University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1909-10-22

| reason fOr the newspaper existence
fails to furnish it sufficient revenue to
keep it alive. 1t is sustained by by
product. Advertisements must furnish
the chief revenue. A very few met
ropolitan newspapers. it is true, charge
subscription price sufficient to pay
share of the expense in addition to
that for the blank paper. But this
fact limits their circulation sharply.
The London Times, for example, pub
lished for more than 100 years in the
largest city in the world, has attained
the moderate circulation of something
| less than $4,000 with a price of six
cents copy.
Now, in general, no vigilant and ag-
gressive publisher is going to be con-
tent with such a circulation And it
not be. The newspaper may not be
as the old editors delighted to call it
the molder of public opinion. At least
it arouses and unities public opinion
1t makes certain that the people scat
tered over vast extent of 3 million
miles of territory shall keep in touch
with each others ideas, and shall not
split up into an indefinite number of
Independent communities.
But in order to preserve this great
function it must be read by rich and
poor alike. So its price must be within
the reach of all. Unless we are ready
to adopt the aristocratic position of
the late Lord Salisbury, and oppose
cheap newspapers as incendiary and
disturbers of the old order, we must
accept the fact that the advertiser
must bear a share OF the cost of pro
duction. Put the importance of the
advertiser introduces fresh compli-
cation. Not, as | suspect you suppose,
that he attempts to dictate the policy
Of the paper. III the case OF the sort
Of newspapers we have been consider
ing tonight he doesn't. Eut he must
depend on the newspaper to get him
returns, and as the great majority of
his customers are women, the news
paper must print IA paper that they
will desire to read.
SO the feminine portion OF the public
bee ONES at once, as you Will readily
problem. Man." the publisher of a
profitable Boston newspaper used to
say lis poor. inconsequential crea-
ture at best. | am printing a news
paper for the women In other words.
since women are the chief readers of
advertiSements-and this you may
verify out of your own eXperence-in
order to obtain sufficient revenue to
print the sort of newspaper that men
like the publisher must first Of all be
. sure he is getting out d paper that is
attractive to women.
, What Do Women Read?
+ Il is always much easier to recognize
$ A problem than to solve it. The news
q paper knows that the average run Oi
!, the news applies chiefly to that por
S ton of the world which by convention
n has been marked Off as mans. Sc
i Il must depend on other material tC
interest the women, WHO, as Virgil
pointed out, are as veritable as the!
ire charming What do women want
20 read? Again the journalist has hi:
suspicious, but he doesn't know. Sc
= le constantly experiments, if he is a:
restless as he ought to be, in order tC
:, ind out. If Il column of questions ant
answers ON beauty of person seems tt
;. excite lively interest in an importan
part OF his audience he retains it il
spite OF the fact that it may arouse
;, derision among the intellectuals. Tht
- newspaper. as | have said. is a grea
manufacturing industry, and to th'
best of its ability-subject to certain
limits which | shall refer to later
- must meet the popular demand or g
to the wall, after the fashion of an.
other big business.
# It's pretty girl column is Oh precisel.
A the same footing as the counter wher,
=. they sell cosmetics in the department
J. store. So with the page devoted to tn
: interest OF housekeepers, and the col
.s ann telling what to do when the bab.
\ has wind collie, and the department ad
= vising against eating ice cream with
C knife
it And What Is News?
d 1t is assumed. of course, that yo,
o. want to know the news. But what i
e news? Perhaps the working definition
a. is that it is what people want to rea
q after dinner. And that, you see
e throws the whole question open agair
1t People complain that newspapers dis
e crilhinate in favor of bizarre, the ser
ii sational, and that they overlook wha
is really wholesome and significant
Well, newspapers are founded on hr
'e man nature And what do people tai
n abnut when tbav pat touatbcr of n,