The Raymer enterprise., 1919-12-11
BRIGHTON PAPER
STANDS BY TOWN
tALFRED F. IsHAM. In Brighton
Blade)

The following seems to us to tell
some Of the newspaper mans troub-
les and experiences with the upward
tendency Of prices. from the pen Of a
man who has made q success 0f,the
business in the splendid town Of
Brighton. That is our excuse for re-
publishing 1t. as the troubles Of a
newspaper at Brighton are not less
in the smaller town. unless man
can get away from the hired help
problem as The Enterprise has been
able to do now for nearly two years.
The article from the Blade follows:
"Seventy-eight newspapers In Col
orado suspended publication during
the first nine months OF 1919. accord
ing to Editor Emmerson OF Fort Col
Inns. One hundred and fifty maga-
zines-among them some OF the larg
est and best known in America
stopped In New York recently be-
cause OF a large increase in wages
demanded by printers.
Newspaper men like other busi-
ness men. dislike to tell their troub-
les. The Blade has been considered
q prosperous business, and therefore.
we believe we can better afford to
tell the public what are conditions
in newspaper lines than can managers
Of smaller businesses. We hope that
other papers will republish this ar
ticle. First. we wish to make the
following announcement:
Until further notice on account of
war conditions and higher cost Of
labor, paper, supplies and equipment
the Blade will make no advertising
contracts for q full year as in Inc
past. This is the notice recommend.
ed to be published ,Sy Jason Rog-
ers Of the New York Globe.
The Blade has what is probably a
better cost system than any other
combination newspaper and job shop
IN Colorado. We have based eur
charges for several years on cost plus
. profit. Last year. the average
price per inch which we estimated
We should receive, In order to earn
a fair profit. came out within three
tenths OF cent OF the price which
we did receive. mean, that We set
our 1918 prices on advertising con-
tracts in advance Of doing the work,
and our bookkeeping system showed
at the end Of the year that we had
set them right. We had charged the
price which had earned only a fair
profit. The fact that we came out
within three-tenths of a cent OF the
proper price (as figures at the end
Of 1918 demonsrated) proved the ac-
curacy Of our books.
To be frank about 1t, the Blade has
been charging during 1919 about six
cents per inch less than 1t cost to
produce the advertising. We are
startled by the discovery of so great
a change in the course Of few
months. We hope our figures for
1919 as whole will come out differ
emily.
No weekly newspaper subscription
should be less than SO now. To con-
tinue at old prices is as II one had
cut his price few years ago to rs
cents or 81. Subscription and ad-
vertising rates have been 80 nearly
stationary for years that readers and
merchants do not yield readily to
change. We expect meat and pota-
toes to rise and fall. but subscrip-
tions and advertising to remain un-
changed.
At the Blade, We have not decided
what 1920 advertising rate will be.
,nso are proud Of our figures and thief
Ssfe open to the detailed inspection Of
any Of our avertisers.
Many patrons do not understand
that newspaper Is service and not
a commodity. In other words, the
cost Of issuing a newspaper depends
on the kind and quality Of newspaper
published. No doubt the Brighton
Blade could publish fewer news
items, fewer pages, fewer pictures
Of Adams county people and reduce
expenses sufficiently to leave a profit
on the present basis Of charge. Many
newspaper owners will follow this
course without saying anything to
their patrons. 1t is easier.
But the Blade management does
not wish to reduce the quality of
service rendered. This newspaper
for years has published SO much local
news that certain other publishers
asked: whats the use? Your pa
irons do not pay for It,"
But town may be judged to an
extent by its newspapers. Brighton
has been assisted materially to grow
by its newspapers.