Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1918-04-12
THE GOVERNMENTS
MISTAKES IN HANDLING
PUBLICITY

steel corporation TO deliver its steel
gratis. Publications can't as rule
live on the money they get from their
circulation. Five cents or three cents
or two cents hardly pays for the
white paper on which the weeklies or
dailies are printed, let alone the null
titude of other costs that go into the
printing of journal or periodical.
Every newspaper or magazine that
was ever printed, with the exception
OF the few backed by philanthropists,
has been sustained, first of all, by
revenue from advertising, and sec.
ondly because the people read the ed.
vertisements and purchase goods &C
cordingly.
Advertising space is a definite mar.
ketable commodity. Every bit OF it
donated to any cause or institution
brings many newspaper or maya.
zine closer and closer TO bankruptcy.
Somebody suggested as a more or less
temporary measure that all the de.
partment stores and business houses
be persuaded to contribute from the
space they had bought by the year or
one or two pages a month for the use
Of the government. Advertising writ.
ers came forward to write the copy
without charge. AS a consequence
you may have noticed lately that the
billboards and the large display ads
In the newspapers and magazines
have gripping appeal. The adver-
Using genius of the nation has been
brought to bear on behalf of the gov
eminent.
But the average legislator or off
cial at Washington hasn't given much
consideration in recent months to
whether magazines or newspapers
lived or died. Zone postal rates that
will make 1t impossible for many per
iodicals to circulate throughout the
nation have been imposed. Instead
Of developing along national lines at
q time like the present we are com.
PEELED to become sectionalized again.
IL
would be for congress to legislate that
General Pershlng pay tolls on all mes
sages sent by him to Washington or
that every soldier be required to pay
an income tax on his army pay.
The relationship is Just as close.
To do anything that impairs the val.
lie of the transmitting medium in the
midst OF a war Is to enervate the ma
ton itself. For what else are news
papers and magazines but the daily,
weekly or monthly spokesman of the
government, their recruiting officers.
their petitioners for food and fuel con.
servation, their solicitors for labor?
Never before has our country been
divided UP into so many units. There
are councils of defense and patriotic
societies that reach not only into ev.
cry state and county bul into every
city and town and hamlet in the whole
country. There are organizations I'D.
on organizations. And all are bent
on getting publicity. All are press.
Ing the local newspapers or the maya
zines for space. Most of these orga.
nizations have no conception of what
publicity means. They think il com
prehends long typewriter outpour.
ings daily. IL they don't see some.
thing of their activities in the news.
papers every day they are peeved.
They are dissatisfied II their work
Is not exploited at least twice a week.
But the lesson of publicity which has
been learned by some of the more
successful institutions Is that any.
thing not worth while saying had bet
ter be left unsaid. And few of these
organizations have anything worth
while to say every day In the week
from the point of view Of the editor
who knows what Is interesting and
what Is embarrassing, based upon
years of experience with the ups and
downs OF circulation.
II is n strange thing-this American
genius for putting over n personality
~ ~ p'SNuNA' iNfittnJ wilson uODS
not address congress whenever he
has something urgent that must be
enacted into law. Everything. rcla.
lively speaking, Is urgent and import,
ant. He usually talks on the larger
things-the tariff, currency, foreign
relations, war. peace lie doesn't
make a nuisance Of himself on Capi.
tai Hill with speeches on Porto Rico
citizenship, warflnance corporations
and things of lesser Importance He
waits until he has something vital 10
say--aud then says Il with all tho
congress and the country, and often |
The whole world, for an audience.
The same principle applies TO n IN
iictous use OF publicity power, whoth. .
n by the president OF the United
states or the chairman OF the local
Iberty loan committee. That Is why /
has been found necessary incident. |,
lily to set aside a week for Red
ross drive and a certain period for g..
liberty Loan appeals, and so on. In :
10 interim these institutions can aE ]
'rd to keep quiet and give the stage i!