Oregon Exchanges
For the Newspaper Men of the State of Oregon
HOW NEWSPAPERMEN ARE CUTTING DOWN THEIR CHANCES FOR SUCCESS
By ROBERT W. SAWYER
Publisher Bend Bulletin
[Mr. Sawyer delivered the following address at the annual convention of the Oregon Editorial Association.]
"STANDING out against the various assortment of weeks for this and that and other free publicity propaganda from which the originator expects a profit." That is rather a long-winded title for the subject assigned to me. I take it that our worthy president was, as usual, proceeding on high when he emitted that mouthful of words. With such an example before me I may be excused if I am verbose in what I have to say.
I know, however, that there is no verbosity in this statement, that the newspaper man who does not stand out against the kind of publicity referred to in this subject-title is making the biggest mistake of his life. He is doing an injury to his paper and to every other newspaper. He is being made an easy mark. He is cut ting his chances of profit and success. He is helping to put and keep the newspaper business on a low plane.
This publicity is pro-bonehead publicity, and the man who uses it is the prize bonehead of the profession.
What has a newspaper to sell?
The answer is so old and so well known that I might expect you to throw your chairs at me for asking for it again. And yet the program committee thinks you need the information thrown at you or it would not have given me this subject.
We have to sell circulation and white space, circulation and white space; these two and nothing more. On our success in selling these two commodities depends the success of our newspapers. When we begin to give these commodities away we lessen our chances of success, or make such success as we may enjoy not so great as it ought to be.
My subject has wholly to do with white space. I do not touch on circulation except to point out in passing that the quality of the news furnished your readers may influence circulation for better or for worse. You must be careful, therefore, to give them news only, not propaganda with a slight coating of news. And that is one very good reason why we should stand out against free publicity propaganda.
The biggest aspect of the question, however, is in its relation to the white space which we have for sale. What are we to use this white space for? For news and for advertising. Our news columns are not for sale, so that the revenue from the sale of white space will come from the advertising we carry.
Now every day we go hunting for news and for advertising. And every day advertising disguised as news comes hunting us. Altogether too many of us are caught by it. It is the free publicity propaganda
