Set priorities. Ask yourselves which expenses could be eliminated or
reduced, which are necessary, which are the results of new technology,
or which stem from the use of color or special effects. Also determine
how many of these expenses are one-time charges (for the purchase of
new equipment, for example). Setting priorities will make it possible for
you to take control of your finances.
If more than one printer could publish your newspaper or yearbook,
have the editorial board put together a proposal (including the decisions
the board made in the summer about the frequency and quality of the
publication) and submit it to the printers to bidding. Bidding will help
you pick the most reasonably priced printer to use.
After you choose which printer will print your publication, you must
decide how you will pay for it. Many publications receive some financial
support, though the amount varies from a couple of hundred dollars to
thousands a year. Consider meeting with your principal or school board
when budgets are being debated. Remind the people in authority of the
numerous services your publication carries out for the school and the
district. Make them aware of the costs needed not only to maintain but
also to upgrade your services.
Even if your publication receives additional support from the school,
you probably will still need to sell ads. To project how many ads you
must sell to break even or make a profit, figure out the expected costs of
your publication this year. Subtract from that amount any funding you
receive. The remaining amount is the amount of money your staff must
raise. Divide this amount by the number of total pages you anticipate for
the year to get a per-page cost of running your publication.
Call nearby schools to find out how much they charge for advertising
(if you don’t already know). Comparing your cost per page with your
competitors’ rates will help you decide how much to charge for ads and
how many ads you’ll need to sell. After discussing what your publication
must have and what it can live without, and after studying your competi-
tors’ rates along with your own publication’s financial situation, set ad
rates that will be competitive and fiscally responsible.
Advertising Sales
Selling advertising space in a high school publication is useful for
two reasons. First, it introduces students to an area of journalism they
might not otherwise experience. Second, most publications need the
additional funds to continue to exist. Three-fourths of all high school
publications rely on advertising for survival. No matter how desperate a
publication’s financial situation is, though, a staff should never have to
resort to begging in order to sell their product. That’s because the dollars
are already there for you to offer to savvy businesses. Remember, teenage
consumers spend billions of dollars each year.
Your advertising staff should approach local businesses with the con-
fidence that comes from having an excellent product to offer. After all,
the potential customers are out there, they have money to spend, and
you have a direct line to them. In fact, you have a more direct line than
even the local newspaper does, and it charges much more for advertis-
ing. Still, confidence will never compensate for clumsy preparation.
ADVERTISING^391
NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 1922—
Station WEAF went on the air
on August 16, 1922, as the first
truly commercial radio station.
AT&T built WEAF with the
finest technical equipment
available, but the company
announced that it would not
sponsor any programming.
The first paid commercial
announcement, a 10-minute
speech for a real estate business,
ran one week later. It cost the
sponsor $100 and was repeated
for five days. The advertiser
reported extremely successful
results.
Called commercials after an
AT&T accounting term, the
paid advertisements earned
WEAF and its licensed out-
of-town stations $150,000 in
profit in 1923. In six months
WEAF had about two dozen
paying advertisers.
Not everyone agreed with
AT&T’s approach. Commerce
Department Secretary Herbert
Hoover said, “It is inconceiv-
able that we should allow so
great a possibility for service
to be drowned in advertising
clutter.”
Advertising on the radio
grew rapidly, however. By 1928
it was the main source of rev-
enue for broadcasting.