1885-06-16oo Circ Wars

In June 1885, the management leaders of the Hamilton Spectator wanted to in no uncertain terms assert the Spectator’s dominance in the City’s newspaper.

Besides the competition between the Spectator and its main rival, the Hamilton Times, there also recently had been a third daily newspaper in Hamilton, the Tribune. Despite investing in the latest equipment for newspaper production and building a substantial office and plant for the paper on James Street North, the Tribune proved to be short-lived. The Spectator purchased the main assets of the Tribune, and in June 1885, the name, Daily Spectator and Tribune was used on the editorial page and on the front page.

Several months earlier, the Spectator had challenged the Times as to which paper had the highest circulation numbers. By June 16, 1885, the Times had not responded, so the challenge was repeated, after being fine-tuned :

The local newspapers of Hamilton in 1885, the Spectator and the Times were keen competitors. Ever out to trump bigger circulation numbers, more copies sold and more advertising revenues being garnered than the Times, the Spectator rolled out a challenge on June 16, 1885.

In that day’s Spectator, on the editorial page, the Spectator laid out, in detail, the complete nature of their message to the Times:

“The matter of newspaper circulation concerns you. The greater the circulation of the newspapers in which you advertise, the greater the return for the money invested in advertising.

“The following proposition was first printed in the Spectator of Wednesday, August 6. It has appeared in the Spectator every day since. The Times has not dared to accept it, or any part of it.

“The Times and Spectator to nominate each a prominent advertiser; then to nominate a third. The committee to examine into the circulation of both papers.

“The Spectator agrees to put up money as follows;

1.   A hundred dollars that the circulation of the Spectator is not less than that of the Times.

2.   A hundred dollars that the circulation of the Spectator exceeds that of the Times.

3.   A hundred dollars that the Spectator’s circulation exceeds that of the Times by one thousand copies daily.

4.   A hundred dollars that the Spectator’s circulation exceeds the Times’ circulation by two thousand daily.

5.   A hundred dollars that the Spectator’s circulation exceeds that of the Times by three thousand daily, and

6.   A hundred dollars that the circulation of the Spectator is double that of the Times.

“The Times to put up an equal amount of money, and the loser’s money to be paid over to any charity indicated by the winner. The circulation of both papers, as found by the investigating committee, to be published in both papers, first under the editorial head, in brevier type, on the day following that on which the committee makes report.

‘NO DEADHEADS

“No free papers to be included in the count.

“The Times has not dared to submit to the test, and

“MARK THIS :

“The Times WILL NOT, in future, DARE NOT submit to the test.”¹

¹ “To Advertisers : The Spectator’s Circulation is Double That of the Times ”

Hamilton Spectator     June 16, 1885.