Word that the Honolulu Advertiser will be allowed to be sold to the competing Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and likely merged, brought criticism from Bernie Lunzer, president of The Newspaper Guild.

In a column posted on the Guild web site, Lunzer called the decision by the U.S. Justice Department not to block the sale “a sad day.”

“Adding insult to injury, this whole deal went down in a highly questionable manner that hints of collusion,” he wrote. “Representatives from Gannett, owner of the Advertiser, and Black had met in secret with key state leaders and the Department of Justice well before the 'sale' was made public. At those meetings, it was agreed that an expedited sales process of seven weeks would suffice, with Justice officials rationalizing that a longer sales period might result in employees fleeing. As a result, there was not enough time for prospective buyers to perform due diligence and nothing that could be termed a meaningful sales opportunity.”