Reflections on Meyer's Vanishing Newspaper

A good product is an investment. A good newspaper will have to spend on recruiting good talent -- editors, reporters, photographers -- and paying them well. The news hole is where their output appears. This is a cost because the space could be otherwise devoted to revenue-generating advertising.
A good product will attract a circulation base which will in turn be the basis for attracting advertisers. Advertising accounts for 82% of newspaper revenues in the U.S.
There is a limit to how much advertising a newspaper can take. If it does not increase the number of pages, more ads means a smaller news hole. Readers will notice any significant reduction in the news hole.
Increasing the number of pages -- and retaining (or increasing) the amount of space devoted to editorial content -- may raise revenues, but will also increase production cost, particularly that of newsprint.
It is possible that overall, more ads may result in a net loss because of higher costs.
Meyer reports that some newspapers even resort to cutting circulation (hence, lower paper cost) in order to stay profitable.
A newcomer, with hardly any advertising, may employ sensationalism in order to attract readers, even if they do not qualify as quality readers. The newspaper can use this circulation base to bait advertisers. Since the readership is not a high quality, the newspaper may be limited to low-end advertisers.
A higher advertising revenue may prompt the newspaper to invest in better talent that will produce better material that will appeal to a better quality readership that in turn will attract the top advertisers.
It is also possible that big advertisers may approach the newspaper and demand better editorial quality appropriate to the products they advertise. This will explain why some nascent publications, like tabloids, employ racy photographs and sensationalized materials at first. As they mature, their standards will improve if they want to attract and keep better advertisers.
Some of today's tabloids that now call themselves respectable were once sleazy (there are varying degrees of sleaze) especially during their early years. Tempo and the People's tabloids today emulate prestige broadsheets. Bulgar and Abante are shedding some of their seedy qualities.