University of South Carolina Libraries
TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1919. ft i ^ * ' i I : t I 1 c t 8 Y o 5 e v t n h v P o e n rr fj li h it c< b si % THE LANC^ Why Ec Ge I By GEOR No town or small city has a more valuable isset than a good, live, hustling weekly newspaper chich gives the happenings of the county or disrict it serves; which acquaints the buying public >f the offerings of its merchants; which reflects he honest opinions of its publisher pertaining to dl great political and social questions; works in uirmony with the business interests of the city >r town in a helpful spirit of co-operation to mainain the trade and best interests of the comnunity; whose editor seeks business upon a busiless basis and maintains a high respect for his >rofession, because if he does not respect his usiness, how can he expect anyone else to? Such i paper honestly conducted is bound to become a >ower in the community it serves, and will wield i mighty influence. No other paper can compare V'ith it- hpPAIWP itc roudufi! Lrnsvim, ? ... ?? .v., ivuubio riiun me cunur <tnu he editor knows a large percentage of its readrs. Confidence in the paper grows with the passng years, and what it hn* to say carries great /eight. Nothing speaks better for a town than a :ve newspaper, and you can judge a town by its lewspaper?and this is often done. This being true, there is no reason why the ditor of a live country weekly should not enjoy ust as great a degree of prosperity as the best lercantile establishment in that town. We have 11 seen grocers, dry goods men, clothing and hardare merchants accumulate good-sized fortunes vithin the course of a comparatively few years, ml be able to spend the evenings of their lives in he quiet peace and comfort that their hard labor ntitled them to. free from business cares and /orries. Hut who has ever heard, or known, of he editor of a country weekly newspaper accululating a property sufficiently large to enable im to do that, where he has confined his efforts holly and strictly to the country weekly newsaper business? 1 have never heard, or known, f such a case. Why shouldn't the editor of a country weekly njoy just as great a degree of prosperity as any lerchant in the town? He is in a position to do lore real good for his community than any other actor in it; he is just as important to its daily fe; his investment is often as great or greater; is work is as hard or harder, and the responsibil,y is surely just as heavy. Why is it that the auntry weekly newspaper business is unprofitale, as a whole, and what is the reason??for Lirely there's a reason. In reply to that question I am going to make ae statement that we, the editors of weekly newsapers, are responsible for the non-profitable oc % . A- 4 ' . iSTER NEWS, LANCASTER, S. C> litors N t Rich GE H. HALL. Editor The Journal, Alt us, Okla. * cupation that we are i away space that ought that we accept an incl work, for what it costs for less than it actually ing to perpetuate cone plain of. And those cc we. ourselves, correct t Now, who is tr question. Primarily w hut it is far from me t tionally so: What's t mind here's the troubl trouble, and that is thi muiteration we ought know what is the actu; printed column of advt we are selling. Persor a third of a century in have come to feel that the greatest fellows on into the belief that 1 money. That may ca tion" of the business, "kidding ourselves" is and in the face of pres ness it is especially da right in its place, but we are deceiving the ve vitally interested in kn "let s quit kidding o n whether we are makinj. not actually engaged ii The country weekly ferent from almost any figure pretty closely ? penses are. By adding cost of his goods and d< for depreciation, etc., 1 as to what his profits si try weekly office, when are the principal lines, may be used for each, labor expense is so larg ployees may work a hal over into setting advei be occupied in the non-r ing dead jolxs and advei done, where any of the may be used for both ji would take a Philadelph actual cost of a colum or anywhere near the a a country weekly omce % * ever in, and every time we give to be paid for; every time rt of advertising, or do job ; us. and in too many cases * costs us. we are only helplitions that we justly commditions will continue until .hem. > blame? That's another e. the editors, are to blame, o charge that we are intense trouble then? To my e, and the cause of all our it we do not know what reto have, because we do not ll cost to US of nmdlii'imr T r. W?.MV?II5 " ?rtising, or of the job work ally. after spending nearly i the newspaper business. I country weekly editors are i earth to "kid themselves" they are actually making use some of the 'TascinaBut do you know that ; a dangerous proposition, wnt conditions in our busingerous? "Kidding" is :>ll when we deceive ourselves ry ones who should be most owing the exact truth. So solves and actually know r money, or whether we are i losing it. newspaper business is difother. The merchant can is to what his actual exa certain percentage to the educting a certain per cent le can estimate fairly well iiould be. But in the couni advertising and job work where the same materials t_ i * - ... wnere tne non-productive e. it is different. Our emf hour on job work, switch rtisements, then, perhaps, iroductive line of distributrtisements. Where this is t same type and materials obs and advertisements, it ia lawyer to figure out the n of printed advertising, ictual cost of job work, in as ordinarily conducted. PAGK SEW ' . i'\ ? ? 0 . . i f t , % ' . j Jv