Free Speech, Chicago, Laws and Litter

Last weekend, Warner Todd Huston of the Canada Free Press reported that Chicago passed a law that includes the prohibition of free newspaper distribution. The law, which was intended to aid in the control of ‘litter’ in the Windy City, was passed by a group of 50 individuals who are now coming under fire for the repression of the First Amendment – Freedom of Speech.

Warner Todd Huston writes:

Of course, the Aldermen who voted 50 to nothing for this law are scrambling to answer critics of the ordinance. It seems fairly certain that not a one of them even read the thing before they voted, something that isn’t unusual in this city. They all claim, of course, that this ordinance would never be used to stop a community newspaper from being distributed.

But just wait for the first incumbent Alderman who decides he doesn’t like what a paper has to say about him during an election campaign! Just wait for the first time King Daley doesn’t like what some small paper has to say about his trucking schemes or other alleged criminal enterprises. Watch how quickly a newspaper becomes “litter” then.

Rare palm-leaf collections microfilmed and digitized

With help from the U.S. Consulate-General, rare palm-leaf collections residing at the United Theological College in Bangalore have been digitized and microfilmed. The project, launched in October 2006, started with a $35,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State, under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Presentation.

“Some of the original material available in the library archive was getting old and had become brittle. Theological and secular scholars involved in research in sociology, ethnography and history have been using the library facilities, and digitising will help in providing better access to the materials.”

The collection includes manuscripts that are more than 200 years old, written in several Indian languages. The “first printed Bible in India that dates back to the 18th century” is also included in the collection.

Spokane Spokesman-Review & Houston Chronicle announce layoffs

The Spokane Spokesman-Review announced it will lay off 30 employees, and offer up early retirement incentives to those that hold 10 other positions. The paper’s editorial department is expected to lose about 15 employees.

Editor Steven Smith said he’s been asked to trim more than $1 million from his annual $9 million budget. The newspaper employs 550 people and about 137 of them work in the editorial department.

Tuesday, only hours after the announcement made by the Spokesman-Review, the Houston Chronicle said it expects to lay off nearly 5 percent of its current employees.

The Chronicle will lose about 70 of its 1,400 positions, Publisher Jack Sweeney said, confirming an article on the paper’s Web site and a memo he wrote to employees that was posted on the Romenesko journalism blog.

Falling advertising revenue and subscription rates have been contributing to the mass-layoffs seen in previous months within the newspaper industry. In addition, many publications are working toward online solutions for revenue, however, in past months advertising on the web has declined as well.

Billionaire investor Sam Zell compares newspaper industry to Rome

Sam Zell, well-known billionaire investor, recently spoke to a group of newspaper executives and compared the industry to the fall of Rome.

“I think the newspaper industry has stood there and watched while other media enterprises have taken our bacon and run with it,” he told the annual meeting of the Inland Press Association, a newspaper trade group representing about 1,200 papers in all 50 states. “It’s too much complacency.”

[…] The industry as a whole, Zell said, has been “standing there and letting this happen while Rome is burning.”

Zell also spoke about the rise of the internet and the lack of attention the industry has given the medium, blaming the lack of cross-media utilization as the catalyst for the current state of the industry.

Six million military personnel files to be released

Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) will be made available by the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for the first time. The initial release will include more than 6 million records, however more than 57 million total files are expected to be released through the year 2067.

These archived files are treasured by family members, historians, researchers, and genealogists. Contained in a typical OMPF are documents outlining all elements of military service, including assignments, evaluations, awards and decorations, education and training, demographic information, some medical information and documented disciplinary actions. Some records also contain photographs of the individual and official correspondence concerning military service.

For more information, please refer to the original press release, “National Personnel Records Center Opens more than Six Million New Military Personnel Files”