Friday May 11, 2001, 1:23 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: American Patrol
American Patrol Sues L.A. Times and Daily News Over Villaraigosa Ad
SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., May 11, 2001 /PRNewswire/ -- American Patrol, a project of Voice of Citizens Together(VCT), has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Los Angeles Daily News and the Los Angeles Times over refusal of the Daily News to run an ad critical of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa. The ad, which carried the banner headline, ``Does Los Angeles Need A Mayor Who Reports to Mexico City?'', was schedule to appear in the Sunday, May 6, edition of the Daily News, according to a press release issued by American Patrol on May 3. (See http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010503/lath073_2.html)
According to the lawsuit, on May 4, the Daily News pulled the ad because of claims by the Los Angeles Times that it violated their copyright, a claim denied by American Patrol. The complaint also says that the Daily News had accepted the ad and payment in full before canceling it at the last moment, thus breaching its contract with American Patrol. Moreover, the complaint points to anti-competitive behavior by the Times and Daily News which together control newspaper advertisement in the San Fernando Valley, the target of the ad campaign.
Full page ads dealing with illegal immigration have been a hallmark of the informational campaign of VCT. Their first full page ad appeared in the Daily News in October of 1994 and dealt with Proposition 187. Since then VCT has run nineteen full page ads in both the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News.
``This action by the Los Angeles Times and Daily News sends a chilling message to American citizens,'' said Glenn Spencer, president of American Patrol, ``If we are not allowed to have a public debate over the issue of illegal immigration and the role politicians play in it, we are a doomed society.''
American Patrol will hold a press conference to discuss the lawsuit at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 11, at the theater of the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn Hotel, 4222 Vineland Ave., North Hollywood. Appearing with Glenn Spencer will be American Patrol's attorney, Brian L. Buckley, congressional candidate Ezola Foster and KRLA talk show host Terry Anderson. American Patrol will display exhibits of past ads run in the Los Angeles Times and Daily News and will present complete backup documentation for the Villaraigosa ad.
A faithful, full size copy of the ad as it was given to the Daily News can be found on the American Patrol Web page, http://www.americanpatrol.com. [Click here for final PDF version]
