The Herald's Agony

In terms of quantity at least, Boston is the nation's best town for morning newspapers. Excluding the Christian Science Monitor, which is not truly a local paper, readers can choose among the sprightly Globe (circ. 240,163), the stodgy Herald Traveler (192,129) and the tabloid Record American (369,873). But they may not have long to treasure that choice, for the Herald Traveler is fighting for its life.

For much of its 125-year history, the Herald was the bible of Boston's Brahmins. Among the well-to-do, you weren't really married until the Herald took note, and you never advertised anywhere else to sell a house worth six figures. Its veteran news staff is still often the best in town on fast-breaking stories. But news is handled without much imagination, and the Herald lags far behind the Globe in investigative reporting, in spotting new styles and trends, in arguing topical issues.

Red Ink. Although the paper lost $5,000,000 in 1971, the parent Herald Traveler Corp. could always post a healthy profit, at least until last year, thanks to some $6,000.000 in annual net income from its television station WHDH. (Declining TV revenue in 1971 caused a net loss for the company of $310,000.) The really damaging blow came in January, when the Federal Communications Commission took away the corporation's TV license in order to diversify local media ownership. The corporation had fought 24 years for clear title to the license in a complex, oft-contested case, the official records of which fill 172 volumes.

Loss of the station loosed a flood of red ink. In a recent letter to stockholders, President Harold Clancy said: "Our newspaper property generates substantial cash losses that cannot be supported in its present form by our remaining resources." Large stockholders who live outside Boston and hold a controlling interest are understood to favor liquidation. Local shareholders want to keep the paper going. Through layoffs and early retirements, the Herald is reducing the staff by 150. "We are exploring many alternatives," says Clancy.

For a while it seemed that the Hearst Corp., which owns the Record American, might provide a lifeline. There was talk of a merger that would convert Hearst's tabloid into a standard-sized afternoon paper that would be printed in the Herald's modern plant. But when WHDH was finally lost, Hearst stiffened its terms and is now reported to be interested only in buying the Herald's plant and assets. The corporation's annual meeting, originally scheduled for next week, has been postponed indefinitely while the board ponders the Hearst proposal. But, says one Herald executive about the major stockholders: "Their will to continue is gone."

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