Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-12-24
RELATION OF NEWS TO ADVER.
y TISER.


A newspaper is purely a purveyor
of news and publicity medium. 1t
costs money to produce a newspaper
and the printers producing it demand
their pay every Saturday noon. The
news features of the newspaper are
furnished the subscriber for the
subscription price he pays for the
paper. The advertising space is for
sale to those who believe that proper
publicity is worth the money in ad-
vancing their private business. 1t is
no more fair to expect the newspaper
to furnish publicity free than 1t
would be for customer to expect
merchant TO give away all he has to-
sell. The merchant might be expect
ed, and frequently does give some lit
tie token of appreciation to a good
patron when he pays his bill. but he
never bestows such gifts on persons
who, are not customers. Nor should
ne do so. What he has to give should
be given to his customers. He has
goods TO sell. He makes his living
selling them. If he gives them away
he will both fail and starve. Just so
with the newspaper. The goods it
has for sale are subscription and ad-
vertising space. If it gives these
away it will fail, and should fail and
starve as we'll.
This is written because not infre-
quently committees of lodges,
churches or charitable institutions
make deals with merchants whereby
certain free publicity is to be given
them in the local newspaper in re-
turn for the part they take In the
enterprise. Then the local newspa-
per is asked to contribute the free
publicity. Very often the merchant
for whom the committee asks free
publicity is not a patron Of the news
paper at all, but is in competition
with some other merchant that is a
good customer. In such case it
would be manifestly unfair on the
part of the newspaper to accede to
such request, for, in substance, 1t
would amount to making your Gus
toner pay for his publicity while you
furnish il to his competitor free.
That would be absolutely wrong both
from a business and moral stand
point and should never be INDUCED
by any newspaper.
We must presume that advertisers
are those who believe in proper pub
licity as a business stimulant and
that non-advertisers are those who
believe that publicity is not worth
the money. The newspaper lives off
OF its advertisers and should bend
every effort to get them results, even
though considerable free advertising
is necessary to do that; but the news
paper owes no such obligation TO the
non-advertiser. especially il owes no
obligation that would result in di-
recting customers away from the
store OF an advertiser into that Of a
non-advertiser. and IL would be no
less than criminal 10 do so.
The Tidings is just now in an en-
barrassing situation with a commit
tee Of a local lodge undertaking an
exceedingly praiseworthy enterprise
for which this paper would be glad to
contribute columns Of free advertis-
ing. but the committee has so ar
ranged its program that the paper is
asked TO furnish free space for an ad.
yertisement for a non-advertising
firm the character OF which puts the
Tidings in the position OF lending iti
publicity influence to urging every
mother and child in Ashland TO visit
that store during the holidays. in.
stead OF the business house Of a
competitor who is paying the Tidings
$40 this month for publicity with the
view OF getting those same women
and children to visit his store.
The Tidings' conscience will not
permit it to do that. II has no in.
clination TO do IT, What free public.
ity II has to give II holds IL a high
duty to bestow 1t upon its good Gus.
toner. who is using this medium tc
increase bis business and by so doing
Is increasing our business.
SO. without reference to .individ
uals, and without malice. such is the