| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner | The San Juan Star, Inc. |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | August 29, 2008 |
| Official website | http://www.thesanjuanstar.com |
The now-defunct The San Juan Star was an English-language, Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The newspaper was published by Star Media Network, a subdivision of San Juan Star, Inc.
The newspaper was founded in 1959, and was intended for the English-speaking population in Puerto Rico. Pulitzer Prize winning novelist William Kennedy was once the managing editor of the Star, soon after its inception to 1961.[1] The paper was sold in 1996 from then owner, Scripps-Howard to Gerry Angulo, who had formerly worked for money manager Ivan Boesky.[2]
In 1997, The San Juan Star began an attempt to expand its audience by introducing a Spanish version of the same newspaper, called "El San Juan Star" (as opposed to "The..."). The latter started as an exact translation of the English edition but later became a publication filled with unedited wire service stories given the lack of translators on staff.
At one point, the Star's staff included a Capitol reporter, federal court reporter, a La Fortaleza reporter, Education reporter, environmental reporter, economics reporter, and a Washington DC correspondent, among other writers.
The Daily News, a fictional newspaper appearing in Hunter S. Thompson's The Rum Diary, is based on this newspaper as Thompson had befriended a number of Star writers when living on the island in 1960.
On Friday August 29, 2008, The Star published its last issue and closed down with publisher Gerry Angulo blaming the union for not agreeing to cost cuts. At the time, the Star had 120 employees. The paper had reportedly been losing money for several years and the losses deepened due to the 2008 recession.[3]
The Star was succeeded by the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, which began daily publication in November, 2008.