Act 199: Still fighting it

By looking to the right of this column, you can see that we list drink specials. This may… By looking to the right of this column, you can see that we list drink specials. This may strike you as disturbing, cool or possibly just odd. Why, you might ask, is The Pitt News, a college paper, giving local bars free advertising? Why are those bars included, but no others? Is the paper just encouraging alcoholism?

The story behind these specials begins with a State law called Act 199. Passed in December 1996, Act 199 basically stated that no alcohol may be advertised in “any publication published by, for or in behalf of any educational institution” – i.e. produced primarily for students. That includes wine companies, liquor and beer corporations or any local bars wishing to advertise something other than food.

In 1999, The Pitt News, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the state under the argument that the law violated our First Amendment rights by denying us revenue.

It took two years to reach a ruling by the Third Circuit Court that, although we had standing, or the right, to sue, our loss of revenue did not constitute a breach of the First Amendment. In other words, we had no constitutional right to make money.

But we weren’t done.

On May 14, 2001 (two years ago to the day, as I write this), the ACLU began a new assault on the law, this time from a new angle. Because Act 199 takes a certain class of papers and limits only their policies, we argued, the act interferes with editorial content, and the existence of such a law is, by nature, unconstitutional. We don’t need to show damages, we said, because the fact that the law is there and dictating any content at all is unconstitutional.

Judge William Standish, who ruled against us in one of the hearings of the original suit, followed in perfect form, this time taking nearly two years to hand down a ruling that could easily have been written in months.

In the spring, The Pitt News began the appeals process, again appealing a Standish ruling to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Supporting The Pitt News via an “amicus curiae” – Latin for “friend of the court” – brief, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Student Press Law Center have also joined the fight on behalf of many journalists and newspapers of the Commonwealth.

“Should the court decide that The Pitt News is not permitted to mount a full facial challenge to Act 199’s constitutionality, its decision will have substantial ramifications for all newspapers,” the brief said.

The brief said that the decision not to let us challenge the act, which it called “fundamentally flawed,” has the potential to “work serious harm on the rights of the press and public.”

That’s where we stand now.

I am now the sixth editor in chief that has dealt with the issue of Act 199. Last year, The Pitt News began running drink specials free of charge for local bars – which Act 199 ironically allows us to do – in order to keep the students informed, but more importantly to make a point.

The reactions to this have been disparate indeed. Many students, being younger and more willing to challenge the establishment, have been wildly in favor of it. But some have not, and they are joined by many conservatives who feel that such things simply do not belong in a student paper.

The Pitt News is financially independent, with a readership of about 30,000 people. 70 percent of them are 21 years old or older. The Post-Gazette, which has many alcohol-related ads, is provided free in every University dormitory.

Local bars are allowed to advertise food specials but not drink specials, and we can publish those drink specials you see here free of charge. For all of these reasons, plus our vested interest in keeping the freedoms of press and expression appropriately broad, The Pitt News will continue to fight Act 199 in any capacity we are able.

A traditional role of the press is to be a watchdog for institutions, including the government. A free and independent media is one of the ways a democracy survives. Through our case against Act 199, we seek to protect our readers’ right to information, all newspapers’ right to determine their own content and our right to play on a level field with any other financially independent paper.