Tuesday, March 11

corrected: no tuesday headlines, but a correction on one

No headlines today. We're hitting the last stride in producing a special package that was planned later than usual, after the Fort Collins City Council voted to hear an ordinance that will negatively impact the distribution of newspapers in our core readership area of Old Town.

However, one correction needs to be made regarding a story featured in today's Collegian: Council has not yet passed a newsrack ordinance. Rather, at last Tuesday's meeting, they voted to select which ordinance they would vote upon at next Tuesday's meeting. They had a choice between two: one drawn up by otherwise competitive news organizations and one drawn up by the Downtown Development Authority and the Downtown Business Association. (They chose the latter.) Councilmen David Roy and Wade Troxell were the only sane members that night in selecting neither, though that also drew some ire from Chronicle publishers. (Corrected here: This sentence originally credited Roy only. My sincere apologies to Troxell.)

Further, the cutline under the photo used for the Collegian article points to "empty" newsracks in Old Town (echoing unfounded charges, in our case at least, from the DBA/DDA). One well-maintained Chronicle bin sits in the foreground, with a cover in the window, meaning there is at least one available paper in that box (and, yes, readers will pull the last paper from the window). It's impossible to tell from here, but it's almost as impossible that our box is truly empty. Our distribution coordinator, Taylor Amason, dutifully checks Old Town spots regularly. Any more on this point Taylor? Josh?

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