West Hawaii Today

What West Hawaii Today does

West Hawaii Today is a daily broadsheet newspaper founded in 1962 that serves the west side of Hawaii's Big Island, covering communities from North Kohala to Ka'u with headquarters in Kailua-Kona. It operates a multi-platform news distribution model spanning a physical print edition, a digital website (westhawaiitoday.com), native iOS and Android mobile apps, a PDF-based Print Replica e-edition, and email newsletters. Content covers local government, community events, Hawaii news, sports, entertainment, weather, obituaries, and classifieds.

The company is privately held as a subsidiary of Oahu Publications, a Hawaii media group that also operates the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and The Garden Island, providing shared digital platform infrastructure, customer service, and advertising coordination. Technology stack centers on a content management system with subscription/paywall access control supporting a freemium tier (7 premium stories per month free, unlimited for paid), a classifieds marketplace sub-platform, a dedicated WHT Jobs board, a Shop Local business directory, and a legal notices service tied to Hawaii Revised Statutes publication requirements.

Revenue is generated across seven streams: print subscriptions, digital subscriptions, retail/display advertising, classified advertising (employment, real estate, merchandise, garage sales), legal notice publishing, employment advertising, and obituary notices. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via subscriptions and inside sales (phone-based customer service at (808) 327-1652), with advertising sales handled through dedicated classifieds, retail, employment, national, and legal advertising desks integrated with Oahu Publications. A paywall was implemented on November 2, 2021, monetizing premium digital content for the first time.

Name

West Hawaii Today

Legal name

West Hawaii Today

Website

https://westhawaiitoday.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

West Hawaii Today is a daily newspaper serving the west side of Hawaii's Big Island (Kailua-Kona to Ka'u) with print, website, mobile apps, and a Print Replica e-edition. Privately held under Oahu Publications, it generates revenue from subscriptions, display/classified advertising, and statutorily required legal notices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Local news publishing
• Daily newspaper
• Digital news subscription
• Classified advertising
• Legal notices publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Kailua Kona

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Monthly and annual digital-only subscriptions providing unlimited access to website content and mobile app
2. Print Subscriptions: Print newspaper subscriptions that include unlimited digital access
3. Classified Advertising: Paid classified ads including announcements, business, garage sales, merchandise, pets, service directory, and schools categories
4. Legal Notices: Legal advertising including court notices, foreclosures, completion of contract notices - required legal publications
5. Employment Advertising: Job listings and employment-related classified advertising
6. Real Estate Advertising: Real estate classifieds and display advertising for property listings
7. Retail/Display Advertising: Display advertising in print and digital formats for retail businesses
8. Obituary Advertising: Paid obituary notices and memorial advertising

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

West Hawaii Today is a daily broadsheet newspaper covering local news, sports, entertainment, weather, and community events for the west side of Hawaii's Big Island. It distributes content across print newspaper delivery, a digital website (westhawaiitoday.com), mobile applications, and a PDF Print Replica e-edition, complemented by a classifieds marketplace, jobs board, legal notices publishing, and a local business directory.

Product overview

West Hawaii Today is a local news media company offering a multi-platform news distribution model. The core product is the West Hawaii Today website delivering digital news content, complemented by the Print Replica e-edition that replicates the physical newspaper layout. Additional products include a Classifieds Marketplace for local listings, a Jobs Board (WHT Jobs), a Local Business Directory (Shop Local), Legal Notices services, Email Newsletters, and both Digital and Print Subscription tiers. The portfolio serves readers seeking local Hawaii news, sports, entertainment, and community information across digital and print channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• West Hawaii Today Website The main digital news platform providing local Hawaii news, sports, entertainment, features, obituaries, opinion, and classifieds content with both free and subscriber-exclusive articles for Big Island readers.
• Print Replica (E-Edition) A digital replica of the printed newspaper presented in PDF format, preserving the original layout, photographs, and advertisements, available for viewing on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices with offline download capability for subscribers.
• Classifieds Marketplace
• WHT Jobs (Job Board)
• Legal Notices Service
• Shop Local Business Directory
• Mobile App
• Digital Subscription Paid digital access providing unlimited articles on the website and mobile app, with tiered options including free accounts (7 premium stories per month) and paid subscriptions for full access.
• Print Subscription
• Email Newsletters
• Print Newspaper Edition Physical daily broadsheet newspaper covering local news, sports, entertainment, features, obituaries, and classifieds for West Hawaii Island readers.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Oahu Publications Inc.parent_companyOthersParent company that owns and operates West Hawaii Today along with sister publications Hawaii Tribune-Herald and The Garden Island. Provides shared digital platform, customer service infrastructure, and advertising coordination across multiple Hawaii newspaper properties.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Hawaii's largest daily newspaper, also under Oahu Publications. While substantially larger, it shares the same parent infrastructure, advertising sales team, and statewide classified/legal notice network, making it a relevant comparable for revenue mix and product structure.
• Maui News: Daily newspaper serving Maui County under a different ownership group, but operating an analogous community-newspaper model with print, digital subscriptions, classifieds, and legal notice publication for a single Hawaiian island market.
• Hawaii Tribune-Herald: Sister publication under Oahu Publications, also serving Hawaii's Big Island (Hilo/east side). Operates on the same shared digital platform with identical subscription, classifieds, and paywall structure, making it the closest peer in product, audience, and business model.
• The Garden Island: Sister publication under Oahu Publications serving Kauai. Uses the same platform, subscription tiers, and product suite (classifieds, jobs, e-edition), making it functionally identical with only geography differing.

Emerging players

• Civil Beat: Hawaii-focused digital news outlet with statewide investigative and political coverage, including Big Island reporting. Operates a digital subscription model and competes directly for paying local-news subscribers.
• Big Island Video News: Video-first digital local news outlet covering Hawaii's Big Island — directly overlapping West Hawaii Today's geographic market with an alternative delivery format that competes for the same local audience and advertiser attention.

Regional players

• Pacific Business News: Business-focused regional publication under American City Business Journals covering Hawaii including the Big Island, competing for advertising from the same local real estate, retail, and professional services advertisers that buy WHT's display and classified inventory.

Broad incumbents

• Hawaii News Now: Statewide broadcast television news operation covering Hawaii including the Big Island, with significantly larger audience reach. Competes with WHT for local advertising and audience attention across overlapping coverage of Hawaii news and politics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/westhawaiitoday
• Facebookfacebook.com/westhawaiitoday

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about West Hawaii Today