The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-01-17
STARTING NEWSPAPERS.

| yolvinS as II does large loss 10 tii'
owners, suggests a few reflections OF
the widespread industry of starting
newspapers which may not coms
amiss. By way of illustrating the mair
| point, let us remark that while the mar
| who makes two blades of grass grow
where one grew before is public ben
efactor and a private beneficiary, the
! man who starts a superfiuous newspa-
! per will one day see the spendthrift
forsaken and his seed begging bread
| The only way to succeed with an en-
| terprise like that which is now coming
to an end is TO have:
| l. Room for the new paper.
| .. Occasion for the new paper.
After these requirements have been
| met the new paper must be:
| 1. Well capitalized.
2. Well conducted.
Everyone who stops to think knows
that Honolulu, with about 10000 white
people-more or less white-within it's
limits, would be amply served by two
daily journals, one of morning and one
OF evening issue. When the RepupIi-
can began what 1t was pleased to call
business" there were four daifies in
the field, the Republican making the
fifth. There were over twenty-five 9TH
err publications. This was OVERRIDING
the matter as every newspaper man
knew; and on that account no one OF
practical newspaper habit was induced
to invest more than nominally in the
Republican stock. Journalists who had
anything else to do refused some rath-
err good offers of salary to engage In
the Republicans service; other compe-
tent men who engaged themselves took
a guarantee. All saw failure ahead I'M
less Honolulu should boom into q big
city and at the time the Republican
was born the old boom had passed and
no new one was in sight.
There was no occasion for a second
morning daily. The Advertiser, with
over forty years of public service be-
hind 1t, completely filled the field. The
only enemies it had were men VINO
hoped to profit by the bad government
1t opposed. and those who wanted to
get even for the past opportunities of
plumber which this journal had shut
off. These were noisy and vituperative. |
but their capacity to sustain a paper
In English was not equal to a weekly. |
let alone daily. 1t was urged at the
time the Republican was projected that
one could not enter a barroOm in
Honolulu without hearing the Adver-
tiser abused" That was probably true:
but when Humphreys agents entered
those same barrooms looking for SUBJ
scriptions and lads" the noisy parti-
sans slipped away. They would talk
up new paper, but they would not
help foot it's bills.
We come now to the fourth point
capitalization. 1t is an axiom among
newspaper men that S100,eJ0
n cash is needed, in city the size of
to establish an eight-page.
ix-day morning paper. where the field
$ already occupied. With an open
ield much less will do. The Republi-
an started. we believe. on a basis Of
25, 600. which was afterwards increased
W $4,000. This was not half enough.
The money went and dying paper re-
NAMED. All the serum which enter
,rising employees could inject into the
'aper would not impart health or vital
ty. II
AS to the manner In which the Repub-
lean has been conducted, what is to be n
aid should not be understood to re-
lect upon the writer's and honorary
managers. The real editor and man
ger prior to the advent of Mr.. Buck
and was the chief owner, and he spoil
d everything he touched. He meddled
nd muddled. and failure was the re-
uit ftdu ne Known what ne was
bout he still would have been obliged,
he wanted his paper to live, to make
better than those already in the field
larger, brighter, more newsy and en-
erprising and more attractive pictor-
ally. But the Republican never had
nough money in hand to enable it
o spread out and become what it's
ominal editors and managers might
ave made 1t as an object of popular
interest; and in the opinion of it's own
r If it simply voiced his cratic likes
nd dislikes it was good enough. A loss
f thousands of dollars of his own and
ther peoples money may have taught
i'm better.
The lesson thus conveyed will not
'e lost on local investors who may be
sked once more to put money into the
nsecurities of new paper stock. Nor
hould 1t be thrown away on advertis-
rs who, to the extent they have
fought space In the Republican for
rade announcements. have been COM
'letely buncoed,N no matter how cheaply
hey may have made their contracts.