College paper skirts alcohol-ad ban by reporting drink specials
By The Associated Press
02.21.03
PITTSBURGH — Call it the booze beat.
After a federal judge last week upheld a state ban on alcohol-related advertising in student-run newspapers, the University of Pittsburgh student paper began reporting drink specials offered by more than a dozen bars.
The drink specials report began on Feb. 19 on the top of the newspaper's fourth page under the headline, "Today's Drink Specials." The list, put together by a reporter who called bars and restaurants, featured more than a dozen places with specials including half-price margaritas, vodka shots for $1.50 and one called "Kick the Keg."
The Pitt News, which is financially and editorially independent, and the American Civil Liberties Union had challenged a 1996 state law barring ads for alcoholic beverages in newspapers and other materials connected with an educational institution. The rule also covers college radio and television stations.
The law was an attempt by the Legislature to balance the First Amendment with deterring underage drinking, according to the Liquor Control Board. The paper and ACLU contended that the ban amounted to censorship.
"The government is coming in and telling newspapers what they can and cannot publish," said Witold "Vic" Walczak, legal director for the ACLU Pittsburgh chapter. "There is no greater censorship."
U.S. District Judge William L. Standish disagreed with the newspaper, ruling last week that the advertising ban didn't infringe on freedom of expression. The paper is considering an appeal.
"The Pitt News proceeds on the erroneous premise that it has a constitutional right not only to speak but to speak profitably," Standish said.
Standish, however, said the newspaper may write about alcohol-related issues and run announcements featuring bars' drink specials, as long as the bars don't pay for the plugs.
The Pitt News and ACLU filed suit in 1999 after the state warned the Fuel & Fuddle restaurant that its advertising violated the ban. Fuel & Fuddle and several other establishments pulled their ads from the paper rather than face sanctions.
Dave Hartman, the newspaper's editor in chief, said the paper's annual budget has been hurt by the loss of revenue from alcohol ads, which brought in about $17,000 a year at the time the law took effect.
"The ruling interferes with capitalism. It's legitimate that students would want to find the cheapest drink prices," he said. "It's the bars' responsibility to make sure they are not serving underage students."
Hartman said 73% of the paper's readers are 21 or older.
"It doesn't affect me because I am only 19. But I'm not offended by it," said freshman Micah Saul. "People are going to drink in college if they want to."