| Show NEW YORK NEWSPAPERS What does it cost to run a first class i New York newspaper It costa a great deal more than it did ten or twenty years ago There is a great improvement in the intellectual intel-lectual quality of the newspapers of New York City They are better furnished fur-nished with talent in every department depart-ment and spend a great deal more money for contributions than they used to spend fifteen yeare ago The cost of white paper formerly made up fully onehalf ol the whole expense of the newspaper now it makes up about onequarter then paper coat from twelve to fifteen cents a pound J now it costs from six to seven cents a pound Owing to this great reduction in the cost of paper the wellestab lished newspapers of New York City are all of them making money and even the T ibune which has been weighed down by an immense investment in-vestment in real estate seems at last to have got through with the effect of this misfortune and baa commenced to do more tban pay espouses OJ A firstrate newspaper in New York will require about ten editorial writers whose daily duty is to furnish leading articles and editorial paragraphs para-graphs Many of these writers have their special duties but there must be always five or six men who are able to turn their hands to subjects of any description as they happen to come up A competent writer of leaders will be paid from 100 to 150 per week and no man fit to supervise super-vise them and perform the functions ofeditorinohie can be had for less than from 150 to 200 perweekThe reporters are of two classes first those of the regular staff who are paid by the week at rates varying from 20 to 60 These perform not only the routine duties of reporting but are always prepared to be sent oQ upon special service in which case the railroad fares carriage hire hotel billa and other expenses are paid by the office Then there are a number of reporters re-porters attached to each paper who are paid according to the work they perform without having any prescribed pre-scribed functions and who must hold themselves in readiness to do whatever what-ever may be necessary Borne of these gentlemen are men of talent and learning and in time will make their way into the front ranks as writers and editors I know men who without having regular salaries average from 50 to 75 a week Of these two classes of reporters taken together a firstrate paper must employ em-ploy about fifty Next there are the correspondents both at home and abroad and these are likewise divided into two class those who are employed upon regular salaries and those who are paid as their contributions contribu-tions are printed In Washington for instance each newspaper has need both of regular correspondents or reporters and of occasional contributors con-tributors and the different papers differ as to the respective number of these two classes In Albany each New York paper must have its regular regu-lar staff devoted to its service while in the other capitals of such States as New Jersey Pennsylvania Ohio and Massachusetts the papers are served by occasional correspondents since the news of these more distant places is for the most part not important enough in New York to be constantly reported there In Europe also every leading paper has its stall of correspondents in the chief cite There must especially be a correspondent corres-pondent in London and one in Paris who report constantly either by post or cable a In the Sunday edition of most of the prominent papers of New Yok City there is always a cable dispatch summing up the news of the week and reporting interesting political social artistic or literary events on which the reporters of the Associated Press whose telegrams are forwarded every day do not ordinarily dwell Thus the expenses of the sort of papers pa-pers we are considering vary for the most part mainly as we print large or amalleiitions the chief difierence being in their consumption of white paper Of this the Herald uses more than any other journal On Sunday especially its advertising sheets are many and on that day it will sometimes print 139 columns of advertisements alone BO that the amount of white paper it uses is enormous enor-mous But apart from this item the expenses ex-penses of One of these papers for the editorial department including writers reporters and correspondents will be from 4000 to 5000 a weekend week-end its ord inary telegraph bills including in-cluding the cost of special cables from Europe will average perhaps from 700 to 1000 a week its compositir n bills will vary from 1000 to 2000 its publication department will cost from 1000 to 2000 its stereotyping stereotyp-ing will be perhaps 500 and its miscellaneous expenses from 1000 to 2000making a total or from 9 000 to 12000 a week Ol course theee figures will be a little lesa in dull times when there is little telegraphing tele-graphing and no occasion for special expenditures than when there ia a great paUlo excitement such as G Presidential canvass or a great public cataatrophy when it is necessary to send many men out and spend a great deal of mcney in obtaining news but the general average will be about what I have stated Interview Inter-view with 0 A Dana in the Daily States |
