The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1907-08-21
PAPERS.
mnnsey Predicts Price VIII Be Rslsed to
10 cents-.Improyed ia Quality.

10 Cents--Improyed in Quality.
Frank A. Munsey, who originated
and made successes out of a string of
magazines and is, besides, the publisher
of two successful newspapers, one in
Washington and the other in Boston,
has returned TO the Hotel Ritz, says a
Paris cable to the New York Herald,
from a ten days. automobile trip. In
an interview Mr.. Munsey discussed the
competition between magazines in the
United States and the Sunday newspa-
pers, and predicted that the price of
Sunday newspapers would be raised to
10 cents in the near future.
1.-THE Sunday newspaper of the flu
ture," he said, "a great big Sunday
newspaper, should be made so good
and doubtless will be made SO good
that it will sell at 10 cents instead Of s
cents"
MIR. Munsey was asked whether the
Sunday newspapers, with their stories,
illustrations and pictures, like the
Fluffy Ruffles" series, were hurting
the magazines.
"It is not only difficult but impossible
to say whether the magazine has suf-
fered by reason of the Sunday paper"
said Mr.. Munsey. "That the maya
zine has not suffered a setback in circu-
lation on this account is certain, for the
reason that the combined circulation of
magazines is constantly on the in
| crease.
Little more than q dozen years ago,
when | went into the magazine bus
mess, there were not more than $50, 600
regular magazine buyers in the United
States and Canada. That does not
mean that there were not more than
25O, 600 magazines issued, for many
buyers took several magazines. Today
there are easily {, 900, 900 magazine buy
ers in the two countries.
Each of these individual buyers
takes many more magazines than did
the buyers of the other period. Why?
Mainly for the reason that magazines
cost less"
"Do you believe the circulation of
the Sunday issues of some of the great
metropolitan dailies has suffered dur
ing the last few years by reason of the
fact that many daily papers in small
town publish their own Sunday maya
zines and colored supplemental"
Il do not suppose the total circula-
ton of the Sunday issues of m%etropoli-
tan dailics has shrunk for the reason
you name, he replied. Nevertheless,
it is impossible to say how much the re-
spective calculations of great newspa-
pers would have gained if country
newspapers had not gone into the mag
azine features for their Sunday issues.
eve have just about reached a point
when much better Sunday papers must
be made than those now generally is
sued. Except for technical improve
ments, there has been little or no adj
vancement in the Sunday papers for
the last ten years. Almost no new
ideas have been developed.
Gin my judgment the publisher who
will lead off in giving 10 cents worth
will make a hit in Sunday journalism.
Our people are never content with what
is. They want more and more all the
while. The present Sunday paper has
prepared the way for a far better pub
LEGATION that measures up to the stand
ard of first class magazine work or,
more properly speaking, standard first
rate weekly publication work.
Improvement must come in the way
of quality, not of quantity. The latter
may be decreased with satisfaction and
increased in the other. In discussing
this point am perhaps working against
my own interests, as my business is
chiefly that of magazine publishing.
However, | am not disposed to worry
about the inevitable.
"Betterment of our Sunday papers is
inevitable. Higher standards of our
publications, whether dailies, Sundays,
weeklies, monthlies, would be better
for the people. This last interests me
more than whether | shall make a few
dollars more or less. But, as a matter
of fact, the magazine will square itself
to whatever conditions may come up
and will meet the issue successfully.
Every twelvemonth during the last
dozen years has recorded an emphatic
Improvement in standard magazines.
Other improvements will go on, must
go on, so long as the people demand
better things. -Americus Press
The "WilliamsOn Plan"