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OREGON EXCHANGES

How many of us have the habit of comparing our particular newspapers with others published in similar fields? Here is one of the first essentials of improvement. The comparison should be made frankly and without too many allowances for the peculiar difficulties which, we may suppose, the other fellow need not face. Perhaps his special problems are not known to us. Along about New Year’s is the traditional time for so called “good resolutions.” December, 1922, is a better time for a good resolve than January of 1923. However, January is probably better than February to put into practice an idea we may gain from perusal of the other fellow’s paper.

Everything depends on the spirit in which this is done. Little can be gained by the editor who is too ready to see how much better his paper is than that of a neighbor town. Even a poorer paper may have some one idea you want. Frequently someone presents a useful idea through But there is no substitute for keeping in close first-hand touch with other papers. Suddenly you see someone trying out an idea you were half afraid of. Or you come in contact with new ways of telling the old stuff, which still needs to be told but which is hard to keep interesting.
 * the annual conferences and conventions do their part.

On the business end you meet new ideas in advertising. Some other paper is doing more with the farmers’ ads than you, perhaps. Some other is getting livelier copy than you have been trying for. Some other is typographically stronger. An open mind on these things is a long step toward success.

Setting of the dates for the next Oregon Newspaper Conference reminds us that the value of the conference is enhanced by suggestions made to the program committee by the newspaper men over the state. What subjects would you like to have discussed? What ones particularly emphasized? Preliminary announcements indicate a most inspiring and helpful conference. There is still room for more features, however, and the program committee will be glad to receive suggestions on what the editors and publishers want at the next meeting.

Elbert Bede’s most interesting article on his middle-western trip calls attention to the unusual prosperity enjoyed by the Oregon editors and publishers. Further confirmation of this fact may be obtained from a comparison of the newspaper directory list published in this issue with the list in the 1921-’22 Blue Book of the state. Within the two years since the collection of the data for the Blue Book, only three weekly papers of general circulation in the state of Oregon have suspended. This is a much better showing than in the previous two years, when casualties were heavy. On the other hand, the list of employees given indicates that many small papers are enlarging to the point where the editor and publisher does not find it necessary to be his own printer also, thus giving himself more time to develop his field.

Read George P. Cheney’s short article on fire insurance rates, on page 11 of this issue. Why would not that subject be worthy of a place on the program of the next Newspaper conference?