Newspapers: The Blooming Desert

These days, starting a new big-city daily takes more money than most men have or care to risk. The mortality rate reaches perilously close to 100%, and even if the tender seedling manages somehow to sprout, it must struggle for growth in the sun-robbing shadow of sturdy old plants—well-rooted dailies that have been around long enough to become a habit. These difficulties seem particularly obvious in Phoenix, Ariz., which already has two papers—Eugene Pulliam's Republic and Gazette—and has indicated no crying need for another. Yet last week the city was alive with...