Kenosha News - Advertising Changes

Advertising Changes

Advertising always was this and every newspaper’s economic lifeblood. By 1920, it was clear that streamlining and specialization was needed in the advertising department. So business manager Ralph S. Kingsley divided it into two sections, one focusing on traditional display advertising by businesses, the other to handle the growing want ad columns. These small ads have appeared in the News since its first edition, when a dozen were lumped together in a daily bargain column, which, after a century, still survives as Kenosha Kernels.

Initially, the newspaper treated these few ads as something of a nuisance, a necessary nuisance, perhaps, but not a major revenue source. As their number grew, however, want ads claimed their own section of the newspaper and took on greater importance.

In 1905, approximately 65 want ads appeared daily and by 1910, there were about 100. This increased to perhaps 200 in 1920. Readers had come to rely on them to such an extent that the News bragged these little ads had become as much a public utility as the electric or telephone companies.

In 1923, the Evening News installed a new indexing system, the Basil L. Smith Co. National Standard, which divided all these advertisements into 11 main classifications, such as merchandise, real estate, business services. These were split into sub-categories, some 90 in all, making it easy for readers to quickly locate ads of interest to them.

Soon, the newspaper could say it ran more daily classifieds than any other Wisconsin publication, except one in Milwaukee. In 1925, it included some 300 to 500 daily, and today the number often tops 1,000, not including automobile, help wanted and real estate business ads also handled by the classified department.