Apparently press releases posted on About.com's Hawaii channel or even press-releases sent out over the PR Wire constitue real news but Hawaiirama does not. This is third rejection I've gotten from Google News in response for a request for inclusion. The first time, they said one-person blogs do not qualify so I brough in more people. The second time they said we did not cover daily news. What? The Pipe Masters? The Big Island earthquake? The closure of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel? At any rate, here's what they said in the latest go round. I have the sneaking suspicion they have not yet read the site.

Thank you for suggesting your site again. As we mentioned in our previous email, we're currently unable to include http://hawaiirama.com in Google News. At this time, we only include sites with news articles that report on recent events. Please be assured that we will continue to log your site for consideration should our guidelines change.

Thanks again for taking the time to write.

Regards,
The Google Team

The only way to talk to Google News is through Google Groups -- Suggestions. This means you have to join Google Groups. If any Hawaiirama readers out there are members, please do me the favor of suggesting that this be added. Here's the link.Thanks!

—Alex, 12/19/06