Newspapers--(Don't) Stop the Presses!

Newspaper publishers/printers are uncovering new revenue sources by competing for commercial jobs to fill idle press time.

BY ERIK CAGLE

The old joke is that while a lawyer can hear a $5 bill falling on a pile of snow, a newspaper publisher can catch it before it hits the ground.

Why the harsh treatment? It is a much-deserved depiction, for the life of a newspaper is a constant, daily struggle to make ends meet. For every paper brimming with a 40/60 advertising-to-editorial ratio or better, there are dozens of smaller dailies and weeklies that are fighting for their existence, eking out profits or absorbing losses.