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OREGON EXCHANGES

Vol. 6

[''Mr. Thacher made a trip east last summer in the interest of Oregon newspapers in general and a selected group of dailies in particular, to get Oregon publications in the closest possible touch with the large space-buying agencies of the country. The article which follows covers one phase of his observations on his trip. Mr. Thacher is making a full report to the group of dailies which he represented on his trip.]''

N ANY consideration of newspaper groups, distinction must be made at

the outset between actual organizations, born of a common interest and included within a distinct territory, and those promiscuous “lists,” of which the A. P. A. is a type, and which are formed, obviously, not through any consciousness of solidarity felt by the members themselves, but through the efforts of outside interests. Concerning this latter kind of organization, the writer, in this connection at least, has nothing at all to say.

The bona fide organization, which is the outgrowth of the direct expression of common needs, common interests, com mon purposes, is a somewhat recent phenomenon in the newspaper world, and has in it much of importance for all progressive newspaper men. This tendency to organize is, of course, in line with the trend toward' combination in all kinds of modem enterprise.

These groups exist in various parts of the United States. There are the Connecticut group, the Ohio Select List, the Michigan group, the Wisconsin League, several in the South, an organization of weeklies in Montana, and others less known. These groups, as a rule, have come into being somewhat as did our own Editorial Association, and existed first as a clearing-house of ideas, with occasional meetings, programs, etc., with some at tempt to improve newspaper conditions by inﬂuencing legislation, introducing cost accounting systems, raising ethical standards and similar undertakings.

The most recent development in the activities of such organizations, and the one in which the writer is especially interested, is the application of the “group” to the problem of “foreign” or national advertising.

In this respect, is the “group” effective? Are they getting anywhere? Do the newspapers forming the group get more advertising from the agencies than they would if they were not members of the group?

The writer put these questions to some forty of the space buyers in the largest advertising agencies in the United States, and received various answers. That is but natural, however, as agencies differ as much as individuals in their responsiveness to solicitation. Many of the space buyers with whom I talked an-