The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-04-26
GRATING ON THE NEWSPAPERS
Some of the Demands for Free Space
Unreasonable.

OHlcdSOIidDlCs
The Meddler in the Brattleboro Re-
former makes the following accurate
description of some of the perplexitles
which newspaper faces all the time:
Were payment made to The Reform
er for all the free advertising which 1t
now contributes to one cause and an
other the outlay would be sufficient to
startle the average individual. There
is never an issue of this paper that
does not contain at least one item,
either so-called news or editorial, that
is a gratuity handed out for the COM
mon welfare but from which this paper
receives no direct benefit Folks never
expect chair factory to do anything
more than manufacture chairs. A shoe
repairing shop is supposed to have
done its duty when it has attended to
the needs of folks who need to be shod
and expect to pay for it. So il is with
other lines of business: they may be
asked to contribute money toward this
cause or that, but their time and serv
ice are expected to be devoted to their
own particular work.
A newspaper, however, in addition to
the usual calls for money contributions,
receives every day one or more requests
to print or to urge, to commend or
damn, to beg or promote something out
of which the owners can expect to de-
rive no financial benefit They are ex
pected to employ their capital in that
way for the common welfare in addi
ton to making the direct contributions
,.tbiah ual- 81 IS ~ A
paper has but two possible sources of
income. One is from the sale of the
paper and the other from the sale of
advertising space Strictly speaking,
therefore, whatever does not attract
readers to buy is not profitable thing
and whatever takes up space where an
advertisement might be inserted is a
loss. No begging proposition ever at.
tracts readers. Armenians always re-
quire relief" so it seems, and the pa
pers are expected to print columns Of
appeals, but no person would ever
think of buying a newspaper just to
ute money to someone 5000 miles
away.
1t may be contended that it is a
newspapers legitimate business TO
urge and beg and boost, but it is no
more the function of newspaper than
OF a magazine and magazines thrive by
publishing only such articles as the
editors believe the public viii want to
read. The magazine secures circulation
by interesting its readers and so gets
advertisements. II publishes no Bel
gian, no Polish nor Armenian appeals,
never urges better street paving; does
not coax the people 10 contribute for
the support Of hospitals and colleges;
makes no demonstration for saving ba-
bies, swatting the fly or any of those
public things which daily newspapers
are constantly asked TO help. Every
newspaper publisher knows there is no
direct hnsncial gain in such a policy,
yet they all do it.
The foregoing reflections should not
be construed as an indication that The
Meddler is opposed to the policy of
community service which The Reform
er has always followed. On the con-
trary, be firmly believes that the
standing which this paper enjoys is due
in no small degree to its consistent
efforts to aid civic betterment IL is
well, however, for the public to bear
in mind that The Reformer, like other
newspapers, gives more Of its services
free than almost any other institution
that is not an endowed charity, and that
no matter what the disposition OF its
owners may be there are times in these
days Of abnormal costs, paper shortage,
etc, when purely financial considera-
ton must take precedence.