Federal judge dismisses campus newspaper's case against alcohol ad rules

The Associated Press

07.06.99

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PITTSBURGH — A federal judge has turned down a college newspaper's challenge to a Pennsylvania ban on alcohol advertisements in school publications.

The Pitt News, a student-run newspaper at the University of Pittsburgh, claimed the rule violated its First Amendment right to free speech.

But U.S. District Judge William Standish ruled on July 1 that the newspaper lacked standing to challenge the Liquor Control Board's rule, since the ban is against liquor businesses, not the paper itself.

Witold Walczak, director of the Pittsburgh office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he filed an appeal on July 2 with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Under state law, publications related to educational institutions — including newspapers, yearbooks and sports programs — cannot run advertisements that list the prices of, or otherwise promote, alcoholic drinks. The same sanctions apply to college radio and television stations.

The law does allow ads that give the names and addresses of bars, clubs and restaurants serving alcohol.

Those who place the ads are subject to fines from $100 to $500 or up to three months in jail for a first offense.

The paper argued that the law cut off a source of revenue, effectively restricting the amount of news it could publish.

Standish said the $17,000 in revenue the newspaper had lost since the law took effect in 1997 was less than 3% of its annual budget.

The financial loss "could be redressed by money damages," but didn't curtail the content of the newspaper, Standish said.