James George, managing editor of the Pacific Business News, writes about the 50th anniversary of the business newspaper now owned by American City Business Journals.
George writes, “Mason was not a journalist. He was a businessman and a government bureaucrat who once headed what is now the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. But, like all successful entrepreneurs, he saw a customer need and a market niche and thought he could fill it.
“In his case, it was the fact that state and local governments were collecting all kinds of data that would be helpful to Hawaii’s business community. But it wasn’t being made public. Mason reasoned that a newspaper that printed news of record, such as new-business listings and building permits, would enjoy high readership and make some money.
“He also wanted it to be a real newspaper. To that end, he hired John Ramsey, a Honolulu Star-Bulletin editor known for being able to pump out news copy at amazing speeds. Ramsey also brought editorial integrity that would define PBN throughout its first 50 years.
“In a Page 1 letter to readers in that first issue, Mason pledged ‘sound business practices and unflinching editorial integrity.’ He promised that the newspaper would always be at least 50 percent news content. If advertising space grew, which it did, he would increase the number of pages.”
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