The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1921-07-28
RURAL SERVICE In
COUNTRY WEEKLIES

(By &. j. Mcintosh, Agriculture Press
Editor. Oregon Agricultural College in
Oregon Voter
A one-half-49 per cent-rural ser
vice was paired with near three
fourths-70 per cent advertising busi-
ness as the average ratios in the eight
newspapers winning in the Oregon
weekly rural service contest Just con-
eluded by the department of industrial
journalism at the Oregon Agricultural
College. The one-fourth- "a per cent
rural service of the 70 non-winners
was paired with a one-half-49 per
cent-advertising business as the aver
age ratios.
1t is not necessary to deny the exist
ence of other factors in determining
the relation of rural service to adver-
tising in order to accept the.inference
that it pays best to advertise in papers
carrying type of material that makes
them in largest numbers to the pros
poets that must depend upon this ad-
vertising for their information on
goods, qualities and prices.
Of course there are other important
factors, but even at that some of them
are closely connected with the policy
that develops and uses a great deal of
country news. Community prosperity
is one of these factors, and community
prosperity in farm and home life, pro-
gressive activities and a substantial
agricultural background for urban sup
port, naturally and logically follows
newspaper cooperation in community
building.
Is it not significant of this truth that
the first two places in the contest were
taken by Hood River papers Hood
/ River made world famous by its won
derful products and. wonderful methods
| ofsputting information of them across?
! Of course the newspapers helped
doubtless made it all possible. And
now they reap the reward of their
community building work in such gen.
erous advertising business for their
own columns that the judges laughing
| ly remarked that if the editors do not
own the banks it is only because they
own the rest of the valley and don't
need the banks.
Bread on the waters"-that's what
country service haslbeen to the Hood
River press. Scarcely less marked are
the results on their own business of |
constructive work done for their COM
munities by the other eight. Indeed |
the same quality marked the best of |
the papers in the 72 list, and the same
evidences of country service and busi-
ness reward showed Enthusiastically in |
the three papers that all but won a
place among the leaders in use of coun- |
try service.
In computing number of rural stories
''story" was defined as an article un-
der head lines, paragraph in local or
editorial columns. or group of items
under a ssingle head such as country
correspondence from one center. Most
of the stories were short, but not too
short to be reasonably complete.
Rural news was chiefly in the form
of country correspondence accounts of /
personal and social happenings farm
and farm home reports articles and Il
items on crop outlook, condition, har-
vest and sale church, school and other
rural organization affairs agricultural
and home-making information from
the state college experiment station,
and extension service, federal depart
ment of agriculture, county agents,
fruit inspectors and cooperative grow
ers' association; with liberal sprink-
ling of editorials on important rural
cluding bonds and highway construc-
tion had good space in most of the
winners.
On the other hand the best papers
carried but little general news of the
world, nation and state, evidently rec
ognizing the greater economy and eff
cheney of the city and town daiies for
that type of news. Long technical
N rt TsaIn nV, rT..ttl al l.
mestic topics were left for the farm
press, which can handle them much
better and more cheaply. Although
many country editors find. or think
they have found, that fiction in serial
form is a good circulation builder,
none of the winning papers carried any
serial or other fiction, leaving that to
books and magazines. 1t is not merely
the high cost of production that makes |
it expensive to load the local paper {
with such general matter, but the high
value of the space for advertising pur- !
poses. The winners recognized the
limits as we'll as the splendid oppor-
tunities of their fields. and made every
inch count either for paid advertising
Or for material that their readers could !
not get anywhere else. That is the
Key to their success as it appeared to
he judges.
The judges themselves were practi-
,al business men selected with a view
% their talent for the job and the
broad composite view they would take
rs a body. The chairman was G. +.
ngals, editor of the Corvallis Gazette
Times, daily. and president of the Or
sgon Editorial Association. Col. f. +.
'aville, editor of the Western Farmer
md chairman Of the agricultural COM
nittee of the Portland Chamber of
Commerce, was able to contribute the
farm slant" to the rural matter. w.
:. Kennedy is an advertising specialist
Who looked after those phases of the
ntries that go to make their messages
redible and impressive.
That two of the judges represent per
Odical publishing sometimes thought
o be more or less competitive with
he country papers is nothing strange.
he field of the country weekly is
learly delimited from that of the
ally on the one hand and Of the farm
Magazine on the other. Extension and
etterment Of rural service in the
ountry weekly will stimulate both the
allies and magazines, and the advance
an best be made three-abreast.
Indeed an enlarged and improved
ountry service, will benefit the pub
sher, the merchant or other advertis-
r, the daily and magazine publishers,
nd most Of all the farmer and active
xDonents Of rural life at its best.