Merger of Weak Links

Winded not only by the morning Chronicle's lively sprint but by a costly competition for an afternoon market big enough for only one, San Francisco's two evening papers last week gave up vying and merged. The union welds weak links of two big newspaper chains: Hearst's Call-Bulletin (circ. 145,070) and Scripps-Howard's News (circ. 98,808). Since each paper had been losing an estimated $1,000,000 a year, the merger was aptly characterized by a Hearst staffer. "Imagine," he said, "being kicked to death by a dead horse."

The new paper, to be published daily except Sunday as the News-Call Bulletin, will be run editorially by Scripps-Howard, leaving the business operation under Hearstmen. Unaffected by the consolidation : Hearst's morning Examiner, still the biggest paper in town (circ. 263,500, or 27,020 more than the Chronicle).

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