The Press: Paper, Mister?

Most newsmen pride themselves on being able to handle any assignment, but staffers of John S. Knight’s Chicago Daily News admit that they have been handed a tough one. This month they were drafted into teams to sell home-delivery subscriptions. Each week’s pay envelope brings inspirational reminders of $30,000 in prizes for subscription sales, and mailings go out regularly to the wives of reporters and editors, plugging door-to-door selling and the direct approach to friends at church meetings. While city-room wags sloganized, “Fight, fight, fight for Knight, Knight, Knight,” no staffer would admit last week to a single sale, but one confided that he had simply mentioned the campaign to four friends and all four canceled their subscriptions.