Show World (June 1909)

THE SHOW WORLD 11 PUBLISHERS PERPLEXED BY PRESS AGENT If .the rank and file of Iowa news- , a per publishers stand by the fesolu- jjjBftflopted by the Iowa Associated lailies at'Des Moines recently, circus iress Agents will have a hard time of t hereafter in that state. These resolutions recite that, inas- auchlas circus money flows into the offers of the newspapers in drib- riHL while circus “dope” finds its ray into the news columns im great luantities through the ingenuity of he press agent, there shall be a ces- ation of the practice of giving “no¬ ices” 7 for tickets. Hereafter, if the resolutions are ad- ^;o (which, of course, they won’t ithing but money will be ac- ' pay for advertising and the of the circus press agent ist into the waste basket. One newspaper in reporting the ^Hjings of the convention says i tie newspapers have been receiv- Jptickcts galore.” This statement is interesting inasmuch as it gives the E^Kf view of the publisher. When i circus press agent calls on a paper ie seldom comes in contact with the eal “boss” and the men he meets omplain that the circuses are stingy n regard to tickets instead of being is liberal as “tickets galore” would in- licate. Perhaps one publisher wishes to nake' the others believe that he is ‘slicker” than the rest in obtaining ickets. Either that or circus manag- ^W^more liberal in Iowa than they in other states, p Many Complaints. have been many complaints r _on that circuses were penu- fith their complimentaries when : with the press. Many editors fiticised the judgment of those trect the policy of the enter- Jn regards to publicity on the ^^Js that niggardliness governed {^Haction and that “courtesies” ^Harely appreciated. The publisher of a newspaper always know how many tick- been given out in his office, is” does not know the levers fc. the business manager, circu- Knanager, advertising manager, office boy and even the edi- 'secure an extra allotment of for personal use. If the “boss” that the circus was being im¬ posed upon by his employes it might ead to a reform were it not for the ' spiat those connected with the printing and circulation of a newspaper are generally underpaid and the publisher does hot always know where he can secure a $30-a- weekKian for half that sum. ThBworst grafters found around ^^E>er offices, according to circus g^Rgents, are the advertising man- NfflSand the circulation managers. |^Btwo individuals have nothing whatever to do with the policy of the paper regarding amusement matters, have Slothing to do with the editorial treatment of any proposition yet they are .tie most aggravating factor with which a press agent must contend. After the bill has been paid at the business office, the press agent wan¬ ders Bp stairs, where he is informed that the business office expects the editowal department to secure its own tickets. While this is unfair and often contrary to the agreement made with thelmsiness manager, the editorial de¬ partment is too imoortant to overlook and the press agent “falls” for twenty " thirty or even fifty more tickets. he arrives at the “lot” he re- a personal call or a note from ®fsiness manager or circulation manager requesting “six reserves” and couched in such language,that he can¬ not well afford to disregard it if he liliar with the small prestige lanagers” have in a newspaper Thi advertising manager does busi¬ ness pith the advertising manager of * department store and when circus <hjBf|omes the latter wants half a •wg circus tickets. The circulation Associated Iowa Dailies “Agree” Not to Run Stories Regarding Circuses Excepting at Advertising Rates—Comment on Relations of Tented Enterprises and Press. BY E. E. MEREDITH. manager is constantly receiving fav¬ ors from various parties who make a similar request. He has gotten these tickets from circuses for so long that he has come to look unon them as his right. Press Agent “Tricked.” The advertising manager of a Johnstown (Pa.) daily represented that he had the largest circulation in that city and actually secured twice the amount of advertising for a cir¬ cus which appeared there last sum¬ mer as did the opposition papet, which in reality had three times the circu¬ lation of the paper he represented. The advertising manaarer resigned his position last fall and actually laughed editorial rooms of newspapers is not to be wondered at. The Publishers’ Idea. The Des Moines publishers declared that the press agent has perfected his business to such an extent that he can secure the publication of valuable advertising in the form of news. They figured it out that the wily circus publicity getter, who labors for a sal¬ ary greater than most publishers in Iowa receive, is collecting the shek¬ els that should rightfully be paid to the newspapers as legitimate returns for their advertising space. Accordingly, the resolutions re¬ ferred to were duly drawn and adopted. Though they are not bind¬ at the easy way the circus agent had been tricked when discussing the mat¬ ter, after his connection with the pa¬ per was discontinued. Not only that, but he obtained six tickets from the contracting press agent and as many more from the press agent back with the show. The circulation manager of an Evansville. (Ind.) paper .has. a habit of requesting half a dozen extra tickets. These ‘ are isolated cases. There are hundreds of others. As long as the publisher is unfa¬ miliar with the details of the conduct of his newspaper, present conditions will prevail. If six tickets dished out to the city editor or a reporter will do more good for the circus than $20 spent in the business office, why should the circusman be inclined to¬ wards liberality? The reports of the Des Moines gathering say that “old men in the business declared that they now col¬ lect only about one-third as much money from circuses as they col¬ lected fifteen or twenty years ago.” That circuses are reducing their ad¬ vertising bills to an alarming extent cannot be denied. The leaders in this movement, it would appear, are court¬ ing the enmity of moulders of public opinion by this retrenchment, by what mai' be false economy in the distribu¬ tion of their advertising appropria¬ tions. Certain it is that the friendly rela¬ tions which formerly existed between metropolitan newspaper men and cir¬ cus managers is perceptibly cooling and the ever-increasing rumble of. dis¬ content in the business offices and ing and carry no penalty for failure to comply, they are regarded as a “gentlemen’s agreement.” Neither can they come under the provisions of the trust laws, as they are couched in terms no stronger than “recom¬ mend,” and the closest scanning fails to reveal the word “agree.” The newspaper men regard it as their right to -protect themselves against the incursions of the press agent. They have space in their pub¬ lications which is for sale, and that space is their stock in trade, they say, the same as salt and sugar to the gro¬ cer and muslins to the dry goods mer¬ chant. They do not regard it as fair to other advertisers when they accept tickets instead of cash for the adver¬ tising space, and the- are following the lead of Illinois publishers in tak¬ ing the step which means trouble for the gentle-mannered, but persuasive circus press agent. Mistaken Impression. The publishers evidently believe that the press agent receives a large salary, when the fact is that circuses are curtailing expense in this direc¬ tion as well as in others. There is no press agent who received more than $100 a week, for thirty weeks’ work. Deduct from this $1,000 a season for hotel expenses and incidentals not in¬ cluded in his contract, and you will find his salary amounts to about $2,000 a year. Must the public believe that publishers in Iowa cities only get $2,000 a year out of their plants? If so, they are not competent to con¬ duct newspapers, for they do not real¬ ize that a newspaper in a city of 10,- 000 or more which does not clear this sum annually is poorly managed in¬ deed. The circus spends money because it courts the good will of the newspaper. If this good will can be obtained for “jolly” and free tickets, it would be poor business to seek a large space in the advertising columns. If spend¬ ing money does not carry with it the good will of the paper, then what is the use of spending money, more than to pacify the publisher when he looks over the books at the end of the When the contract is made, the bus¬ iness manager is not so uneasy re¬ garding the amount to be expended as the number of tickets to be secured. The press agents see this. They take advantage of it, as they should do if they seek to give value received to their employers. When the publishers cease to tax amusement enterprises three or four times what they charge other adver¬ tisers, the circus manager will be con¬ vinced of their sincerity to have re¬ form in this line, and then, and not until then, will the publicity promoters take advantage of the advertising col¬ umns and not depend upon “working” the editorial department for the ad¬ vertising necessarv to attract the crowds to a tented enterprise. PRESS AGENTS’ GUSH. (By Wallace Pepper.) Thomas J. Myers writes from the Norris & Rowe circus that “every¬ body is happy and looking forward to a long season.” This is a remarkable state of affairs. Everybody with a circus, including management, per¬ formers, workingmen, musicians and —others, experiencing the effect of favorable fortune and having that feel- in - arising from the consciousness of well-being and of enjoyment. Was it the floods which made them so haopy or was it the mere fact that the show is in Canada? The “others” must be prospering if they are “hap¬ py” and Mr. Myers assures the read¬ ing public that they are. “C. Z. Bronson, the veteran band¬ master, has surrounded himself with a grand company of enthusiastic young musicians,” writes Mr. Myers. In an¬ other column of the journal, in which his communication annears, there is a plaintive wail for people in an adver¬ tisement—■ “Wanted—QUICK—Circus acts of all kinds; also want musi¬ cians.” Some terrible error has been made! That show does NOT want musicians when Bronson already has a “grand company.” Does he expect to improve on “grand” musicians, if the word describes the character of the men? He cannot seek more men if he already has a “grand company” for “grand” used in this sense means “of large size or extent,” “great,” or “extensive,” so if these terms describe the band as it is at present it would be foolish to attempt to have it still “grander.” “No one holding a pass, even if signed by B. E. Wallace, passes through the turnstile until a red ticket has been dropped in the box,” writes Jack Warren, press agent of the Hag- enbeck-Wallace show. There is no turnstile on the front door of the Hagenbeck-Wallace show. Mr. Warren has charge of but one of the three doors and the other ticket- takers do not recognize his authority. Mr. Wallace does not care anything about the superstitions of his press agents. Lots of folks who hold passes signed by Mr. Wallace and others pass in before a paid ticket is dropped into the box. Otherwise Mr. Warren confines himself to the truth. Such “gush” as the foregoing ex¬ plains why this paper does not en¬ courage press agents to contribute to its columns.