The High Price of News
Skyrocketing costs during the Civil War forced the Washington Standard to raise subscription prices to survive.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The price of printing paper has advanced over 100 percent in the Eastern markets, causing a corresponding advance on this coast. The scarcity of rags for manufacturing purposes is caused principally by the substitution of woolen fabrics for cotton. The blank paper upon which the Standard is printed has cost us heretofore $5 per ream. The same size and quality of paper now costs $12 per ream. We have concluded to raise our price of subscription to $3.50. When credit is given, in each instance where payment is not made, the publisher would lose $1.30 in paper alone. Besides, if the amount should be paid promptly at the end of the year, the interest on the money expended for paper on each 100 subscribers would amount to $84.
“Many journals East have raised their prices, which example must be followed, sooner or later, by all publishers who desire to continue business.”
Small independent publishers have always struggled against the volatility of material costs. This 1862 account highlights how global conflicts—then the Civil War, today supply chain disruptions—directly impact the sustainability of local news.
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