A newspaper is born

Press, 20 November 1989, Page 12

A newspaper is born

From a correspondent in St Louis for the “Economist”

FEW cities in America have real competition between two newspapers. Most are one-paper towns. Those that are not tend to have either a dominant newspaper (Washington), two that are owned by the same company (Atlanta) or two that live in relative peace under a joint operating agreement designed to promote competition artificially (Pittsburgh). , New York, a city of 7.3 million people, has only three daily newspapers. So does Los Angeles. Until last week St Louis had only one. The city became a two-paper town again (the “St Louis GlobeDemocrat” folded in 1986) with the birth of the “St Louis Sun.” The “Sun” publisher is Mr Ralph Ingersoll, whose company owns more than 40 small dailies and 200/weekly newspapers and has already invested SUS2O million in the new newspaper. , The "Sun” will compete with St Louis* established newspaper, the “St Louis Post-Dispatch.” It hopes to be earning a profit within a year. . The new paper has been eagerly awaited, partly because

so few new newspapers are launched in America. Mr Ingersoll hired away a few stars from the “Post-Dispatch” and brought in Mr Peter O’Sullivan, who hails from Liverpool, to design and direct the tabloid. Mr O’Sullivan’s last foray into American journalism was as chief editor of the “Houston Post,” a paper he redesigned colourfully and controversially. The largely non-union staff of 200 includes a sprinkling of old “Globe-Democrat” hands. Radio advertisements touted the convenience of reading a tabloid newspaper. Subscribers were lured with special deals. Yet nobody knew exactly what kind of newspaper to expect. On the morning of September 25, they found out. America’s newest daily consists of 128 pages of advertisements, colour graphics in the style of “USA Today,” capsules of news, columns by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mr Patrick Buchanan, a photograph of Mr Henry Kissinger wearing a “St Louis Sun” baseball cap, and the bold promise to take on the “PostDispatch.”

The new tabloid is like the “Chicago Sun Times” in style, somewhat less sensational than the “New York Post.” Local news was covered in a cursory fashion, yet fared rather better than national or international news. A gossip columnist took the opportunity to congratulate a dead man’s family because he had died with the equivalent of only one beer in his bloodstream, and with no trace of drugs.

Whether the “Sun” rises or sets is of interest outside St Louis. What “USA Today” offers nationally — simplified news stories, television-style graphics, quick-read coverage — is now on offer as a metropolitan daily. If the “Sun” succeeds, or if the .“Post-Dispatch” is forced to copy its style, the implications will be clear for other publishers. The first Ralph Ingersoll, father of the “Sun’s” owner, was a legendary publisher who sought to bring a higher editorial quality to newspapers. His son’s- “ Sun" has a rather different goal. ‘ ;• Copyright—The Economist