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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1957)
FOURTEEN MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Sunday, October 6, 1957 omi Firsi Publication In Uniied Stales Was in Boston National Newspaper Week is being observed from Oct. 1 through 8. This week has been set aside to recognize the news paper which has become so much a part of daily living. The newspaper, defined by Webster as "a paper printed and distributed to convey news." is now so familiar to everyone that the average newspaper reader does not think of it as anything cut of the ordinary. The newspaper has not always been with us. The first newspa per was printed in the United States was at Boston in 1690 but it was not until the "penny" 4 ' t , ... ... viv. n 4' - --. NEWS ROOM Jo Cowley (center), Mail Tribune reporter, discusses a news story with City Editor Earl H. Adams (right) in the news room prior to leaving on his beat to the county courthouse. In the background is Wire Editor Harry Chipman who checks all of the copy released by United Press and comes to ra - s . ... .. ;'f!f PAGE MAKE-UP One of the staff in the the size of a newspaper page, the news stories composing room at the Mail Tribune is Wil- are fitted in to fill the page. The type is then liam G. Reed, here checking a galley of stories securely locked in and the page is sent to the in type. Once the ads have been made up in stereotyping department, tvne and placed in the chase, a steel frame I J lurn- I -STAL CYLINDER Don Wetherbee in the of type. The page mat was placed in a cylin- J.Iail Tribune's printing department, removes drical casting box where hot molten metal a metal cylinder from the press at the end of was pumped against it. Once locked onto the a run of 'i".200 newspapers. The metal cylin- press ink was distributed over rollers which der was cast from a wood fiber and clay mat convey the ink to the page cylinders and then which contained the impressions from a paga to the paper. papers of the early 19th cen tury that newspapers were made available to the masses. A newspaper today includes news from all parts of the world foreign, domestic, state, local. Comments on the news are found in the editorials and signed columns, with other news included in sections devoted to agriculture, religion, society or sports. News pictures are scat tered through the entire paper and advertising occupies from 40 to 60 per cent of the paper. Step by Step Process The step by step process that must be followed before a news paper is received by the family includes a marvel of machinery, business organization, news cov erage, and fast and clear writ ing. Gathering, writing, process ing, photographing and inter preting the news are the func tions of the news and editorial staff of the Mail Tribune. Ten the Mail Tribune news room by wire teletype. Chipman edits between 45,000 and 50,000 words of copy and feature material on an average day and then supervises the make-up of the newspaper. All local general news stories flow to the city editor's desk where it is checked, edited, and receives a headline. r n ujewspope!r persons perform these tasks at the Mail Tribune. l. he material produced or processed in the news depart ment includes all world, nation- al, state and local news, photo graphs, feature articles and col umns, editorials, communica tions, reports from Mail Tribune community correspondents church directory notices and stories, grange reports, and a variety of other material to in form and entertain the Mail Tribune's more than 16.000 sub scribers and their families. Local Stories Although the Mail Tribune has the United Press wire tele type, many local stories are ob tained by "beat" reporters who gather information at the source and write the story when they return to the office. All general news stories flow to the city editor's desk where it is checked and edited. Wom en's news, sports, agriculture and church, news have depart ments of their own where the news is edited by a staff mem ber in charge of that particular division in the news room. From th city . editor's desk where the story's headline is written, the news is sent to the composing room. Similar Process A similar process is under way in the advertising department where a staff of eight sell space for advertising in the newspa per, design and layout the ad vertisements. In this department staff members assist the adver tisers in presenting their mes sage to the newspaper's sub scribers in the most attractive appealing manner. This, too, is the paper's chief revenue-producer, enabling all the other departments to oper ate. Classified and legal advertis ing is handled in a different de partment from the display ad vertising. Here the ads are re ceived either in person or by telephone. Business Offic Another important depart ment at the Mail Tribune is the business office. A business man ager, in charge of the office, co ordinates the operation of the news, business, advertising and production departments, and or ders supplies and equipment for the entire newspaper operation. The bookkeeping department handles all financial records and incoming money of the Medford Printing company which oper ates the Mail Tribune and radio station KYJC. After the news has been writ ten and the ads completed, it takes about seven-man hours per page in the composing room to get the Mail Tribune ready for the press. Never-Ending The production of news is never-ending, as soon as one edition goes to press, work on the next day's issue starts. In the composing room personnel are responsible for setting the material into type, checking the tjrpe for corrections (proof read ing), correcting and assembling type, and placing It in page forms. The first step in the process is for the linotype operators to set it into type. The Mail Trib une has 10 typesetting machines. In setting the type, operators press a. series of keys, somewhat similar to keys on a typewriter keyboard, and the machine pumps hot metal against a line of mats, or matrices, to cast a line of type. betting advertisements is a more complex process. For this reason advertising copy must be in the composing room almost 24 hours earlier than news. The size and variety of type must first be determined and if a pic ture is to be used, it must be made according to certain speci fications. Assemble Type Once the type is set it is proof read and corrected, then make up men assemble the type ac cording to plan into a form the size of a newspaper page. The Mail Tribune's final phases of production are stereo typing and printing. After the type has been tightly locked into form a "mat" is made of each page. This is done by plac ing a moist, blotterlike cover over the type and running heavy rollers over it. This cover or mat consists of wood fiber, clay and about 18 per cent wa ter. After the impressions have been made, the mats are dried in a scorcher where temperature ranges from 350 to 400 degrees. The mat then goes into the cylin drical casting box, where hot molten metal is pumped against it. It is here that a metal cylin der impression of the mat is formed. This is then trimmed and cut to fit the press cylinder. Placed on Press The metal cylinders are placed on . the press cylinders, where they are securely locked. As the press run begins, ink is distrib uted over form rollers and idling rollers, which convey the ink to the page cylinders and so. to the paper. The cylinder type press used by the Mail Tribune is capable of printing 27,000 papers per hour when running at maxi mum speed. The press enables a a run of 17,200 papers of up to 16 pages to be completed in about one hour. WTien the Mail Tribune has two sections it is printed in two separate runs. one about 10:45 a.m. and the fi nal run about 2:15 p.m. Twelve , , i, t r s roils oi paper must De comomea ; in order to print an issue of 24 pages, the average size. The pa-1 pers come off the press auto-' matically folded and counted. , Now the circulation depart- ment takes over. It is their job ; to see that as many persons sub-1 scribe to the paper as possible and more important, that a copy j reaches each subscriber soon after it comes off the press. In some ways it is the most complex operation in the paper nd involves the cooperation of more people than any other. Rural Boxes Mail Tribune carriers place j papers in rural boxes on several Week Bs LINOTYPE OPERATOR Once stories and advertisements are put together they are sent to the composing room where they are set into type. One of the linotype operators at the Mail Tribune is Mrs. Pearl Coverdale who has worked for the Med ford paper more than 10 years. CHECKING TYPE Lowell Sorenson, in the composing room at the Mail Tribune, checks a line of type in a full page ad that is being made up for an issue of the newspaper. The many pieces of metal that make up ah ad are fitted into a steel frame, called a chase, which rests on a "turtle." MOTOR CARRIER Earl Richardson, director of mail subscrip tions at the Mail Tribune, also delivers newspapers in the Eagle Point-Shady Cove area. More than 1,000 subscribers living in almost every state and many foreign countries receive their newspapers by mail. The circulation department at the News paper takes over once the papers comes off the press. The de partment involves the cooperation of more people than any other.- Medford rural routes, and in Grants Pass, Rogue River, Eagle Pointy, Prospect, Trail, Cave Junction. Shady Cove, Butte Falls and Ashland. Outside carriers deliver pa pers in Gold Hill, Central Point, Jacksonville, Talent, Phoenix and Ashland, Hornbrook, Hilts, HOUSE of North of Gold Hill AT On Display - One of the West's Finest Collections of Gold Dust and Nuggets Winter Hours: 9 to 5 Under Founder's Management Since 1930 and Yreka, Calif. The papers are transported to the cities by motor carriers on the way to their routes, with the exception of California cities where they go by bus. More than 1,000 subscribers living in almost every state and many foreign countries receive MYSTERY Open Throughout The Year bseirv I . . " :tisw. ... ADVERTISING Mrs. Beity Minger, one of the Mail Tribune staff in the advertising department, designs an ad in the display advertising section. Staff in this department sell space for advertising in the newspaper, design and layout the advertise ments. This department is the paper's chief revenue-producer, enabling all the other departments to operate. LITTLE MERCHANTS Two of the "little merchants" in busi ness at the Mail Tribune, Bob Goodwin (left) and Joe La Faive, protect their merchandise from the rain before starting out on their newspaper routes. The city carriers, with 80 to 150 sub scribers each, buy the paper from the Mail Tribune and sell them to their subscribers. ECONOMY HITS SAC Washington OP)-- The Air Force economy drive has cut into the Strategic Air Command for the first time, knocking out the 91st Reconnaissance Wing at Lockboune Air Force base near Columbus, Ohio. One-third of the nation's traf fic fatalities occur on open, straight highways. their newspapers by mail from the Mail Tribune circulation de partment. City carriers deliver their pa pers by bicycle with 80 to 150 subscribers on a route. The "lit tle merchants" buy the paper from the Mail Tribune and sell them to their subscribers.. Paper delivering is done after school on weekdays and between 5 and 7 a.m. on Sundays. The majority of carriers are junior high school age. T)o Something u bout the IVeather? We Have! "Your TV Weatherman" KBES-TV 6:00 p.m., Mon. thru Fri. SP 3-6263 Call any time for the very latest official weather reports. U.S. Weather Bureau Reports Direct from the Weather Bureau over KYJC, 12:30 p.m., Mon. thru Fri. f Monthly Long Range Summaries . Phone or write for your copy No obligation. FUNERAL DIRECTORS W. MAIN AT SIXTH Four Adult Classes Sponsored by Stale Four adult evening classej will be offered in Jackson coun ty during the fall semester by the general extension division of the Oregon state system of high er education. All classes will meet in the Medford High school from 7 to 9:45 p.m. one night a week. First sessions are scheduled fortha week beginning Oct. 7. Classes in "World Problems and Projects in Writing" will meet on Tuesday, starting Oct. 8. Classes in art education and public school administration have been scheduled for Wednes days starting Oct. 9. Additional information may be obtained from Lindsey Vinsel, adlt education supervisor, Med ford High school.
