Theft of free publications target of proposed Columbus ordinance

As reported in the Oct. 30 Ohio Newspaper Association Bulletin: Under Columbus law, there might be no such thing as stealing a free publication - at least for now. But if some local publishers and a Columbus City Council member have their way, it will be a crime to take more than your fair share of a free newspaper, magazine, coupon book or other publication. Under an ordinance that Councilwoman Priscilla R. Tyson plans to introduce, taking more than five copies of a free publication without authorization would be a fourth-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine. "It is not a victimless crime," Tyson said during a discussion of the problem at a recent Recreation and Parks Committee meeting in council chambers. Michael Daniels, co-founder and co-publisher of Outlook Media, first brought the issue to Tyson's attention and made a presentation in favor of a new ordinance. Daniels said his monthly publication, outlook:columbus, which caters to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, might lose 10% to 15% of its copies to theft. "Occasionally, you find someone who disagrees with your content or your very existence," he said Oct. 22 before the meeting. "Or, it may be something as simple as a bad review that someone doesn't want other people to read." Jim Campbell, circulation manager for The Other Paper, also spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance at the meeting. But he wondered earlier about defining theft of a free publication. "I'm not sure how to quantify it," he said. The proposed ordinance would allow taking more than five copies of a free publication with the permission of the publisher or the permission of an owner or representative of a business where the publication is distributed. For example, the owner of a restaurant could give a customer permission to take 10 copies of a publication from the restaurant. The law would apply only to publications that give notice of the ordinance in their pages or on their news racks. The full text of the proposed ordinance is available on Tyson's Web page through columbuscitycouncil.org. Tyson said she plans to accept public comment through Nov. 30 and officially introduce the ordinance at the City Council meeting on Dec. 7.[[In-content Ad]]