Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-09-29
Newspaper Publishing is a Business

Time was, and not so very long ago.
when the publisher Of a newspaper
looked upon himself as purely a pro
fessional man, and those with whom
he dealt-that is, his readers and asso-
ciates adopted the same attitude. The
word professional" is here applied as
meaning that material returns for la
Dor were considered entirely as of sec
ondary Importance and that the pri-
mary consideration was 10 give the best
that was in him. to wage the fight for
righteousness and otherwise strive for
.the ideal without thought for earthly
needs.
While the principal of striving for
the ideal still remains with publishers
an entirely different view of the reward
for their labor has displaced the old
one which contented itself with the
fact that virtue is its own reward.
This, of course, still holds good. but
the publisher Of today is not of a mind
TO preach ideals on an empty stomach.
Material reward today is q necessity
much more than il was "in the good
old days" For the publisher of today
is ambitious not alone for himself, but
more particularly for those who are
dependent upon him. And in order to
insure material reward labor publish
ing has become a business, a CONNER
cial undertaking in which the striving
for ideals is closely combined with the
striving for profits.
In fact. it can be said that in no
other business undertaking is so much
thought given to the ideal AS in all
other business enterprises. system is
necessary for the publisher, possibly
more necessary for him than for any
other business man because of the
many and varied details that enter into
the making of a newspaper. There is a
tendency, however, particularly among
country publishers,to allow themselves
a certain laxity in the matter of bus
mess system. This is wrong System
exists in order that the result of an
hours work may be measured in dol
lars and cents. A system must be
strictly adhered TO or it crumbles, is
worthless.
The first step in a business system
- " AAOW tue NDot VI pIOQutAIOls--
whether it be furniture, clothes, drugs,
machinery or newspapers. The first
step OF the publisher who desires to
make his labor pay is 10 know the cost
Of his product He must know the cost
per hour or per day of his labor, light.
heat, rent and material Of all kinds.
The overhead charges, such as wear
and tear on the machinery, and plant
in general. must be included in the
cost. IN a word. the publisher must
know just how much expense it is to
him TO have his plant run full blast
for an hour. Then, and only then car
he begin to add to this cost the profit
he desires TO make-the profit that
gives him his food and clothes, his
amusements and his comforts; the pro
fits that send his sons and daughters tC
institutions of higher learning and
make him solid citizen"
In short, system IS necessary for tht
publishing business system which
nothing can .dislocate''-and the frs
step in this direction is to know the
cost upon which 10 base the prices tC
be charged. The publishers mus
know what they spend in order to bt
sure Of what they earn. Such knowI
edge and prices fixed in accordance
ltherewith alone viii make him pros
perous.