The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-16
THE VALUE OF NEWSPAPERS.

| than that OF the country newspaper. The In
dianian and the Register are right; the SUBJ
scription price of the county press should be
much more than 81 year: AT the rate of So
ayear, the cost per copy is less than four
cents. Out of this the publisher must pay
button and postage, to say nothing Of the
numerous other expenses incident to the
preparation of paper AT 81 year, decent
county paper is circulated at an actual loss,
and if the publisher realizes any profit, it
must come from other source than subscrip-
ton. That country or county papers are sold
at less than So is largely the fault of their
owners. The cut in the price probably arose
in an attempt to compete with city or daily
| not acquainted with the business "cant see
why their county paper can't be sold just as
cheaply as can the Indiana State Journal :"
The reason is very simple when once ex-
planned. The indianapolis Journal, publish
ing daily edition, has greater facilities for
collecting news for the weekly edition. Be-
sides this, the Journal has vastly larger
| field, and can, therefore, command a much
| larger patronage. Were the issue of the In
1000, as most county papers are by neces-
sity, it could not be furnished for anything
like ST., nor thrice that much. How unreas-
enable, then, to ask or expect publishers Of
county weeklies to attempt it. If any one
who feels that So year, or five cents per
copy, is too much let him 60 to the county
publisher and get figures on the cost of the
production. Suppose, for instance, he wants
literal copy of paper published six months
ago; his wedding, for example, is in it, and he
wants copy of that issue printed on silk.
The publisher will figure for awhile, and the
answer will probably be: ri will print you a
copy of that paper for $75-you to furnish the
silkw The copy on silk will hardly be ordered,
but the inquirer will have an accession of in
formation relative to the actual value of the
weekly paper that he declares dear at anickel.
In no other branch of business is anything
SO cheap as newspaper. Yet the man who
thinks nothing of throwing down nickels and
dimes for cigars, or for beer, often grumbles
at the price of the paper that is to afford con-
tinued pleasure, not only to himself but to his
family.
The mistake made is in admitting that there
is rivalry between the county and the city
press There is not and can never be, The
county press has field wholly its own; and
this field, it ought to be said, has been more
and still more fully occupied as the years pass.
| A marvellous advance has been made by the
county papers Of Indiana during the past few
years, notably during the past decade. If the
reader does not realize this, let him take his
home paper of to-day and compare it with all
issue of the same or with one published i'll the
same place before the war. The contrast will
popularize the papers of the present time, and
the wonder will be that such a great measure
| of improvement has been achieved. The ex
pense of publishing paper in 1885, including
least double what it was thirty years ago, yet
in those days So was the wellnigh universal
price. County papers should no more be
expected to compete in price with those of
cities than county carpenter should be ex-
pected to plane one board at the rate charged
by mills where planning is done by the
million feet by machinery that can
not be transported to the spot where
the one dressed board is required. The pub
Usher of weekly paper should not fail to APP
preciate the real value of his labor and
should not consent to lose money on subscrip-
ton ina senseless attempt to compete where
no competition can be asked. AS we'll might
dry goods merchant attempt to compete
with hardware dealer. The man who wants
the local news in detail of Greencastle, Attica,
Peru or Marion does not subscribe for the In
dianapolis Journal to get it. He would be
foolish to expect it. On the contrary, he
takes the county paper published in the locality
in which he lives. The Journal can and does
give the most important events of every local
ity in this and adjoining States But it does
not and cannot give that class of news Of
interest to the people of the several
localities. There is, then, field for each, OF
function for each. The Journal contains
much of interest to every locality, from Lake
Michigan to tho Ohio, and is valued every
where for the news it contains. But in each
and every place the local paper stands next the
people, and performs service for them that
the journal nor any other city paper pretend:
| To ALI things cnnsidared The nrica of .