The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-01-07
UPPING EXPENSE OF NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHING

PUBLISHING
The Pennsylvania Times takes its pa
irons into its confidence to say that the
white paper on which the Times is printed
is now costing 81 per cent more than that
business has been paying. That is an in
crease which cannot be ignored by week
IL newspaper with a comparatively small
annual cost for news print. The daily pa
pers, the larger users of news print, will
be caught for an increase in their expense
accounts which amount to millions OF dol
lars in the country as whole, for this one
item.
News print is not the only item of cost
in newspaper publishing which is being
upped in noticeable way. There are
other expenses which are steadily grow
ing. When these facts dealing with news
paper publishing are coupled with the fact
that the gross business of the publishing
industry as whole in the nation is far
below the peak figures before the "depres-
sion," the difficulties of the situation be-
come more apparent.
In most cases, in the most prosperous
times witnessed by the newspaper business
of the nation, only the larger daily papers
enjoyed profits commensurate with their
capital investments and expense accounts.
At the peak of general business prosperity
many newspapers failed to show profits.
Then came the depression and the total
gross business of the country's newspapers
declined to almost exactly one-half of
boom income.
The meaning of this ought to be reason
ably clear, even to citizens who are not in
business and have little information about
business matters. For example, a newspa-
per's gross business in 1929 was 100000.
Suppose its expense account, for the sake
of illustration, was 100000, and its net
profit was $4,000. That would be very
modest profit in business as hazardous
as newspaper publishing; but suppose that
in 1880 and thereafter that newspaper
gross business declined to 100000. That
would mean, if nothing was done to reduce
expenses, an annual loss of 100000 in the
publishing of that newspaper.
In varying degrees that is exactly the
condition faced in the newspaper business
IN the past seven or eight years. Of course,
other lines of business have had similar
experience in the matter of volume of bust
Ress; but there is hardly any other line of
Business that is not in better position than
a newspaper to reduce expense accounts
when the volume of business decreases.
Newspapers must continue to print the
news for their subscribers, regardless of
reduction in income, and that neeessitates
issuing every day and at an expense that
under any and all circumstances must re-
main heavy.
Few daily newspapers of the country IN
the past seven or eight years have found
it possible to meet reduced volume of bust
hess with sufficient reduction in expense
accounts to keep their books in the black
Instead of the red" That simply means
losses have been sustained in publishing.
Having definitely decided that gross
business will not return to pre-depressior
figures, and having, in most cases, made
all economies which seem possible, news
paper publishers are turning to the only
possible course left open if they continue
in business. They are asking subscriber:
and advertisers each to assume fractiona
part of their mounting publishing costs il
The form of advances in advertising rate
and subscription prices.
In other words, they are doing what al
manufacturers, distributors of cornmodi
as .at -.,-,