J.Q. Mahaffey, venerable editor of the Texarkana Gazette for more than 30 years, used to tell a story on himself that aptly illustrated the tension between the news and advertising departments of a newspaper.

He spoke of how every time he published a story on a new business, the ad manager would chew him out with words to this effect: “Darn it, Mahaffey, how can my people sell ads when you’re giving the space away?”

This was in a time when newspapers were the primary vehicle for people who wanted to advertise—before electronic media, direct mail, the Internet.