THE HARD HIT NEWSPAPERS.

Taihape Daily Times, 10 September 1918, Page 4

THE HARD HIT NEWSPAPERS.

The newspaper situation has once more been rendered acute by another huge increase in the cost of paper. This rise is very close upon an additional thirty per cent, and every tyro in business will realise that provincial newspaper profits are nowhere equal to such a new burden. The cutting published in our columns yesterday, taken from the Eltham Argus gives some indication of what must happen. What will happen is that country newspapers must appeal to their readers and thenadvertisers to help in overcoming the few difficulty, which in some eases will otherwise prove insuperable. The Argus says, “ink that before the war cost twopence now costs tcnpence, and paper that cost less than twopence now costs over sevcnpencc, ” but if the Argus figures it out carefully it will find that paper, by the time it reaches its office will cost it over eightponcc per pound. In a country like this where there are millions of tons of timber going to waste, being burned, that would make ideal pulp for paper, paper is sold in -wholesale quantities at eightpence a pound; and this for the commonest, merely milled pulp. Just now news paper such as we use in New Zealand, is put on board in Canada for less than threepence a pound; the shippingcharges to a New Zealand port are not more than twopence a pound, but warconditions bring it up to eightpence before such a newspaper as the Taihape Daily Times can land it in the office. The point is, it is out of the question for any country paper that has any considerable circulation, to pay its way, and it has now become compulsory to adopt some means of neutralising the thirty per cent burden, or some such part of it that will enable owners to continue publication without incurring actual and real loss. Newspaper proprietors have one sure means at hand and that is to cut down their circulation; to cut down the number of papers they print to about half what they arc at present printing. This office has already cut down till it is a rare occasion that it has a paper more than is needed, and to

cut further would most materially be detrimental to advertisers. With the four and five hundred per cent, rise in the cost of production the Taihape Daily Times has not asked Its advertisers to take any of the burden, and it has only Conformed to what newspapers throughout the Dominion have decided upon in raising the selling price of the paper by one half-penny, which is absorbed in increased cost of delivery, but the cost of production has now become so great that extraordinary steps must be taken to cope with the difficulty.