Reel Life (1916-1917)

Co-ODGratiort by CLlica cjai rnPeafJw.r'^ MISS ALICE L. FAIR WEATHER . the author of the article presented here, is the editor of the photoplay depart¬ ment of The Standard, an aggres¬ sive daily published at St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. As she ■„ relates she is something of a pic¬ ture pioneer in this busy and pic¬ turesque section of Canada. St. John is a busy little city on the Bay of Fundy, with a population of about 60,000 persons, with a high average of picture patrons. Her work has given three distinct results, increased patronage for the theater, increased revenue for the nezvspaper and service to its readers. The size of the little city is such that most any exhib¬ itor can afford to purchase a rea¬ sonable amount of advertising space without incurring the ex¬ pense of “waste circulation” — that is circulation beyond the ter¬ ritory tributary to his theater. As every .picture publicity man knows, Miss Fairweathcr, with her insistent demand for the new news and the real news has done much to better the standards of motion picture entertainment in her field. THE word co-operation has be¬ come almost like “efficiency” in the triteness of its use and yet it seems to express, as no other word possibly could the purpose of these articles on the importance of the motion picture theater exhibitor keeping in close contact with the photo¬ play editors. I have been much interested in read¬ ing in REEL LIFE the views of sev¬ eral motion picture editors on this subject. All of the articles which have been published in REEL LIFE are thoroughly good, and upon think¬ ing over what I would say in this con¬ nection I have decided to tell of my Alice L. Fairweathcr. photoplay, editor of the St. John Standard. personal experiences in starting a motion picture column. Breaking Ground The St. John Standard was the first newspaper in the Maritime Prov¬ inces to run a daily column of mo¬ tion picture news, so when I began it was breaking new ground, and I found the ground quite hard and stony at first. There were some managers who seemed to thoroughly appreciate the move and gave me every help pos¬ sible, and no little encouragement ; others, while believing in it, seemed doubtful that the results would be successful. At the present time I am quite certain that all of the exhib¬ itors acknowledge that the motion pic¬ ture column has been and is of the greatest value to them. It has been my policy to make the column local and so work hand in hand with the exhibitor. Last September I was sent as a rep¬ resentative of the Standard to a meet¬ ing held to form a League of the Mo¬ tion Picture Men of the Maritime Provinces at Halifax. I was called upon to make a speech, and as this was the first speech I had even been called upon for I was rather uncer¬ tain as to what to say and in how many words to say it. However, I decided to make the attempt and my speech consisted of the following words : Her Speech “Co-operation between the motion picture theaters and the newspapers is the best possible thing for both— the more you give us the more we can give you.” They said it was the shortest speech ever made, and I am of the opinion that it was a good thing I knew when to stop. It may be that this little speech will be remembered when more lengthy ones are forgotten. The manager of “The Unique,” one of St. John’s best patronized the¬ aters, shows on his screen a slide ad¬ vising his patrons to read the amuse¬ ment page of the Standard; while the managers of the Imperial and the Opera House both realizing the value of motion picture columns send news and give any assistance possible. The majority of theater owners have joined in this plan of co-operation. How They Do It The theaters and film exchanges make it their special business to see that all press matter is carefully looked after. All picture men visit¬ ing in town call at the newspaper of¬ fice or have the paper rung up by tele¬ phone by their exchange. The value to the newspaper is in¬ creased circulation and the appreci¬ ation of a large class of theater-goers who read avidly all the news on the page of stage or screen favorites and their doings. Through the motion picture page a large connection has been formed with firms outside the city. It is hard to foresee the influ¬ ence but it is very much like the stone thrown in the pool, the circles widen until they touch many shores. REEL LIFE— Page Eight