Del. Tanya Shewell says she’s pro-business but determined to help constituents she claims are angry over unwanted free newspapers.
“I dropped the bill in the hopper today,” the Westminster lawmaker said Thursday. It would fine free newspapers up to $100 per delivery made seven days after cancellation.
The Baltimore Examiner, the Gazette and the free newspapers of Tribune Co.’s Baltimore Sun Community Newspaper Group are among the targets, said Shewell, a Republican.
The bill would require a “do not deliver” list of addresses effective for three years after listing is requested.
Listed homeowners receiving unwanted newspapers seven days after cancellation could notify the consumer protection division of the state attorney general’s office.
“I don’t like to make bills unless they’re absolutely necessary,” Shewell said, adding that she had 20 co-sponsors. “But I don’t think anything has been resolved.”
Baltimore-Washington Examiner Newspaper Group Chief Executive Officer Michael Phelps, who met with Shewell on Monday, said, “My desire for the newspaper to not go to those who don’t want it far exceeds their desire to stop getting it.”
“We want readers who value The Examiner. … I hate it when we annoy readers, and keeping that annoyance to a minimum is among my highest priorities,” he added.
The Gazette Newspapers Publisher James Mannarino said, “I am obviously not for the legislation,” stressing that free newspapers normally have provisions for prompt delivery cancellation. “We believe that freedom of the press and speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment.”
John J. Murphy, executive director of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C Press Association, said he would oppose Shewell’s bill in hearings. “I’ve seen measures like this before,” he said, “but they haven’t worked.”
The 550,000-circulation weekly Gazette publishes 35 editions. The 500,000-circulation Baltimore Sun Community Newspaper Group publishes 21 weeklies. The Baltimore Examiner’s daily circulation is 250,000. The Maryland edition of The Washington Examiner’s daily circulation is 93,000, 101,000 for the weekend edition. The 87,000-circulation weekly Baltimore Guide would also be covered by Shewell’s
legislation.
