The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-02-15
WHAT Is KILLING THE NEWS
PAPEES?p

We quote the title Of an article in the
current issue OF Leslie's Weekly, "what
is killing the Newspapers" though we
cannot altogether agree with the cause as
attributed therein. We quote as follows;
"IIow KEEN is the advertising compsti-
| ton tetween The street-oar and news
paper. the lattar can judge from state
meuts made during recent Interview
| by George kissan, VINO is known rs the
aISadvoItisihg king. lie says he
rs now paying out an average Of s2o. 600 a
| month for the privilege of advertising In
street cars This is at the rats OF SoOo, uoo
year, and covers oaly fifty cities The
list OF his customers. which be gives, In.
cludss advertisers VINO are the patrons OF
nearly all the daily and weekly papers.
Every dcliar they pay for strset-car sdvsr-
| tislng is "A dollar taken from the news
| papers and magazines. Mr.. kissam saws
| his business is growing, bnt whine MS
business grows the advertising business
| of tue new spapers correspcndingly dl1nln-
ishos. 1he question for the newspapers
| 10 decide is whether or not they will per-
| NIT street advertising 10 continue.
| The franc chisis of the car companies were
| given for transportation purposes solely,
and, In tne Judgment OF good lawyers,
| the Advertising feature IL neither equit-
! able nor legal Isn't IL about time that
newspapers woke up To u realization OF
the serious nature Of this unjust oompe-
| titionr
1t would probably be difficult to esti-
mate just how far il Is true tnat dollar
spent for street-caI advertising "is n
dollar taken from the newspapers and
magazines" Broadly speaking one
olrss OF advertising mediums does not so
rob other classes OF patronage. Never
theless the success of street-car adver-
tisipg. which is now IN important
branch OF the advertising business,
doubtless has drawn considerably from
ths newspapers, as is evidenced by Its
growth and by the csre and expense that
are put into. the preparation and design
Of the announcements made for display
in the street cars.
But though the street cars may thus
| in measure be deemed competitor OF
| the newspaper, We do not agree with the
view that street.car advertising is kill
| ing the newspapers. If the newspapers
| are being killed IL Is they that arc doing
the killing They ara killing themselves.
Properly and honora5ly conducted, the
newspapers have no reason to view with
alarm as deadly rivals such of their com
! petitors TOR the patronage Of advertisers
ss the street cars, the bill boards or
: the special mediums of one sort or an
other. But that the newspapers thsm-
selves have tended to make this rivalry
serious and to build mp the business OF
strset-car advertising, for instance at
an astonishingIy rapid rate, seems clear
enough.
AS mediums the newspapers as class
have probably lost "a good deal OF the
condolences OF tho advertiser because OF
their meretricious methods Of dealing with
their patrons.
The initiation of circulation statements
on tho part of newspapers 10 acrying evil.
In the first instance IL is fraud on Che
advertiser. who, being assured that GER
tain number of papers are printed and
circulated, makes contract on the basis
Of such statement and thereby, to all
intents and purposes, has gold brick
| d
snlieits advertising on the basis Of DIR
culation statement greater than the cir
culation IL really has commits moral
and even q legal crime. though perhaps
there is no way for the law to easily reach
the offender. The offense exists, never
theless. The advertiser is defrauded. He
is cheated. Ho pays for goods that are
not delivered and Eever were intended to
be delivered.
Advertisers have come to recognize this
tendency on ths part Of certain nswspa-
pers to secure their patronage upon such
false prstenses 40 that 1t has become .
sort Of nabit among them to mentally dis
count by twenty or thirty per cent. the
newspapers statement of its circulation
when dickering for rates. But the adver-
tiser is as rule, not so clever as he may
fatter himself. for newspapers that make
q practice of false circulation claims also
know the advertisers propensity to doubt
them 10y certain reroentsgs-snd they
simply make the claims high enough TO
allow for the mental disoounting and still
be in a position to command the rate they
seek for their spacel