• Approximately three-quarters of the space in these sections was devoted to advertising, a far higher ratio than in other news sections of the paper.

Although the Mercury’s real estate section served advertisers better than readers in September, it did contain valuable consumer information. Most of the real estate columns were informational rather than promotional. Charts and maps showed fluctuations in price and listed real estate transactions in area cities and counties. It was primarily a vehicle for advertising, but not exclusively so.

--John McManus