Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-08-01
THE NEWSPAPER AND THE AID.
vEkTlsER.

Mr.. r. Gibson Bowles writes az fol
lows in the July number of the Fort
niqhhy ReUiefo: newspaper IL a com
mercial venture, and regarded in this
light our modern newspapers present
some very strange anomalies. The ex
pense OF producing daily newspaper
may be divided into two heads-frst,
there ia the cost of writing the news
paper, in which include the payments
to editor and writers, and the cost of
kilograms and other matters. added to
which there is the cost OF composition
or setting up the writing in type. The
charge under this head is a constant
sum, whether there be one copy printed
or million. Then comes the second
head of charges, which vary with the
number of the paper printed. IL Is
composed of the cost of the paper
itself on which the journal il printed.
and the cost of the actual printing or
"machinery" of the type already set
up. Now it il fact that with the ut
most economy the charge under this
second head amounts, for the penny
newspaper of the common size, to
abont "a much a. the paper itself is
sold for 20 the trade. IL follows, there
IOfCt Vial Wultb tho OuhIkts
der the second head is more or less
provided for by the sale of the papers.
the constant and much larger charge
under the first head is not 40 provided
for. How, then, Is IL metz Solely and
exclusively by tho revenue derived from
advertisements. The result IL this. that
q newspaper lives not upon its oircula-
tion, but upon its ADVERT 3ements. In
e. "a ~ a.eA a.
selling publicity for its advertisements;
10 gives away for nothing the news
which IL Processes TO sell. on condition
OF being paid for the advertisements
which accompany. Its real customers
are not its readers. but its advertisers;
the commodity II deals in is not news,
bat attention. IL buys the attention of
resders by its news, and sells that at
tention to its advertisers for their mon
ey. IL now the cost OF the paper and
the machining, instead of merely equal.
ing, should, as IL sometimes the case,
exceed she sum for which the paper is
sold, then the best financial position for
that newspaper to be in is one in which
not single copy of the newspaper
should be sold az all. or course, how
ever. the result in this case would he
that 1t would get no advertisements. in
asnuch AZ the advertiser wishes TO have
his advertisement circulated as largely
as possible /; and, as a matter of fact,
the object of newspaper propri.
efor in the position | have described
must be TO obtain the largest number of
advertisements with the smallest amount
OF circulation. MIR. Mowbray Morris,
for instance, giving evidence before
committee of the House of Commons Ia
1851 as to the Times. was asked this
question: "The greater the circulation
the greater the loss 2" and answered.
The greater the loss beyond a certain
limit" He was then asked do Won
not mean this, that when Won have a
supplement. so far as your supplement
IL concerned, II you only printed one
copy OF 10 your gain would be the great
eat y To which he answered yes"
After this he was asked For every
copy you sell you diminish your eain.
and when you pass certain line il be.
comes an absolute loss ~ To which he
replied Just so /; that ia 81 say, when
the expenditures exceed the value OF the
advertisements"
Thus 10 will be seen that newspapers
are in reality somewhat in a false posi-.
ton. They profess 10 sell news and TO
give advertisements Co boot. What
they really do is 30 sell publicity for ad-
vertisements and 10 give news to boot.