NO DINOSAURS HERE: RUST EXPLAINS NEWSPAPER BUSINESS

The newspaper industry is not a dinosaur business destined for extinction. Newspapers continue to reach more people than radio and television, and newspapers and the Internet are quite compatible, said Gary Rust, president of Cape Girardeau-based Rust Communications.

The company has 821 employees and an annual payroll of more than $13 million.

Rust told about 40 members of the Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals Thursday that newspapers are a highly sought after property.

He said Thomson Publications has 72 newspapers for sale that the company thought would be worth $2.2 billion.

"There are six bidders including two foreign countries trying to buy those papers," said Rust. "The price is up to about $2.6 billion now."

Although circulation numbers of some daily newspapers are down, overall circulation is up when weeklies are thrown into the mix, Rust said.

The circulation of the Southeast Missourian, the flagship daily newspaper of Rust Communications, which owns 11 dailies and 27 weeklies in seven states, is up and revenue is growing.

In addition, "newspapers have what we call 21 percent pass-along," said Rust, "A large number of newspapers are passed among readers. Businesses such as Hardee's buy the Southeast Missourian and customers read it.

"Newspapers traditionally talk in terms of circulation, not readers, but you're going to hear us talk more about readership numbers."

He said the newspaper is holding its own against television and radio and sees the Internet as a useful tool.

Citing a recent article in Christian Science Monitor, Rust said NBC's "Today Show" has 4.9 million average daily viewers, ABC's "Good Morning America" has 3.6 million average daily viewers and CBS's "This Morning" has 2.7 million average daily viewers.

National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" has 8.8 million average daily listeners -- almost double the number who watch the "Today Show." Rust said television news rarely reaches more than 15 percent of households and radio news generally goes into about 4 percent of households. Newspapers, by contrast, make their way into 60 percent to 80 percent of households on a regular basis.

Newspapers and the Internet are quite compatible, said Rust, noting that the Southeast Missourian Web page had 1,466,000 hits last year -- that's an average of 4,018 per day.

"Newspapers are going online," said Rust. "A major change is going on in newspapers and in all the media. What the offset press is to a newspaper, the Internet is also."

Sixty-seven percent of all local advertising goes into newspapers, said Rust, adding that grocery stores are some of the biggest advertisers.

Rust entered the newspaper business in the late '60s.

"I had strong feelings about government and the free enterprise system, and I realized that only through an informed public can the Republic exist free and open."

He bought the Southeast Missourian in 1986 from the Thomson chain. It was the first time Thomson had sold one of its dailies.