Newspapers / The University of North … / May 6, 1925, edition 1 / Page 1
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The news in this publi cation is released for the press on receipt. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA NEWS LETTER Published Weekly by the | University of North Caro-1 lina for the University Ex- ' tension Division. MAY 6, 1925 CHAPEL HILL, N C. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS VOL. XL NO. 25 al Uonrdc E. C. Branaon. S. H. Hobbs, Jr.. L. R. Wilson. E. W. Knight. D. D. Carrol].' J. B. Bullitt. H. W. Odum. Entered as second-class matter November 14, 1914. at thejoatoffice at Chanel Hill, N. C., under the act of August 24, 1912 DOES NORTH CAROLINA READ READING DAILY NEWSPAPER The table which appears elsewhere shows how the states of the Union rank as readers of daily newspapers. The table Is based upon government figures of circulation, as compiled by Editor and Publisher, of ti e 2,014 English language daily newspa pers published in this country on Jan uary 1, 1925, the time that this table was compiled. Of the 2,014 newspa pers, 429 are morning newspapers which have a daily circulation, except ing Sunday, of 12,365,215 copies, and 1,586 are evening papers which have a total net paid circulation of 20,634,222 copies per issue. Sunday newspapers, j 639 in number, the circulation of which is not included in the accompanying table because, to a large extent, it would be a duplication of the circula tion of the morning papers, had on January 1, 1925, a circulation, net paid, of 22,219,646 copies. How Calculated In deriving the rank of states, each state is given credit for the circulation of the newspapers published in the state. Of course, certain inaccuracies may come in, because of interstate cir culation, but this, to a large extent, is offset by the fact that interstate circu lation is practically reciprocal. Again, only the more prominent newspapers have an interstate circulation of conse quence, and that is small in proportion to intra-statb circulation. Out of a daily circulation of 346,667 of the New York Times, 253,526 copies are confined to New York state. The New York Evening World out of a circulation of 292,7C^':^copies daily has a city circula tion of 245,702. The Charlotte Observ er, a paper with a total circulation of 31,831, excluding the circulation in a few adjoining counties in South Caro lina, has an out-of-state circulation of 275. Smaller newspapers have very little or no interstate circulation. Local Circulation To try to show the rank of states in newspaper reading by using a table based upon the circulation by states of one, or even of a select number of newspapers, would be futile, because no newspaper has, strictly speaking, ^nS^iofiai circulation. The telegraph and the Associated Press have ren- (i^red impossible a newspaper with a great representative national circula tion, like that enjoyed by the Saturday Evening Post and other magazines. The question of space and time comes in. A person in California can pick up a copy of a magazine published a ' week before in New York or Philadel phia and read it with as much interest as if it had just come off the press, but he has little immediate interest in the copy of a newspaper that has been shipped across the continent, because it is a week old and the news is stale. The method used in working out the table on newspaper circulation is, in one sense, exactly the opposite to that used in determining the rank of the states in reading the 47 national maga zines. In reference to the magazines the method used was exclusive and selective. Only the circulation of the magazines that had a representative national circulation was used. But in considering the circulation of newspa pers the idea was to be inclusive, to in clude every daily newspaper published in English in the United States, from tne large New York papers with more than 600,000 circulation - to the little Nebraska daily with a circulation of less than 300 per issue. The table showing the rank of states in reading newspapers is important for two reasons; U) it gives the ratio of newspaper circulation to population; (2) it shows that there is a great variation in the extent of reading done in different states and corroborates the facts brought out in the table show ing the rank of the states in reading the 47 magazines. There is a high correla tion between the relative rank of the states in reading the 47 magazines and in their rank in reading the 2,014 daily papers. This is an outstanding fact. It gives additional proof of the great variation in reading proclivity of differ ent states and sections. How the States RanK The table shows that California janks first with one copy of daily newspaper circulation for every 1.68 inhabitants, and that Mississippi comes last with one copy for every 28.11 in habitants, while the average for the United States is one copy for every 3.20 inhabitants. North Carolina has one copy for every 9.74 inhabitants, and among the states she occupies forty-third position. The fact that she holds the same rank—forty-third, in reading magazines and in reading newspapers is quite significant. But from a viewpoint relative to the nation as a whole North Carolina ranks slightly lower in reading the daily newspapers than in reading the 47 In reference to the maga zines, there was one copy for every 8.77 inhabitants while in the nation there was one copy for every 3.97 in habitants; but in reading the newspa pers, North Carolina has a circulation of one copy for every 9.74 inhabitants while in the United States there is one copy for every 3.20 inhabitants. Geographic Areas The following table shows the rank of the geographic areas of tfie United States as readers of daily newspapers, , for the year 1924. The table includes every daily newspaper printed in the English language published inj; the United States, 2,014 all told. ^The South reads only 26 percent as much as the Far West and only 44 percent as much as the average for the entire Nation. North Carolina reads less than three-fourths as much as the average for the South. Surely there is room for expansion of the daily press in North Carolina. Rank Group Inhabs. per Daily Paper 1. Far West: Cal., Ore., Wash., 1.91 2. New England: x Conn., Me., Mass., N. H., Vt., R. I., 2.40 3. Middle Atlantic: Del., D. C., Md,, N. J., Pa., N. Y., 2.33 4. Middle West: III., Ind., Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mich., Mo., N. D., Neb., Ohio, S. D., Wis., 2.92 6. Mountain: Ariz., Col., Idaho., Mont., N. M., Nev., Utah, Wyo. 6. Southern: Ala., Ark., Ga., Fla., Ky., La., N. C., Okla., Miss., Tenn., Texas, S. C., W. Va., Va., — Orlando Stone. 4,84 7.29 GROWTH OF DAILIES Although''the number lOf daily pa pers published in the United States de creased by 14 from 1921 to 1926 there has been a steady increase in circulation. In 1921 the morning papers had a cir culation of 10,144,260 copies daily. The total at the present is 12,366,216 copies daily, which is a gain of 2,220,- 965 copies, or 21.9 percent in four years. For the same period the circulation of evening papers showed an increase from 18,279,480 copies daily to 20,- 634,222, a gain of 2,354,742 copies daily, or 12.8 percent. The total daily circulation in 1921 was 28,423,740 cop ies, and in 1925 it is 32,999,437 copies, an increase of 4,576,697 copies, or 16.1 percent. During the same period of time the population of the country - increased approximately 6 percent so that appar ently the people of the country are reading daily newspapers relatively about ten percent more extensively than they did in 1921. These increases in circulation show that daily newspa pers are becoming more and more im portant as a means of communication between peoples. Growth in North Carolina Also tbere has been a steady in crease in the circulation of dailies in North Carolina within thellast two de cades. The following table presents at a glance the main facts showing the growth of daily newspapers in the state since 1901. THE N. C. YEAH BOOK What Next in N. C.? The Year Book of the North Ca rolina Club at the University of North Carolina, What Next in North Carolina, is just off the press. A copy will be mailed free to any one in the state who writes for it, as long as the limited edition lasts. The price to those outside the state is seventy-five cents. The North Carolina Club, which was organized in the fall of 1914, is composed of students and faculty members who meet for one hour every two weeks to hear a paper on some subject of vital concern to North Carolina. Eight year-books have been issued to date, as fol lows: U) The Resources, Advanta ges, and Opportunities of North Ca rolina, (2) Wealth and Welfare in North Carolina, (3) County Govern ment and County Affairs in North Carolina, (4) State Reconstruction Studies, (6) Nijrth Carolina, Urban and Industrial, (6) Home and Farm Ownership in North Carolina, (7) What Next in North Carolina, 1922- 23, and (8) What Next in North Ca rolina, 1923-24. The 1923-24 Year-Book contains one hundred and twenty-eight pages of reading matter dealing with fourteen subjects of preseqt-day interest to North Carolinians, and of vital concern to the state. The subjects treated are as follows: 1. Forest Conservation in North Carolina. 2. The Equalizing of Taxes. 3. State Prison Reform in North Carolina. 4. Social Treatment of Criminals in North Carolina. 5. A Program for Delinquent Girls in North Carolina. 6. Home and Farm Ownership. 7. Country Community Life and Cooperative Farm Enter prise. 8. County and County-Group Hos pitals. 6. County Boards of Public Wel fare. 10. County and County-Group Homes for the Poor. 11. North Carolina County Library Service. 12. County Government in North Carolina. 13. The Consolidation of Rural Schools and the County-Wide Plan of Administration. 14. A State-Wide Program of Phy sical Education for North Ca rolina. For a copy of the Year-Book ad dress The University Extension Di vision, Chapel Hill, N. C. Year No. of Circulation Inhabs. Papers per Paper 1901 30 49,060 38.66 1910 31 103,916 21,24 1920 36 197,958 13.93 1926 42 262,740 9.74 The growth of daily newspaper cir culation in the state has been fairly rapid, but perhaps, no more so than in the country at large. The growth dur ing the last two decades is the direct result of rapid urbanization in this state. Country people, the nation over, rank low as readers, and this is especially true with respect to daily papers. Their reading consists mainly of magazines and country weeklies. As long as North Carolina remains pre dominantly rural we may expect her to continue to rank low in reading daily papers. But we ought not to be content to remain in our present low position of forty-third. All factors considered we ought po make a better showing than we do, especially in view of our network of highways which facilitate communication, thus enabling papers to reach the readers while the news is fresh.—Orlando Stone. ROBESON COUNTY BULLETIN A new type of a student is going to college these days—a new type is go ing from Robeson county to colleges and universities in North Carolina. They are students characterized by an ambition to count f(r something where to be a counter means most, and that’s back home among the folks. College students are peeping over the campus bowl these days into the world of living people beyond, trying to puzzle out ways and means to a better existence. Youth is everywhere in a state of un rest. They insist that they be allowed to work with others rather than merely for others, and Robeson county stu dents at the university are no excep tion to the rule. They have never lost sight of or interest in what has been going on back in the big county and through the Robeson county club have kept alive and developed sentiments of localism and pride which have been manifested, for example, in the folk plays of Mr. William Cox of Rowland and Mr. Robert Proctor of Lumberton. During the present college year three Robeson county students—Mr. F, L. Adams of Rowland, Mr. W. T. Sinclair of Red Springs, and Mr. W. , Dougald Coxe of Red Springs-have busied themselves with the work of preparing a social and economic survey of Robeson county. It is a hundred- J page summary bulletin which ought to be thoroughly read by every citizen in the county, taught in the civic classes of the schools, and made a part of the program of women’s study clubs. It ought to be preserved as a permanent work of value and added to every pri vate and public library within the county. The survey contains ten chapters as follows: Historical Background, Nat ural Resources, Industries and Oppor tunities, Facts about the Folks, Wealth and Taxation, Schools, Farm Condi tions and Practices, Food and Feed Production, Evidences of Progress, Problems and Solutions. The publication of the survey will be financed by advertising and this week the authors will canvass the business men of the county for this purpose. The Robesonian hopes that Robeson’s citizens, men and women, will support this worth-while undertaking.—The Robesonian. thTsurest way Agriculture, said Herbert Hoover the other day, is a better town builder than industry. The remark is one that deserves more than passing notice. The chambers of commerce in nine out of every ten towns in the United States should have this very fact drilled into their systems. The majority of the American towns which now are strain ing their suspenders in an effort to pull factories in their direction will make more healthful progress if they forget the factories and extend a co operative hand to the farmer. Agriculture is the backbone of the average small town, but the town boosters are inclined to forget this fact. They labor under the mistaken notion that a good town means a big- I ger town and that a bunch of factories would solve their problem. The good will and the whole-hearted support of the farmers in that town’s trade terri tory are vastly more desirable than factories for the average town. This good will and this support will not come unsought and uninvited. The boosting of a community’s agriculture will be bread" cast upon the waters. The town will progress without belch ing smoke stacks.—Emporia Gazette. READING DAILY NEWSPAPERS In the United Stated, January 1925 The following table, based on Government statements of circulations shows the rank of the states as readers of daily newspapers, and gives the number of inhabitants per daily paper, morning and evening, for each state., The table covers the total circulation of every daily paper printed in English published in the United States, 2,014 all told. The rank of states is arrived at by dividing the population of each state by the total number of copies of dailies published in each state. California leads with one daily paper for every 1.68 inhabitants while Mississippi comes last with one copy for every 28.11 inhabitants. North Caro lina ranks 43rd with one daily paper for every 9.74 inhabitants, or one-third the U S. average of one paper for every 3.20 inhabitants. Orlando Stone, Research Fellow Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina. Rank Name of State Number of Papers Total Inhabs. per 1 District of Col Evening 2 Morning 3 6 Daily Paper 1 40 ' 1 California 42 106 147 1.68 2 Massachusetts 11 62 73 1.77 3 New York 36 99 135 1.79 4 Missouri 9 68 67 2.06 6 Oregon 7 22 29 2.23 6 Ohio 18 116 134 2.42 7 Illinois 16 102 117 2 43 8 Washington 10 22 32 2 69 9 Maryland 6 10 16 2.73 10 Pennsylvania 34 126 159 2 78 11 Rhode Island 2 8 10 2 91 12 Michigan 6 61 67 3 04 13 Colorado 7 26 32 3 06 14 Indiana ... ^> 22 97 119 3.16 15 Connecticut 7 27 34 3.30 16 X Nebraska 7 18 26 .3 17 Minnesota 6 31 36 3.46 18 Iowa 6 44 49 3.77 19 Utah 1 6 6 4 9.9. 20 Wisconsin 2 44 46 4 47 21 New Jersey 7 29 ^ 36 4.70 22 Florida 13 -22 35 4.82 23 Kansas 10 49 69 4.88 24 Maine 6 6 11 4 96 25 Delaware 1 2 3 4,99 26 Tennessee 5 15 20 6.06 27 Arizona 6 10 16 6.19 28 Texas 20 80 100 5 32 29 Nevada 3 4 7 5 5? 30 Oklahoma 10 38 48 6.66 31 Montana 10 8 18 6.91 32 Vermont 2 8 10 6.13 33 Kentucky 9 21 30 6.63 34 Louisiana 6 11 16 6.71 36 West Virginia 9 21 30 7.00 36 New Hampshire . 1 9 10 7 35 37 South Dakota 4 12 16 7.37 38 Wyoming 1 6 6 7 64 39 Virginia 9 20 29 7.68 40 Idaho 6 7 13 8 m 41 Georgia 6 20 26 8.43 42 AlabamsT 3 21 24 9 12 43 North Carolina 13 29 42 9.74 44 North Dakota 2 8 10 11 Q*? 46 Arkansas 6 28 34 12.29 46 South Carolina 6 12 18 12.44 47 New Mexico 1 6 7 14.30 48 Mississippi 3 10 13 28.11 N. B. Correction. The introduction to the tables under the heading Does North Carolina Read in the last two issues of News Letter stated ttat the flg- ' ures of inhabitants per magazine were derived by dividing total circulation by population. This is a reversal of the process used; the statement should read “dividing total population by circulation.” The figures and column headings in the tables, however, are correct as given.
The University of North Carolina News Letter (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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May 6, 1925, edition 1
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