Our greatest asset
Readers of the Marion County Record often receive instruction in newspaper operations as a part of their weekly fare. Over the years they absorb a great deal of journalism and perhaps should receive a special degree.
Newspapers are public institutions, privately owned, but thought of in terms such as "our" paper.
That's great. We who toil to get the Ol' Thing out each week are proud to hear those words. We work long hours and beam broadly when we see the finished product.
We also realize that our greatest asset is you, the reader.
Our building, our computers, our printers, automobiles, inventory, and furniture in no way compare with the greatest asset of all — the mailing list. You.
It's a simple matter to go to the post office and get a bulk mailing permit which has all the names, and allows you to mail to everybody. But such a permit in no way compares with the stature of paid circulation. Traditional newspapers have advertising impact.
Large national advertisers and state associations realize that fact. They want their message in a newspaper which is invited by the public, not people who get the paper whether they want it or not.
Paid circulation is our biggest asset. Money received from paid subscribers makes you our most important customer. We don't have a single commercial account which has the impact that you (the reader) has on our balance sheet.
We have long worked on the advice that a respected publisher offered many years ago: "Give them a good newspaper, and the advertising will follow."
He also told us that newspaper publishers should remain as observers and not become involved in commercial organizations. You must remain independent, the noted editor said.
Last week a neighboring town's Chamber of Commerce saw two things happen that shouldn't be tolerated. Both were direct slaps in the face to long time Chamber members. A speaker disparaged a local appliance dealership, inappropriately, and also plugged for a free-circulation journal without mentioning the long time newspaper which serves the community well.
Never was your Ol' Editor more pleased than years ago when our reporter Mike Heckman stood up in a Marion Chamber of Commerce meeting to set the record straight. The president had said the newspaper would "give us a lot of free publicity" for an event. Mike said, "No. We don't deal in publicity. We deal in news and advertising. We publish items which have news value, and the advertiser places his message in the newspaper because it has readership."
News is our name. We provide you unbiased news. Advertising is our source of revenue. It keeps us going. But our most important asset is you, the reader.
— BILL MEYER
