Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1926-10-15


Daniel is the publisher and editor,
has some interesting views on the
subject of "Valley-wide daily news
papers." The Press was refreshingly
frank in its treatment Of the matter,
and so truthfully so that The Herald
republishes the editorial in full. II
follows:
WE HAVE NO inclination to say
81 told you So" neither are we
growing over the hard luck of n
competitor, but we do wish to make
a few suggestions 10 the general
public on newspaper operations, etc,
at this time.
The Telegram, which has been
printed in McAllen for the past few
months, has announced its moving
date, and that it will cease to be a
paper, consolidating with another
new publication at Harlingen, pro-
moted by James Marion Bird, the
same individual who promoted the
Telegram.
The Telegram at McAllen was the
result Of an insistent demand of a
public, which does net know the in
sernal operations Of newspaper
business, for a publication which
they chose to call "Valley-wide. !"
That demand has been often times
brought to our door, with no solr-
tion as TO where the support for such
a publication was coming from.
Mr.. BIRD LISTENED to this de-
mand and deemed it feasible, and at
tempted TO put it into operation with
25 and 35 cent advertising support,
which is impossible and as imprac-
ticable as moving the Rock of Gil
braltar with n teaspoon. r--ne ex-
pense of publishing a paper that will
meet the demand of the reading pub
lie and throw il over the Valley, is
so great that a publisher cannot print
enough pages of a paper with a 25
cent per inch advertising rate to
meeT that expense.
1t costs~a certain amount per inch
to print a page~of newspaper. And
under a minimum overhead the diff
ference in cost and gross is infinites-
imal But with maximum over
head the cost per inch for printing
is greater than the gross and there
fore the column inches turned out Of
the shop are deficit and the more
inches ut the price turned out the
greater the deficit.
The majority of mistakes and fail
ures in small town newspapers are
made by fellows who have held
small jobs on city publications. or
been connected with city publications
in the past and attempt to operate
the small town paper like his brother
in the city operates the cosmopolitan
daily.
THE WHOLE LAYOUT becomes a
dream or an idaalism, and the brother
from the city paper forge,s tnat the
cosmopolitan daily operates on two
and three dollar per inch advertising
rate, and has advertising customers
who can and will pay in thousands
of dollars into the Golfers or the
paper, where in the small town he
depends on five and ten dollar
monthly accounts. The small town
merchants are just as willing ms
city merchants. but they, like the
small town paper, are no; 50 big.
THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Che best and strongest daily IN the
..rea L. e.
some time to come, is backed up by
loyal town with a population as
great as any three towns in the
Valley. The Brownsville Herald has
failed to build so far the idea. Valley
wide daily. II has years of success
full operation behind it and an es-
tablished clientele behind il. which
IL has built up by hard knocks.
If The Herald with n town OF
fifteen thousands behind it and
thirty-five years of experience be-
hind il can not do it, why should
poor little old you attempt il. To a
newspaper man who knows the field
the idea is ridiculous.
BUT THERE IS hardly week
passed that some fellow does no,
blow into the Valley. look up and
down the highway, count the bust
ness firms throughout the Talley
take out his pencil and paper and
begin figuring. And his pencil
usually makes him rich in five min
utes.
Then he strikes a few business
men who don't know n shooting sticI
from plea quad and they invariably
tell him that n big daily ike tbs
Houston Chronicle would be a fine
thing for the Valley, and as the
would-be newspaper man has had 1
job>as reporter On some city news
paper like the Chronicle, his dreams
begin 10 materialize, and il he j:
smooth enough to get someone &C
rut up the cash--for those kind never
have it-he hops in.
AN ALL-SUFFERING public, which
is generous and wishes 70 nelp al
new enterprises, comes in with what
they can afford. which Is insuffi
cient, and soon bifls are made, anc
then bills are advertised out, more
bills are made and mofe bills ad
vertised out. But as ii tpkcs some
hard e-sh things begin to raAbie ans
rock, and In the end the all-s1 ferini
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