The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1883-03-22
HOW PAPERS SINK MONEY.

| Philadelphia Times: The union of
the Commercial and the Gazette in Gin
cinnatl shows ir very striking way the
present tendencies Of daily journalism.
Excess of competition results in the
stronger papers swallowing the weaker,
or destroying them, or in forced anal.
carnations of rival concerns. With the
exception of less than dozen papers
which every practical journalist can
name, the dailies of the country, and es-
pecially of the west, are all spending
more money than their receipts warrant
Many that can boast of age, prestige and
considerable influence are actually run
at q loss, In the hope of better times
coming, or TO- crafty the pride of some
capitalist or the ambition of some poll
tictan. In the struggle for existence the
httsst do not always survive. 1t is
usually question CT financial backing
rather than brains. In most coaanlida-
tons the stupid paper whose pFoprietcrs
have made money outside of legitimate
newspaper business absorbs the bright
one which was run on talent and small
bank account.
To show how widespread is the ten
dency to consolidation, let US look at q
few examples by names. There is the
PittsbQrg Commercial Gazette, results
Of long rivalry betWeen two able Re-
publican dailies; the Detroit Bost and
Tribune and the Milwaukee Republi-
can-Sentinel, Outcomss of similar com
petition; the Louisville Courier-J ournal,
which grew out of the same sort of
rivalry for the favor OF the Democratic
constituency; the New OiearlsTimes
Democrat, product OF the same eondt-
tons; the st. Louis Globe Democrat, q
highly successful Republican paper,
bu,ls up on the support of its two strug-
Cling predecessors; the Dispatch,
IN the same city, q profitable outSrowth
or two Improbable separate ventures;
the st. Paul Pioneer-Press, the most
widely circulated journal printed north
west Of Chicago, rich and enterprisinR,
the result of the union of two feeble RI
valsI the Sacramento Record Union
antecedents, strong, popular paper,
bankrupted by the hostility Of the Cal
ifornia railroad ring aud swallowed by
a rival established by the ring.
The list might be greatly enlarged,
but 1t is long enough to demonstrate
that the tendency towards fewer dallies
and strong ones financially is not a To- |
cal one. We might almost formulate
as law Of American journalism at that |
time that two highpriced morning dali |
les of the same party cannot find SUP
port in any city outside of New York.
The only exceptions can call TO mind |
are in Boston, Chicago and Cleveland.
In Boston there are two Republican
moTningnewspapers, the Advertiser and /
the Journal, but the Journal has an ey-
ening edition which probably brings in |
half its income. In Cleveland life and |
death struggle has been going on be.
tween the Herald and the Leader for n
long time, but they both publish ever.
ing sheets. If restricted to the
morning field one or the other wouId
haze been forced into consolidation or
bankruptcy long ago. In Chicago the
Inter-Ocean sunk at least a million dol.
Jars before it began to pay its way, and
1t became successful not SO much az a
daily as by the aid of large weekly
circulation, taken away in great part |
from the Tribune in disastrous Gree
ley campaign and built up by energy
and liberal expense. Il is useless 60
fight against fate in the newspaper enter.
prises. The big railroads annex the lit.
tie ones, the big stores kill the small
rivals and the big dailies are follouingi
the same modern Law of the aecumpls
sion Of capital and concentration Of the
power in few hands,