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PM Daily

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“to a quarter of their plans, that’s my paper.” We are anxious for you to see it — no need to tell you — and that’s one reason we’re writing in advance, and disclosing the full story to you.

Our press capacity at the beginning may not exceed 200,000. That’s cautious, and we have to be cautious. In the beginning, sure as shooting, it won’t be easy to get PM. Curiosity alone can readily sweep every edition off the stands, minutes after delivery.

We are particularly anxious, however, that a sizable group of picked readers outside of New York are not left out in the cold. You are one of them, and that is why we are sending you the enclosed Charter Subscription card.

WE ARE ARRANGING FOR A FAST PLANE AND TRAIN DISTRIBUTION system that will get PM to you first thing in the morning. Thus it will bring you the latest national and international news ON THE SAME DAY, or even before, your own morning newspaper — and always AT LEAST SIX DAYS FRESHER than a weekly could possibly get it to you.

The enclosed airmail Charter Subscription card will ensure you getting Vol. I, No. I if we receive it in time. In addition, we are arranging to print a limited number of copies of a special PREVIEW EDITION OF PM — to be called Vol. I, No. O — and these will be sent ONLY to Charter Subscribers — those who send in the enclosed reservation cards. THESE PREVIEW PM’S WILL NOT BE SOLD TO THE PUBLIC. They are certain to be very valuable “firsts” — even more so than Vol. I, No. I.

A last word — very important. It is necessary that you mail the air-mail card immediately. You can understand that the bulk of our first editions have to go on the newsstands, for the public, catch-as-catch-can. We just won’t have any time to write any more letters to those whom we regard as our first friends.

We hope you will include yourself among them.

Sincerely yours,
Robert L. Bliss

Assistant to the Publisher

P.S. Please don’t send any check or money with the card. You will be billed for PM later, after you have begun to receive it. Simply specify the length of time you want us to send it to you. An extra Charter Subscription card is enclosed in case you want to pass it along to a friend.”

The new PICTURE MAGAZINE Daily

A NEW KIND OF NEWSPAPER – THE EASIEST NEWSPAPER T0 READ

June 8, 1940

“HERE IS THE WHOLE EXCITING INSIDE STORY OF PM – THE NEW PICTURE-MAGAZINE-NEWSPAPER!

An historic event is about to occur. A new kind of newspaper will soon be published in New York. It will give you DAILY (five days a week) all the important news your morning newspaper now does. Then, in addition – in a 64-page Sunday edition called PM’s WEEKLY — it will give you everything and more than any weekly now gives you, and because it will roll off the presses Saturday, it will be AT LEAST FIVE DAYS FRESHER — in its news and pictures — than any other weekly picture or news magazine.

The men who will run this paper have already been called by those in the know, “the most brilliant editorial staff ever gathered together by one newspaper.”

Over 5,000 applications — almost all from highly experienced news- paper men — flooded in upon PM from every corner of the land. Why?

PM will accept no advertising. Why? How can it possibly exist if it doesn’t?

What other astonishing features will it have, UTTERLY DIFFERENT FROM ANY NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE EVER PUBLISHED?

Why can it be stated, with such complete confidence, that IT WILL BE THE EASIEST NEWSPAPER T0 READ EVER PUBLISHED — in this or any land?

What line will it hold editorially, and fight for day in and day out?

The enclosed memorandum will answer these and other questions for you. A number of the smartest people in New York were privately shown this inter-office memo – written by the publisher, Ralph Ingersoll, for the staff which has now been brought together. The reaction was so excited that immediately it struck us that our friends among the public, within overnight delivery of New York, should also be given it to read. (Pardon its shirt-sleeve appearance… we are working at high speed, and there is no time for white ties and tails.)

You should read it, of course, knowing something about the originator and editor of PM — Ralph Ingersoll. A young man still, he has been in succession, since 1925: Managing Editor of the NEW YORKER in its early days; then of FORTUNE; next, General Manager of TIME, Inc. In the latter position he took an active part in the phenomenal launching of LIFE.

When you have read Mr. Ingersoll’s memorandum, we miss our guess if you don’t say: “I surely want to see that paper. If the editors live up…”

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IMPORTANT
IF YOUR AIR MAIL CARD REACHES US AFTER
JUNE 18,OPENING DAY, WE WILL REGISTER YOU
AS A CHARTER SUBSCRIBER JUST THE SAME…
YOU WILL RECEIVE THE PREVIEW EDITION, VOL. 1,
NO. 0, AND YOUR DAILY SUBSCRIPTION WILL
BEGIN FROM THE DATE THE CARD IS RECEIVED.

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Reservation Card for Charter Subscribers
YES, enroll me as a Charter Subscriber to receive PM BY MAIL (five days weekly
and Sundays) on basis indicated below. I understand that this entitles me to receive a
free copy of the Limited Preview Edition (Vol. I, No. 0) to be published on June 17th.
SPECIAL CHARTER SUBSCRIPTION RATES son PM BY MAIL
2 months, $2.75 3 months, $3.90 6 months, $7.25 12 months, $14.00
The Newsstand price of PM is 5¢ DAILY… 10¢ SUNDAY

NAME (Please Print)
ADDRESS
CITY STATE
NOTE: NO NEED T0 SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER
YOU WILL BE BILLED LATER
IMPORTANT: WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THIS RESERVATION WILL BE
POSSIBLE UNLESS THIS CARD IS MAILED WITHIN 7 DAYS

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pm_05-12-1946_IMG_1016-2 copy
PM, May 12, 1946

pm_05-13-1946_IMG_1020-2 copy
PM, May 13, 1946

“‘Paintings aren’t simply pictures,” he says. “They’re more complicated than people think. What I’m trying to do is break down preconcived notions people have about art – the notion, for instance, that you don’t have to think about a painting when you look at it. You have to know something about art before you can enjoy it. It’s just like literature; you can’t enjoy a book unless you know how to read.'” Ad Reinhardt

To be continued…

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We have been studying spreadsheets and pouring over periodicals…
These numbers are fairly accurate, perhaps, plus or minus 10 (or 20?).
According to our calculations, between June 1940 and June 1948:

Weegee published 797 photographs in PM.

Weegee published 436 stories in PM.

Number of stories by year:

1940 – 56
1941 – 138
1942 – 78
1943 – 92
1944 – 53
1945 – 17
1946 – 3
1947 – 2 or 3
1948 – 2

Stories by (slightly absurd and subjective) subjects:

alphabetically:

animals – 11
car crash – 31
children – 8
crime – 94
entertainment – 66
fire – 72
holiday – 4
labor – 13
NYC – 5
politics – 23
signs – 1
transportation – 8
weather – 19
Weegee – 17
WWII – 63

numerically:

crime – 94
fire – 72
entertainment – 66
WWII – 63
car crash – 31
politics – 23
weather – 19
Weegee – 17
labor – 13
animals – 11
children – 8
transportation – 8
NYC – 5
holiday – 4
signs – 1

In the 436 stories, between 1940 and 1948, Weegee published 797 photographs in PM…

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PM Daily March 14, p. 17
We are against people who push people around, wether they flourish in this country or abroad.
We are against fraud and deceit and greed and cruelty and we will seek to expose their practitioners.
We are for people who are kindly and courageous and honest.
We respect intelligence, sound accomplishment, open-mindedness, religious tolerance.
We do not believe all mankind’s problems are now being solved successfully by any existing social order, certainly not our own, and we propose to crusade for those who seek constructively to improve the way people live together.
We are Americans and we prefer democracy to any other principle of government.

(From the original Prospectus of PM)