There are other localities, some thriving county seat cities, that seem to be inviting fields for semi-weekly papers in place of the existing weeklies. I venture the assertion that if some enterprising fellow with a hatful of brains, good credit and fair equipment were to put a twice-a-week paper into competition with some of the Oregon weeklies the latter would be put out of business within twelve months.
Some weeklies were all right in their day—a day long past. The legend across their front pages ought to be, “Men may come and men may go, but we go on forever!”
I did not change from a weekly to a semi-weekly. Eleven years ago the Gresham Outlook was started as a twice
a-week paper. Three things caused Outlook twice a week. of the kind of service cality. The nearness
me to issue the It was my ideal needed in my lo of the big city
with its morning and evening papers dis tributed daily on rural routes covering a wide area made it necessary to speed up. There was already a well established weekly in the field. These were the reasons. The unexpected happened. Af ter six months of competition the weekly moved out. Goon Paorrr Snowx
Fnssn News Dmmnonn
Now for the practical side.
Does the
A newspaper is designed to give the
news while it is news.
A town that is
proverbially slow, has one show a week. one good trading day, depends on kero
sene lights. does most of its hauling by teams; whose patriarchal citizens sit on
semi-weekly pay? Is it a good business proposition? In presenting this phase of the subject reference will be made chiefly to my own observation, experience and records.
the rail fences and whittle and spit and
The Outlook has a subscription list at
discuss what happened in Franklin’s day,
present of 1100. The average for the year 1921 was 1050. Not over 50 of these are exchanges, ad or complimentary copies. The net subscription income for the calendar year just closed was $1355. The subscription price is $1.50 a year, strictly in advance. The paper is issued Tuesdays and Fri
may be well satisfied with a weekly. But a live city of a thousand or more, with a score or more of enterprising merchants,
centrally located in a fertile valley of Oregon, with a thriving farm population, in the country surrounding, where tele
phones, electric lights and automobiles are the common thing; where rural car
days, six columns, usually four pages.
riers deliver the mails daily, including daily papers; a community with the best of public and high schools, and where
A few times during the year six pages or even eight are required to accommodate
rural and civic, educational and religious activities and organizations abound—such a community he satisfied with a weekly
was 20 pages, 50 per cent advertising.
the advertising.
The recent holiday issue
Moon CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
The advertising income for the year
newspaper?
Only out of pity for the 1921 was $7368, making a total income from subscriptions and advertising of
editor’s lack of ability to do better. A newspaper should be ahead of
its community life, not behind it. Personally I like a twice-a-week paper for a small city. A daily is
0 hard grind and impracticable ex cept in a city of five to ten thousand.
A sembweekly speeds up the news and advertising service somewhat in keeping with the spirit of the day.
$3623. Our records show an average of 60 per cent ads, at an average of 25 cents an inch. Our rate for foreign ads is 30 cents an inch. Local rates are 25 and 20 cents. Want ads and readers yield a higher return per inch. The Outlook carries an average of nearly two columns of classified ads, set solid 8 point, sepa
rated by thin rules.
[9]
Of the total income
