"This is a basic guide for creating and operating a successful newspaper business. This booklet is intended to be useful for newspaper entrepreneurs in developing countries, and in countries with newly emergent press freedoms or market economies. Most newspapers begin with an idea, a mission or an inspiration. Few newspapers are started in developing societies primarily as a vehicle to make money for their owners. Because most newspaper entrepreneurs get started for non-business reasons, they need a basic guide to the business of running a newspaper. Another reason newspaper entrepreneurs need guidance on how to run a newspaper is the inherent difficulty of managing a paper. A newspaper is a creative product that nevertheless must conform to basic standards of presenting information and methods of operation. Moreover, it must be manufactured in a multi-step process according to strict deadlines. Finally, the end product is reviewed and judged by the entire community. And then this process happens all over again tomorrow, or next week. The International Center for Journalists designed this booklet to help those who start or operate a newspaper for reasons other than just making a profit, but who understand that a newspaper must be run in a cost-effective, businesslike manner in order to succeed. This booklet does not pretend to be a definitive “blueprint” for managing newspapers in all countries and press systems. Care was taken, however, to make it directly relevant in a wide range of circumstances. Distilled within these pages are the experience and wisdom of many newspaper experts who have written practical manuals on modern newspaper operations. Most of these experts have operated in the United States, although many of the authors have consulted or trained overseas. By highlighting the fundamental principles and practices that U.S. publishers are using today, the booklet serves as a foundation on which others can build. Readers should use whatever information seems relevant to them." (Preface, pages 4-5)