Truth in advertising

A young newspaper publisher met William Randolph Hearst at some event. "What’s your circulation," asked Hearst. "2,000," said the publisher. Hearst leaned over and whispered "Whenever you are asked about circulation, double it." "Again?"

WhatTheyThink had a webinar recently and the press release said "over 600" people registered. The number was actually 621, but I guess "over 600" sounds more impressive. The Print Oasis conference in Las Vegas claimed 700 attendees, but the list of attendees in the handout had 240 names including "late arrivals." There were 64 exhibitors and they must have had a lot of booth personnel. Most media repeated the 700 number and not one verified it. It was ironic that the actual number of print buyers was small compared with the army of folks who wanted to sell to them.

The Boston Print Buyers conference four months earlier had 345 attendees and that was a regional event. But their release said "almost 350" attendees. Why not use the exact number? Another irony is that this regional print buying event had more buyers than the national one.

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About Frank Romano

Frank Romano has spent over 60 years in the printing and publishing industries. Many know him best as the editor of the International Paper Pocket Pal or from the hundreds of articles he has written for publications from North America and Europe to the Middle East to Asia and Australia. Romano lectures extensively, having addressed virtually every club, association, group, and professional organization at one time or another. He is one of the industry's foremost keynote speakers. He continues to teach courses at RIT and other universities and works with students on unique research projects.