9. Sales and subscription magazines.—A sales magazine is one sold chiefly at news-stands or by newsboys. A subscription magazine is one sent chiefly to regular subscribers. Each, as an adver tising medium, has its advocates. Those in favor of news-stand circulation say that when a reader takes the trouble to buy any particular issue of a maga zine at a news-stand, it argues a real value which he attaches to that issue, and he is likely to read it care fully; while certain issues of a subscription maga zine, coming periodically thruout the year, may be left unread or only hastily perused. The advocates of subscription magazines maintain that subscription circulation usually means home circulation; further more, a subscription to a magazine implies prestige— it means a definite desire for the publication on the part of the subscriber.
The truth probably lies in the fact that no periodi cal is a good or a bad advertising medium just be cause it has a news-stand circulation or because it has a regular circulation among subscribers. Here, as in the controversy between evening and morning papers, value as an advertising medium is chiefly de termined by elements of prestige in the minds of read ers, entirely independent of the ways in which, or the time at which, the publication is purchased. If a magazine is sold largely at news-stands, the adver tiser wants to know where the stands are situated and the class of people who patronize them. The people who buy a publication are more important than the way in which they buy it.
10. Advertising policy is impor tant to the advertiser because it serves as a general guide to the kind of people who read a periodical and to the amount of influence the medium is likely to have with its readers. Circulation policy is impor-m taut because it indicates the actual value placed on a medium by those who read it. Both editorial policy and circulation policy, therefore, are important aids in the advertiser's task of weighing prestige. But more important, perhaps, than either of these is the policy of the advertising department. An adver tisement, like a man, is known by the company it keeps. An advertising policy that directs the ac ceptance of any advertisement offered to a periodical, is likely to put an advertiser in bad company. The prestige of a publication largely depends on the de sire and ability of the publisher to publish only such advertisements as are honest and do not offend the taste or morals of its readers. A publication is not a public institution. It may accept or reject such advertisements as it pleases. The publication that makes no rejections is likely to have little pres tige.
The movement toward the censoring of advertise ments has two phases. One is the tendency, dictated either by policy or conviction, to exclude advertise ments—liquor and tobacco advertisements, for exam ple—that might offend some portion of the readers of a publication. The other is the tendency to protect readers against loss by excluding dishonest advertise ments. Probably the first step in the campaign against dishonesty in advertising was to exclude those patent medicine advertisements that made exagger ated claims. In order to be sure that they are on the safe side, many periodicals now exclude all advertise meats of patent medicines, regardless of their word ing.
The second step in the campaign for honest ad vertising was the careful study of all advertisements submitted to a publication, to the end that the pub lisher might be certain his readers would not be de frauded or even misled by anything appearing in his advertising columns. This important movement has made tremendous strides. Only a few years ago al most any advertisement would be accepted by almost any publication. Today there are very few publica tions that do not exclude entirely certain classes of what they believe to be objectionable advertising, and which do not make some attempt to convince them selves of the honest purpose of every applicant for space. The extent to which this is done varies in different publications. Many publishers actually guarantee the truth of every word in every advertise ment appearing in their columns.
11. Typical advertising journals in many cases have taken an advanced stand for hon est advertising. A typical story is told of one farm paper that accepted in good faith the advertisement_ or a manufacturer of a new type of farm machinery. The manufacturer was entirely honest in his purpose ; he believed his machine was meritorious and that he could make good all claims in his advertisements. The publisher investigated the business carefully, was convinced that it was sound and honest in every way, and accepted a one-time advertisement for which he was paid less than $300. Three of his readers bought the advertised machine at $750 each. Deliveries were not made when promised, and, when the ma chines did arrive, they did not come up to the claims of the advertisement. The publisher, when com plaints reached him, immediately sent his check re imbursing each subscriber in full. Such high-minded concern for the welfare of readers builds the strongest kind of prestige. One does not wonder that adver tisers eagerly seek space in publications that take this advanced stand to protect their readers.