A Turbulent Decade.

The 1950s was a turbulent decade for the newspaper industry. In the aftermath of World War II, the economic realities of a radically changed world hit newspapers especially hard. Between 1950 and 1958, 180 daily newspapers either suspended publication, merged, or converted to weekly papers. Many papers also suffered crushing strikes, as labor attempted to raise wages and keep employment levels high.

Return to Normal.

After World War II the economy returned to normal for the first time since the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929. As a result, long-stagnant prices and wages began to rise. Newsprint, the paper on which the newspapers were printed and the basic commodity of the industry, rose from a price of $44 a ton in 1938 to $88 a ton in 1947 and $134 a ton in 1958. Labor unions demanded increased wages, keeping personnel costs high. Revenues, on the other hand...