Morning journal and courier., 1881-09-08
Thursday Morning, Sep. s, 1881.
THE NEWSPAPER AS A BUSINESS
 ENTERPRISE.

ENTERPRISE.
 1 Charles Dudley Warner rarely speaks with
 out saying something. and in his address be-
 fore the Social Science Association on sgThe
 American Newspaper he said good deal. An especially sensible and pointed part of his
 address is that wherein he states the business
 relations of a newspaper to the public. His
 remarks on this point will be approved in every newspaper office where they are read In all communities where there are news-
 papers there are many people who seem l possessed of the idea that newspapers are I carried on with much cost and labor for the | sole benefit of the public-that they are gift enterprises where nothing is or ought to be expected in return. This is & mistake As
 MT. Warner says: ''The newspaper is a pri-
 vate enterprise. Its object is to make money
 for it's owner. Whatever motive may be given out for starting a newspaper, expecta-
 tion of profit is the real one, whether the
 newspaper is religious, political, scientific or
 literary. The exceptional cases of newspa-
 pers devoted to causes without regard to
 profit are so few as not to affect the rule.
 Commonly the cause, the sect, the party, the
 delusion, the idea, gets its newspaper, it's
 organ. its advocate only when some individual
 thinks he can see pecuniary return in estab-
 fishing it." This motive, as Mir. Warner points
 out, is not lower than that which leads people
 into other occupations or professions, and he
 might have added that it leads to good work
 in the newspaper business as in any other.
 The publisher of newspaper knows that he
 cannot make money by making poor paper.
 Therefore he makes as good a paper as he
 can.
 A recognition of the fact that a newspaper
 is business enterprise will, as MT. Warner
 says, help to define the mutual relations be-
 tween it and the public. The claim of the newspaper maker upon the public lis exact ly that of any manufacturer or dealer. It is that of the man who makes cloth or the gro- cer who opens shop; neither has right to complain if the public does not buy of him. If any person wants to start periodical de- view of inducing people to live up to his idea of teapot, very good; but he has no right to complain if he fails" On the other hand, the public has right to the newspaper ex- cept what it pays for. What MT. Warner says on this point the public ought to cut out and paste in its hat. It is as follows: ''The notion that the subscriber has right to in- terfere in the conduct of the paper, or the l reader to direct it's opinions, is based on 1 of what the newspaper is. The | claim of the public to have its communica- tions printed in the paper is equally baseless. ! Courtesy and politeness may grant it, but the l right to it does not exist. The advertiser | acquires no more rights in the newspaper l than the subscriber. He is entitled to use | the space for which he pays, by the inser- tion of such material as is approved by the | editor. He gains no interest in any other part of the paper, and has no moro claim to any space in the editorial column than any other one of the public. Akin to the false notion that the newspaper is a sort of open channel that the public may use as it chooses is the conception of it 8 chari- able organization. There is scarcely char table enterprise to which it is not asked to contribute of it's space, which is money, ten imes more than any other persons in the who are ten times as able as the owner of the newspaper, contribute. Any 'nluB IIou CLUTCH plcnlc to a DraSS DanQ concert for the benefit of the widow of the triangle the newspaper is asked to give. The party in politics whose principles the editor advocates has no doubt of it's rightful claim lpon him. it asks without hesitation that the newspaper should take up it's valuable space oy printing hundreds and often thousands of l iollars' worth of political announcements in he course of campaign, when it never would think of getting it's halls, it's speakers md its brass bands free of expense. No pri- rate person contributes so much to charity, n proportion to ability, as the newspaper. Perhaps it will get credit for it in the next world; it never does in this'
 We do not imagine that MT. Warmers clear lnds ound statement of the business relations between newspapers and the public will lead o reform in the matters he complains of, | ,ut it ought to. Considered in business fight newspapers do much more work for he public than they are paid for doing. And ,et, so general is the misunderstanding of heir true position, that they are often heart ly blamed for not doing more. tc