Ask SPLC: Do we have the right to reject advertisements?

Q: Is my newspaper legally responsible for online comments that someone outside of our organization may post? A: If the comments are made by outsiders and not your own staff, the Communications Decency Act provides legal shield to you and your website. These protections apply even if you are aware of objectionable content or voluntarily screen… Continue reading Ask SPLC: Do we have the right to reject advertisements?

Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech v. Insley

In 2006, the student newspapers at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia filed suit against the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control board for its blanket ban on the advertising of alcoholic beverages in college newspapers. In 2013, the federal appeals court ruled the ban was unconstitutional. 

Virginia alcohol advertising ban could be Supreme Court-bound

Two college newspapers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a federal appeals-court ruling that upheld a Virginia regulation restricting what advertisers can say about alcoholic beverages in student publications.Virginia Tech’s Collegiate Times and the University of Virginia’s Cavalier Daily, represented by counsel from the ACLU, filed a petition Aug.

Wisconsin school district moves toward banning bar ads in yearbook

A Wisconsin school district is contemplating the unusual step of banning yearbook ads that -- at least among American high schools -- are themselves quite unusual.Edgerton School District’s superintendent, responding to complaints from some community members, recently told Edgerton High School’s yearbook staff to purge its advertiser list of alcohol-based businesses, such as bars, grills and liquor stores, according to the Janesville Gazette. The school board plans to provide a list of "approved" advertisers to the yearbook this fall, and the indications are that at least some alcohol vendors won't make the cut.For nearly 50 years, The Crimson Tide Annual has published ads submitted by local businesses, including those that sell alcohol, to help cover its publication costs.