ARGUS LEADER

The '''Argus Leader''' is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Publisher: Arnold Garson
Executive Editor: Randell Beck
''See also List of newspapers in South Dakota''

Contents

Description

Controversy with Free Magazines and Freedom of Speech

References

External links

Description

Despite falling numbers, the ''Argus Leader'' is South Dakota's largest newspaper in circulation. The weekday circulation for the newspaper is 51,211 down from 53,929 in 2006^[2]. The weekend circulation has now fallen to 69,767. For the past 3 years, it has also been host to South Dakota's #3 website receiving an average of 200,000 hits per day .
The newspaper and website's most recent style change happened in September 2006. The new goal is to bring more local coverage and allow readers to voice their opinions in an open format. To do this a new section of the paper was created called "Voices" in conjunction with the online "Your Voice" section.
Along with the daily newspaper the ''Argus Leader'' owns smaller local papers in the region.


★ ''Brandon Valley Challenger''

★ ''Dell Rapids Tribune''

★ ''Baltic Beacon''

★ ''Garretson Weekly''

★ ''Tea-Harrisburg Champion''
The newspaper also publishes an economic weekly, the ''Sioux Falls Business Journal'', and a handful of magazines.

Controversy with Free Magazines and Freedom of Speech

In March of 2006, the Argus Leader came under fire for attempting to control distribution rights within the city of Sioux Falls.
The Argus Leader through a subsidiary company, News Center Distribution (NCD), had local businesses sign contracts saying that the Argus Leader controlled the publications to be distributed in their businesses. [1]
The agreement allowed the Argus Leader to display and give away its free publications like Live, PetMag and CityStyle. Other independent publishers such as Prime, Renter's Guide, the Shopping News and others would have to pay the Argus Leader a fee to distribute their publications.
It was a practice not officially mandated by Gannett, the parent company of the Argus Leader, but a practice put into place at several papers in the chain. Some claimed these new business practices created a monopoly on space and forced the competition of other free, independent magazines to close.[2]
In Sioux Falls, if the independent publishers didn't pay the Argus Leader, they threatened to physically take their competitors magazines out of contracted businesses.
The Argus Leader’s move was viewed as a violation on First Amendment rights after they gained exclusive contracts to control distribution on property managed by the city of Sioux Falls.
The City of Sioux Falls called the Argus Leader’s contracts with the city owned property: “A reasonable restriction on free speech.”
City lawyers said there was legal precedent to back up the move. They cited, ironically, cases where Gannett had sued and lost to gain access to the same type of property.
But when the controversy was made public, the city council canceled the contract with the Argus Leader distributor. The council said such a contract went too far in the limiting free speech.
As for the private businesses that signed contracts with the Argus Leader distributor, many of them weren’t aware of what they had signed and said that they were mislead or confused by what the Argus Leader distributors had told them.
And the contracts themselves were shown not to hold much weight either. A local lawyer, Harry Engberg, said that if a client had brought the contract to him for review, he would tell them, “They were crazy to sign it.” [3]
1. KSFY-TV March, 3 2006
2. Editor and Publisher July 1, 2006
3. KSFY-TV March, 3 2006

References

1. Audit Bureau of Circulations top 200
2. Editor & Publisher July 1, 2007

External links

★ The Argus Leader's website