Strategic Newspaper Management (Paperback)

by Conrad C. Fink (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Fink ... provides a preliminary but comprehensive look at techniques and fundamentals of our business that generally take most of a career to learn and perfect."--Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Knight-Ridder, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Fink ... provides a preliminary but comprehensive look at techniques and fundamentals of our business that generally take most of a career to learn and perfect."—Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Knight-Ridder, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 475 pages Publisher: Allyn & Bacon (September 4, 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 0023377313 ISBN-13: 978-0023377310 Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,439,002 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Citations (learn more)

11 books cite this book:

• When MBAs Rule the Newsroom by Professor Doug Underwood in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
• Writing to Inform and Engage: The Essential Guide to Beginning News and Magazine Writing by Conrad C. Fink on page 107, and page 302
• Covering Iowa: The History of the Des Moines Register and Tribune Company, 1849-1985 by William B. Friedricks in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
• Media Management in the Age of Giants: Business Dynamics of Journalism by Dennis F. Herrick on page 68, and page 100
• Emil Dovifat: Studien Und Dokumente Zu Leben Und Werk (Beitrage Zur Kommunikationsgeschichte) (German Edition) by Emil Dovifat on page 312

See all 11 books citing this book

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 3.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Makes one think all newspapers are large, June 23, 2002 By A Customer This book is fairly solid overall, although it is now out of date in many parts and there are a few bloopers (such as the defunct Miami News being referred to as the very much ongoing Miami Herald on p. 57). This book's major problem, and it is gigantic, is that almost all of the examples used in the book are from the largest 100 daily newspapers in the United States (and that's being generous, the top 50 would probably cover it). Such major metro daily newspapers account for only about 8% of the U.S. daily newspaper industry, and less than 1% of the entire U.S. newspaper industry. The author may think he has somehow covered the entire general circulation newspaper industry by including Chapter 14, called "The 'New' Weekly Newspaper," but it also is not about the 92% of daily newspapers that are not major metro dailies. And Ch. 14 is strange on its own: it purports to take an individual journalist who wants to own his/her own newspaper through the process of buying a weekly newspaper for $4.5 million. First, almost no weekly newspapers on the market cost that much, certainly not in 1996 when this book was published. Second, almost no individuals or couples looking to buy their own weekly newspapers can afford to buy one that costs $4.5 million. Third, Fink uses a multiple of discounted gross sales as the basis for the purchase price, even though the newspaper industry had largely switched to multiples of cash flow before over several years before this book was published. As another reviewer has pointed out, this book definitely is intended more for the journalism student than for the newspaper manager already in the industry. So, again, why does Fink focus on major metro dailies and $4.5 million acquisitions? The average journalism school graduate gets his/her first job or two, and first management position or two, at weekly newspapers or small-to-medium-sized dailies, and is a long way from a $4.5 million business venture. 8 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars don't be fooled, May 11, 2001 By A Customer At least two of the three people who have reviewed this book previously would like you to believe they have actually purchased and read this book. `Strategic Newspaper Management' is not what its title and price suggest -- a solid, in-depth guide to the business of newspaper management. What it is an overpriced, superficial textbook aimed at freshmen wondering if they should ``go into'' journalism and what jobs they might fill at a newspaper (reporter? ad salesperson? maybe, someday, a circulation manager?)Take it from an experienced newspaper manager, this book is not going to help you navigate the thorny economic, political and ethical issues facing newspapers today. It's not going to entertain you, either. 5 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining romp through the newspaper industry, March 4, 1998 By A Customer I would like to echo the comments by "reader from Atlanta," although I am deducting a point for a lack of illustrations and color. The book goes beyond the standard facts and instruction of a quality text book and spins a complex and emotional yarn which takes the reader on an eventful journey. With newspaper strategy as its backdrop, the book becomes a picaresque jaunt not unlike the work of Daniel Dafoe (Moll Flanders, especially). Whether it is the sleaze of a Rupert Murdoch or the sensible grayness of the New York Times, the cast of colorful participants never fails to entertain and enlighten. One of the the book's many key battle scenes, the depiction of the sordid affair in Gwinnett county between media juggernauts the New York Times, Co. and Cox Newspaper's Atlanta-Journal Constitution recalls both Braveheart and The Civil War. In this quest for the demographically attractive Gwinnett County readers, Fink provides vivid details into why this is much more than just a fight for market share. It is a metaphor for life itself. Keep in mind that Fink does not let his creative pen overshadow practical knowledge for the potential media professional. Ch. 12 - Press Law and You - is a tour de force on how legal concerns are closely tied to the daily practices of all print media ventures. It is this dichotomy - wild, literary brilliance and down and dirty pragmatism - which makes Strategic Newspaper Management required reading.		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Tops for those in the know. Hey pal: You'll never get a better insight into the comings and goings of the newspaper business than you will from this book. Read more Published on December 1, 1998 5.0 out of 5 stars I laughed, I cried... Gosh, this was the most remarkable pageturner I ever read. Fink's way with words continues to astound me to this day, long after I've read a number of his bestsellers. Read more Published on March 2, 1998 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 475 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon (September 4, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0023377313
• ISBN-13: 978-0023377310
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,439,002 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Makes one think all newspapers are large, June 23, 2002

By A Customer

This book is fairly solid overall, although it is now out of date in many parts and there are a few bloopers (such as the defunct Miami News being referred to as the very much ongoing Miami Herald on p. 57).

This book's major problem, and it is gigantic, is that almost all of the examples used in the book are from the largest 100 daily newspapers in the United States (and that's being generous, the top 50 would probably cover it). Such major metro daily newspapers account for only about 8% of the U.S. daily newspaper industry, and less than 1% of the entire U.S. newspaper industry. The author may think he has somehow covered the entire general circulation newspaper industry by including Chapter 14, called "The 'New' Weekly Newspaper," but it also is not about the 92% of daily newspapers that are not major metro dailies. And Ch. 14 is strange on its own: it purports to take an individual journalist who wants to own his/her own newspaper through the process of buying a weekly newspaper for $4.5 million. First, almost no weekly newspapers on the market cost that much, certainly not in 1996 when this book was published. Second, almost no individuals or couples looking to buy their own weekly newspapers can afford to buy one that costs $4.5 million. Third, Fink uses a multiple of discounted gross sales as the basis for the purchase price, even though the newspaper industry had largely switched to multiples of cash flow before over several years before this book was published.

As another reviewer has pointed out, this book definitely is intended more for the journalism student than for the newspaper manager already in the industry. So, again, why does Fink focus on major metro dailies and $4.5 million acquisitions? The average journalism school graduate gets his/her first job or two, and first management position or two, at weekly newspapers or small-to-medium-sized dailies, and is a long way from a $4.5 million business venture.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars don't be fooled, May 11, 2001

By A Customer

At least two of the three people who have reviewed this book previously would like you to believe they have actually purchased and read this book. `Strategic Newspaper Management' is not what its title and price suggest -- a solid, in-depth guide to the business of newspaper management. What it is an overpriced, superficial textbook aimed at freshmen wondering if they should ``go into'' journalism and what jobs they might fill at a newspaper (reporter? ad salesperson? maybe, someday, a circulation manager?)Take it from an experienced newspaper manager, this book is not going to help you navigate the thorny economic, political and ethical issues facing newspapers today. It's not going to entertain you, either.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining romp through the newspaper industry, March 4, 1998

By A Customer

I would like to echo the comments by "reader from Atlanta," although I am deducting a point for a lack of illustrations and color. The book goes beyond the standard facts and instruction of a quality text book and spins a complex and emotional yarn which takes the reader on an eventful journey. With newspaper strategy as its backdrop, the book becomes a picaresque jaunt not unlike the work of Daniel Dafoe (Moll Flanders, especially). Whether it is the sleaze of a Rupert Murdoch or the sensible grayness of the New York Times, the cast of colorful participants never fails to entertain and enlighten. One of the the book's many key battle scenes, the depiction of the sordid affair in Gwinnett county between media juggernauts the New York Times, Co. and Cox Newspaper's Atlanta-Journal Constitution recalls both Braveheart and The Civil War. In this quest for the demographically attractive Gwinnett County readers, Fink provides vivid details into why this is much more than just a fight for market share. It is a metaphor for life itself. Keep in mind that Fink does not let his creative pen overshadow practical knowledge for the potential media professional. Ch. 12 - Press Law and You - is a tour de force on how legal concerns are closely tied to the daily practices of all print media ventures. It is this dichotomy - wild, literary brilliance and down and dirty pragmatism - which makes Strategic Newspaper Management required reading.