautiful island, serving as first a witness to but also a participant in the island's remarkable transformation.
Founded on Feb. 17, 1900, the newspaper began publication nearly six decades before Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959 and less than two years after the islands were formally annexed by the United States in 1898. At the time of the newspaper’s founding, Maui was a largely rural island whose economy was dominated by sugar plantations and agriculture.
The first edition of The Maui News was a four-page publication established in Wailuku under the editorship of George B. Robertson, who outlined an ambitious mission in the paper’s inaugural issue: to be independent in politics, religion and literature while advocating first and foremost for the interests of Maui and its residents. The newspaper’s founding coincided with one of the islands' earliest public health crises, as Maui and the rest of Hawaii grappled with outbreaks of bubonic plague. The first editions devoted considerable attention to reporting on the disease and efforts to contain its spread.
In 1905, prominent Maui citizens Henry P. Baldwin, John Norman Spencer Williams, Carl Waldeyer and Daniel Hebard Case formed The Maui Publishing Co. and purchased the newspaper. Under a succession of editors, including C.L. Clement, Hugh M. Coke and William J. Cooper, the paper chronicled an island undergoing major economic and demographic change.
The early 20th century saw the expansion of Maui’s sugar and pineapple industries, bringing thousands of laborers from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Portugal and Puerto Rico. Like many newspapers of its era, The Maui News reflected the prevailing social attitudes of the time. The newspaper openly identified itself as "A Republican Paper" until 1950.
The Maui News evolved through the 1960s and 1970s, becoming an advocate on important local issues, including opposition to the U.S. military’s bombing of Kahoʻolawe. That began in 1941 and continued for nearly five full decades, ending in 1990.
The newspaper remained under local ownership through the Cameron family (Frances Baldwin, daughter of Henry Baldwin, married J. Walter Cameron in 1924) for much of the 20th century, making it Hawaii’s last locally owned major daily newspaper before its sale to The Ogden Newspapers Inc. in December 1999.
The Maui News transferred to new ownership once again with the recent sale to local nonprofit, Maui Nui Media and Creativity Collaborative. Maui Nui Media and Creativity Collaborative is led by Maui residents Axel Beers, Alika Seki, Anuhea Yagi and Lance Collins, and also includes the newspaper's general manager, Jenni DeFouw.
Today, The Maui News continues to serve Maui’s residents and visitors through its print and digital editions, preserving the island’s history while documenting its future. Over the coming weeks, we’ll share more about what nonprofit ownership means, where we’re headed next, and how you, the community, fit into that future.