The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-12-24
Cheap Newspapers.


The era of cheap newspapers has
evidently come TO stay, for good or
bad. For many years it must be
cheapness at the expense of excellence,
and what will eventually come Of it is
seen in different lights by different
people. The downward movement has
been continued by the Philadelphia
Times, which dropped from two cents
TO one cent short time ago, stating
that the growing cheapuess of paper
made the reduction possible. The
Times now gets paper for four cents,
while it had to pay eleven Gets pound
twelve years ago.
1t is singular fact that while
majority Of the editors and publishers
are opposed 10 cheap newspapers,
they keep on cutting down prices.
George w. Childs, OF the Philadelphia
Ledger, objects in this way slow
priced newspapers depend for success
chiefly on the assumption that the ad-
vertiser should pay all the cost of pro-
duction and the reader little or none.
That isn't equitable. 1t isn't good
business policy. 1t isn't square.
There is no reason why newspapers
should be expected to give people
more than their moneys worth. 1t
never has occurred to me to make the
Ledger one cent paper, but rather to
give its patrons more and more for
their money--in fact, the very best
chat two cents will buy anywhere.
Why, raised the price of this paper
from one cent to two. 1t had been
losing 100000 per year before, but |
made it pay after the first month. |
never have regretted that action,
though it was opposed by my predeces-
sor aud most of my newspaper friends.
believe in paying the highest salaries
of real ability. | don't want cheap
men. Cheap newspapers mean cheap
men. Expenses have been enormously
increased. White paper is cheaper, TO
be sure but every other item of ex-
pense is doubled or quadrupled. My
first contract for white paper was at
twenty-five cents per pound. Now 1t
is between four and FIVE cents. The
cost of gathering news has quadrupled.
Another thiug-I do not believe that a
reduction in price ever very largely in
creases circulation. Of course, it adds
some readers, but nothing like the
number expected" Mr.. Child's opin-
ion is that of nearly all the most sue
cessful publishers of good newspapers.
Il don't believe in cheap papers,
says Major Moses p. Handy, editor of
the Philadelphia Daily Ne,os. "We
tried the penny racket long enough to
find out that there was nothing in it.
We raised our price and lost just one
fifth of our twenty thousand circula-
ton. Better off, Well, l should say
sol Many of the readers who forsook
us we have recaptured, and we are
making money at two cents where we
lost it at one cent. We couldn't do
anything but conventional work for
fifty or sixty cents per hundred, the
price that the publishers receive for a
penny paper"
Colonel r. M. Pulsifer, senior pro-
prietor and manager of the Boston
Herald, two cent, eight-paged morn
ing aud evening daily, having circu-
lation of over one hundred thousand
copies per day, says: "Tnere may be
demand for penny paper in Phila-
delphia. can not see, however, any
tendency to cheaper on smaller paper5
throughout the United States. The
demand of to-day is for more news
and better news, to cover larger fields,
and take up more special topics. These
require high priced writers and larger
papers, and, of course, much larger
expense. Without referring to any
paper, / should say that a one cent
paper should aim to cover local field,
and would not come in competition
with the large cosmopolitan journals
that aim to cover every thing. The
paper of wide circulation must be a
large paper, and at the present cost OF
paper and rates of advertising | am in
clined to think it must sell for at least
two cents. The tendency is toward
larger papers and to hold prices up.
Colonel Charles H. Taylor, manager
of the Boston Globe, another morning
end evening eight page paper with
very large circulation, says: "lt Is not
my wish to cry down the penny pap
ers, though do not believe in running
one in Boston There are few one
cent papers that have succeeded won
derfully. One of these, however, il
sold for two cents outside the city
where it is published. The whole
struggle is to get enough circulation
to demand high advertising rates
This done, the paper is prosperous
When a penny paper of less than lOO'
900 copies daily attempts to make 1t
self an advertising medium it is liabl
to crowd out news to make money
This often leads to suicide. Peopl
may talk as they will about "blanke
sheets" and 'cyclopedias, they are tn
coming papers. The reading publ
demands more than news in grea
daily. 1t wants SPECIAL features, fash
ion, household, business, fiction--every
thing don't know where The limits. A
| can say is that | haven't reached i
yet Every new feature brings m
new readers. The newspaper is a cor
stantly growing article. l find thi
particularly true of the Sunday Globt
To decrease its size, as must be don
in penny paper, is to decrease its Gil
culation. 1t is argued that telegrap
bills are cheaper than ever. Yes, bu
telegraph bills are doubled nearl
every year.
These opinions of leading publish
ers make mighty interesting readin
and we are tempted to continue then
Colonel CIapp, manager of the Bosto
Journal, morning aud evening, foli'
four or six pages, two cents, says
"Forty years experience in the news
paper business tells me that wbeieve
a newspaper has reduced its price
was not due to outside influence at al
but the financial injury was alwal
sef.in1icted. Reduction of prices
q mistake. Elevate the tone of yor
paper so as to make it worth ii
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