Opinion ID: 769045
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Likelihood The Pitt News' First Amendment Claim Will Succeed on the Merits

Text: 44 We now proceed to determine whether The Pitt News has demonstrated that it is entitled to preliminary injunctive relief for the indirect economic loss it alleges. In ruling on a motion for a preliminary injunction, the District Court must consider the following factors, and issue an injunction only if all four factors favor preliminary relief: (a) the likelihood that the plaintiff will prevail on the merits of its claim at the final hearing; (b) the extent to which the plaintiff is being irreparably harmed by the conduct complained of; (c) the extent to which the defendant would suffer irreparable harm if the preliminary injunction is issued; and (d) the public interest. See New Jersey Hosp. Ass'n v. Waldman, 73 F.3d 509, 512 (3d Cir. 1995). The District Court concluded that even if The Pitt News had standing, the newspaper would not be entitled to a preliminary injunction because it had not shown irreparable harm. We agree that The Pitt News is not entitled to preliminary injunctive relief. We need not reach the question of irreparable harm, however, because we conclude that The Pitt News has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its claim. 45 The Pitt News claims that its First Amendment rights have been injured by the enforcement of Act 199, even though Section 4-498(e)(5) can only be enforced against advertisers. The Pitt News claims that although it cannot be prosecuted under the Act, the loss of advertising revenue resulting from the Act's enforcement has reduced the amount of space it has available to publish articles and photographs, thereby interfering with its right to freedom of the press. 46 We disagree. The fact that The Pitt News has demonstrated a connection between the enforcement of Act 199 and the reduction in its advertising revenues from purveyors of alcoholic beverages, along with the resulting reduction in the length of its publication, does not mean that one of its constitutionally protected interests has been injured. This amounts to nothing more than an incidental economic effect of a regulation aimed at closely regulated third parties. Act 199 does not directly restrict the content of The Pitt News. It is free to seek advertising from a myriad of sources, including purveyors of alcoholic beverages, so long as those beverages are not mentioned in the advertisements. Additionally, according to the LCB, The Pitt News could, for instance, contact area bars, find out what their nightly drink specials are, and publish a weekly listing of goings-on about town -- so long as The Pitt News did not receive any consideration for doing so. There is thus no direct limitation on the freedom of The Pitt News to publish alcohol-related information. 47 The fact that The Pitt News is a newspaper does not give it a constitutional right to a certain level of profitability, or even to stay in business at all. The Pitt News proceeds on the erroneous premise that it has a constitutional right not only to speak, but to speak profitably. AMSAT Cable Ltd. v. Cablevision of Connecticut, 6 F.3d 867, 871 (2d Cir. 1993) (holding that although content of cable television transmissions has First Amendment protection, government regulation that has incidental economic effect of forcing cable operator out of business does not injure operator's First Amendment rights). Economic loss . .. does not constitute a first amendment injury. 'The inquiry for First Amendment purposes is not concerned with economic impact; rather, it looks only to the effect of [an] ordinance upon freedom of expression.'  Warner Cable Communications, Inc. v. City of Niceville, 911 F.2d 634, 638 (11th Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1222, 115 L. Ed. 2d 1007, 111 S. Ct. 2839 (1991) (quoting Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc., 427 U.S. 50, 78, 96, 49 L. Ed. 2d 310, 96 S. Ct. 2440, 2456 (1976) (Powell, J., concurring)). Thus, although it is true that the enforcement of Act 199 has had the effect of driving away certain closely regulated businesses who previously advertised in The Pitt News, this does not in itself amount to a violation of The Pitt News' First Amendment rights. 48 In an effort to avoid this reasoning, The Pitt News advances a selective tax argument. It points to a line of cases holding that it is unconstitutional to impose selective taxes or other financial burdens on newspapers because of their content. See, e.g., Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland, 481 U.S. 221, 107 S. Ct. 1722, 95 L. Ed. 2d 209 (1987) (placing sales tax on certain publications based on their content violates First Amendment). Selective tax cases are distinguishable for two reasons. First, they involve taxes, not regulations on advertising. Second, they involve fees levied directly against a newspaper. In the present case, no taxes or fees have been levied against The Pitt News. Further, as discussed above, the content of The Pitt News is not directly regulated or penalized by Act 199. Therefore, this selective tax argument is unavailing. 49 Because its constitutional rights have not been infringed, any economic effect on the advertising revenue of The Pitt News is therefore incidental to the challenged regulation. Thus, although The Pitt News has no doubt felt an economic effect resulting from the enforcement of Act 199, this does not amount to a violation of its First Amendment rights. 13