Controlling Newsbox Clutter

Abstract

Newsboxes (also called “newsracks”) account for almost half of single copy newspaper sales in the United States, making them a key element in newspaper distribution. See Brief for the American Newspaper Publishers Association, as cited in City of Cincinnati u. Discovery Network, 507 U.S. 410, 416 n. 10 (1993), 45 ZD 191. This proliferation of newsboxes along public streets, sidewalks, and other public areas, how-ever, has resulted in increasing visual clutter and safety concerns. But when communities attempt to control newsbox clutter, they often are challenged by newspaper publishers who charge that these regulations violate constitutional pro-tections for free speech.