The Press: Record Press Run

Throughout the world, more people are reading newspapers than ever before. Last week a UNESCO survey, "World Communications," totted up the world's daily circulation: 262 million, a sizable increase. The most impressive gains came in backward countries, where the drive against illiteracy has brought newspapers to African jungle villages and remote South Sea islands. The U.S. had the biggest slice of the world's daily circulation —more than 55 million—but in printing 344 daily copies per 1,000 inhabitants, it trailed behind Britain (609 per 1,000) and nine other countries, including Japan (with 399). To offset any smugness among newspaper men over the...