The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-01-18
CIRCULATION ESTIMATES.

The object of the AMERICAN NEWS.
PAPER DIRECTORY is not very different
from that of the well.known mercantile
agencies which exist in all leading cities.
The latter keep their subscribers informed
of the character, habits, reputation, business
ability and financial strength Of persons
with whom they are likely to have business
transactions, enabling them thereby to so
regulate those transactions as to secure
probably profitable dealings, or to avoid
such as will be likely to result in ultimate
annoyance or loss.
The DIRECTORY conveys the best OBJ
tanned information concerning the character
and value of newspapers. It's patrons are
the men who expend money in advertising(a
large and important CLASSY, and it is from
them that the publishers of the DIRECT
DRY in their capacity of advertising agents,
derive their profit and support. 1t is to
them and not to newspaper publishers that
they owe the duty of faithful service. The
theory that advertising agencies are the SER
wants of newspapers, and should advance
their interests first, is annihilated by the
system long adopted by publishers, almost
without exception, OF ignoring any idea of
protecting the so-called agency and main
tanning the right to appoint competitors in
the same field without the consent of those
already occupying 1t.
As the most important portion of the in
formation supplied by mercantile agency
consists of a report of the financial strength
of the person about phom Information Is
asked, so is the circulation of a newspaper
generally considered the point upon a0hich
Information DiU be of most vatue 10 the adj
vertiser.
There are, among merchants, some who
deny the right of mercantile agency to in
quire into their private affairs, and who de-
i;na ui inf tinn iel,
report may be based; but the mercantile
agency does not, on that account, neglect TO
| make report. 1t gets from other sources
| the best obtainable Information, and upon
this its estimate is based although it can not
tie denied that the reticence OF the party in
question is almost always attributed to
knowledge upon his part that true report
would be prejudicial to his credit. The re-
port made is, therefore, likely to be less
favorable than it might have been had the
! information ask ed for been cheerfully and
frankly furnished.
SO also there are among newspaper pub
fishers some who deny the right of any one
to inquire into their affairs. 1t has been the
policy of the publishers of the DIRECTORY
| to omit all information about circulation
| whenever plainly and unequivocally COM
manded to do SO. In such cases the matter
is disposed of by annexing to the report the
words "Oljscts TO stating circulation" In
every case where the above command is not
plainly and unequivocally conveyed to the
publishers of the DIRECTORY, they make
up their report in same manner pursued by
the mercantile agencies in estimating the
financial strength of a merchant, and, like
the institutions referred to, they decline to
reveal the sources from which they have OBJ
tanned their information.
1t is undoubtedly true that no publication
of this character is privileged, and that in
an instance where merchant or newspa.
per is seriously injured by an unjust or
materially incorrect report the courts furnish
remedy, and both mercantile agency or
Directory publisher will be held responsible
for actual damage shown to accrue to an in
jured party from report proved upon trial
to have been erroneous.
This is liability which the publishers of
the DIRECTORY can not escape; it is there
fore one which they hold themselves at all
times ready to meet.
The greatest possible care is tax en- to make
the DIRECTORY reports correct. Every
publisher is applied to very Systematically.
All information is taken in O form which
excludes any but definite statements which
can not be misunderstood, while every effort
is made to protect honest publishers against
such as would resort to lying or perjured re-
ports to gain an unfair advantage.
1t has rarely been found that cause of
complaint has arisen against anv report
which has appeared in either OF the seven
annual volumes of the Directory, already
issued, which has not resulted either from
the neglect of a publisher to respond to APP
peals for information, or an effort on his
part to substitute other and different informa-
ton, instead of answering the plain ques-
tons upon the blanks furnished for the pur.
pose from the DIRECTORY office.