Is HONOLULU OK?
There’s dire news about media in the media. But we’re looking ahead.
Lately, when I talk to friends, acquaintances, even people I’ve just met, they all wonder the same thing: How’s the magazine? They ask out of genuine curiosity and concern. It’s not a secret that print media outlets around the globe are facing enormous challenges. Even digital operations are reeling from declining ad revenue, changing reader habits, threats of being replaced by AI, and Google’s and Meta’s constant algorithm shifts.
So, what’s a media company to do? Give in to the gloom? Abandon our print magazine and strive for TikTok stardom? Of course not, but that’s not to say things are easy. It takes a lot of work and hustle to maintain multiple platforms with a smaller staff and fewer resources. And there’s no denying our industry is headed into unknown territory.
But as a 136-year-old media brand, we must consider what’s been built, and why it matters. We have thousands of magazine subscribers, both in Hawai‘i and outside the state. These mostly longtime readers are our core audience who motivate us to always seek new and better ways to do things. That relationship will continue.
Past Covers beginning with January 1888
Then we have our digital audience, an average of 210,000-plus monthly users, reading daily stories on our HONOLULU website. These people want to know where to eat, what to do around the city and what’s new. They see us as a guide to the city, and we’re happy to oblige in that role.
On social media, we’re continuing to grow our Instagram audience on both @honolulumag and @frolichawaii. We now have almost 220,000 combined followers across HONOLULU, Frolic Hawai‘i and HONOLULU Family. While these IG users may not always click through to stories from the links in our bios, they gravitate to our Carousels and Reels, particularly ones that highlight what’s new and trending.
Our print audience veers older (mostly boomers and Gen Xers), but online, our largest group of users is often in the 25–34 age range. Here’s a graphic showing users by age for March:
Our social media posts, meanwhile, are also viewed by people of all ages.
Then we have our events. It’s so gratifying to see people in real life enjoying themselves, like at HONOLULU’s recent Rosé Soirée and BrunchFest. At these events, 20-somethings nosh and mingle side by side with 50- and 60-somethings. Meanwhile, the Frolic Poke Fest, happening as this issue goes to press, will draw thousands to Ka Makana Ali‘i in Kapolei, kids through grandparents and everyone in between.
When you consider our large and diverse audience, it’s hard to dwell on the negatives of media. Our city needs ways to thread us together, to make us part of a greater whole. And people will always need to know what’s happening, to stay informed and to be entertained, on whatever format or platform they prefer. That’s what I see as HONOLULU’s role: to relay and to unite, to encourage engagement with our city now and for a long time.
