AMERICAN PATROL VS THE LOS ANGELES TIMES AND DAILY NEWS -- 2001
WHAT HAPPENED?On April 24, 2001 American Patrol sent a letter asking people for support to
put an ad in the Los Angeles Times and/or Daily News. We enclosed a copy of the
proposed ad. Hundreds of citizens responded, just as they have so many times in
the past.
At the same time, we sent the ad to the Daily News and Los Angeles Times
for approval. The Daily News approved the ad and gave us a rate, but, as of May
2, the Times hadn't responded, but they hadn't comp álained about it either.
On May 1, American Patrol delivered the final ad artwork to the Daily News
together with a cashier's check for payment in full. They accepted the ad and cashed
the check.
May 3 - The Los Angeles Times Threatens American Patrol
On May 3, American Patrol was contacted by the Los Angeles Times. They
demanded that we withdraw the ad because it violated their copyright. (You can
see from the ad that it uses part of the front page of the August 4,
1999, edition of the Times.). This was a serious charge so we contacted a
lawyer who specializes in copyright law. He told us that, under what is known
as the Fair Use Doctrine of copyright law, we had every right to use the portion
of the Times front page in our ad. He said it was black and white - we we ¡re
right, the Times was wrong.
May 4 - The Daily News Cancels the Ad
On Friday, May 4, only two days before the ad was to run, we were
contacted by the Daily News. They told us they were pulling the ad. They
wouldn't say why. They said it had to be changed but wouldn't tell us how or
where it should be changed. Our lawyer sent a letter to the Times and the
Daily News demanding that the Times stop meddling in our business and demanding
that the Daily News fulfill its contract with us. They ignored us and the ad
did not run.
May 10 - Daily News Admits Interference
The Daily News admitted that the Times had contacted them and that we must
cut out the Times material. We refused to do this because the photo of
Villaraigosa with Mexican president Zedillo was vital to our fundamental message
and there was no legal basis for deleting it.
May 11 American Patrol Files Lawsuit Against Times and Daily News
Faced with a barefaced attack on our freedoms and rights, on Friday, May
11, American Patrol filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the
Los Angeles Times and Daily News. The lawsuit claims that the Los Angeles Times
unlawfully interefered with our contractual arrangement with the Daily News,
that the Daily News breached its contract with us, and that the Times and Daily
News used anti-competitive tactics to keep us from running our political ad.
AN OUTRAGE
California is being invaded by Mexico. By killing Proposition 187 and
advocating amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens mostly from Mexico - Antonio
Villaraigosa is working to further that invasion. That is the naked truth and
our ad told it like it is. Not only does the Los Angeles Times hide the truth
from its readers, it has now demanded that the Daily News keep the truth from
its readers as well.
NO BASIS FOR REJECTION
The Daily News had hno basis to reject the ad. Over the past seven years
we had run nineteen full-page ads in newspapers. This ad was very similar in
tone and content to others printed by both the Times and Daily News. The only
difference is that this ad exposed Villaraigosa.
Media Blackout
American Patrol has tried to get this story to the people but the media
have put a lid on the whole affair. With a few exceptions such as radio
stations KFI and KRLA, they will not report on the ad dispute or our lawsuit.
There is a blatant media blackout.
FIGHTING BACK
Direct Mail
We need to get this ad to voters, especially in the San Fernando Valley.
The Times and Daily News monopolize newspaper advertisement there, so the only
viable alternative is direct mail. This is expensive, but we must do everything
we can to get this message out.
The lawsuit
We plan to aggressively pro gsecute our lawsuit against the Times and
Daily News. We are convinced we will prevail. When we do, the courts may well
slap them with a large penalty funds we will use to save America.
YOU ARE THE VICTIM
American Patrol was hurt by the Times and Daily News, but the rights of
every American to have their views known has been trampled on. We must not
give in. We must fight back. If we allow this to stand, what freedoms will they
take next?
HELP US FIGHT BACK FOR YOU
Time is running out. The election for Los Angeles mayor is June 5.
If you give us the means, we promise to fight for you!
Glenn Spencer
American Patrol