- Argus Leader
"See also
List of newspapers in South Dakota "Infobox Newspaper
name = Argus Leader
caption = TheJuly 27 ,2005 front page of the
"Argus Leader"
type = Dailynewspaper
format =Broadsheet
foundation =1881 (as the "Argus")
owners =Gannett Company
circulation = 48,466 Morning
67,943 Sundaycite web|url=http://www.accessabc.com/products/top200.htm|title=Audit Bureau of Circulations top 200| As of March 31, 2007]
headquarters = 200 S. Minnesota Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57106
USA
editor = Randell Beck
publisher = Arnold Garson
ISSN =
website = [http://argusleader.com ArgusLeader.com]The "Argus Leader" is the daily
newspaper ofSioux Falls ,South Dakota .Description
Despite dramatically falling numbers, the " [http://www.argusleader.com Argus Leader] " is South Dakota's largest newspaper in circulation. The weekday circulation for the newspaper as of September 30, 2007 was 48,466 down from 53,929 in 2006 [Editor & Publisher July 1, 2007] . The Sunday edition is also in decline. From July to September 2007 circulation of the Sunday edition fell from 69,767 to 67,943 [Audit Bureau of Circulations] .
For the past 3 years, it has also been host to South Dakota's #3 [http://www.argusleader.com website] receiving an average of 200,000 hits per day Fact|date=April 2007.
The newspaper and [http://www.argusleader.com website's] most recent style change happened in September 2006. The new goal is to bring more local coverage and allow readers to voice their opinions in an open format. To do this a new section of the paper was created called "Voices" in conjunction with the online [http://argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=VOICES "Your Voice"] section.
Along with the daily newspaper the " [http://www.argusleader.com Argus Leader] " owns smaller local papers in the region.
* " [http://www.brandoninfo.com Brandon Valley Challenger] "
* " [http://www.dellrapidsinfo.com Dell Rapids Tribune] "
* " [http://www.balticbeacon.com Baltic Beacon] "
* " [http://www.garretsonweekly.com Garretson Weekly] "
* " [http://www.thechampiononline.com Tea-Harrisburg Champion] "The newspaper also publishes an economic weekly, the " [http://www.siouxfallsbusinessjournal.com Sioux Falls Business Journal] ", and a handful of magazines.
Commonly called the Argus Liar by critics, the paper has been accused of a left-wing bias and is characterized by frequent and obvious grammar errors as well as printing erroneous information without proper fact checking.
Controversy with Free Magazines and Freedom of Speech
In March 2006, the Argus Leader came under fire for attempting to control distribution rights within the city of Sioux Falls.
The Argus Leader through a subsidiary company, News Center Distribution (NCD), had local businesses sign contracts saying that the Argus Leader controlled the publications to be distributed in their businesses. [1]
The agreement allowed the Argus Leader to display and give away its free publications like Live, PetMag and CityStyle. Other independent publishers such as Prime, Renter's Guide, the Shopping News and others would have to pay the Argus Leader a fee to distribute their publications.
It was a practice not officially mandated by Gannett, the parent company of the Argus Leader, but a practice put into place at several papers in the chain. Some claimed these new business practices created a monopoly on space and forced the competition of other free, independent magazines to close. [2]
In Sioux Falls, if the independent publishers didn't pay the Argus Leader, they threatened to physically take their competitors magazines out of contracted businesses.
The Argus Leader’s move was viewed as a violation on First Amendment rights after they gained exclusive contracts to control distribution on property managed by the city of Sioux Falls.
The City of Sioux Falls called the Argus Leader’s contracts with the city owned property: “A reasonable restriction on free speech.”
City lawyers said there was legal precedent to back up the move. They cited, ironically, cases where Gannett had sued and lost to gain access to the same type of property.
But when the controversy was made public, the city council canceled the contract with the Argus Leader distributor. The council said such a contract went too far in the limiting free speech.
As for the private businesses that signed contracts with the Argus Leader distributor, many of them weren’t aware of what they had signed and said that they were mislead or confused by what the Argus Leader distributors had told them.
And the contracts themselves were shown not to hold much weight either. A local lawyer, Harry Engberg, said that if a client had brought the contract to him for review, he would tell them, “They were crazy to sign it.” [3]
1. KSFY-TV March, 3 2006
2. Editor and Publisher July 1, 2006
3. KSFY-TV March, 3 2006
References
External links
* [http://www.argusleader.com The Argus Leader's website]
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