Appeals court rejects ban on airport news racks

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a North Carolina airport violated the First Amendment rights of newspapers when it banned newspaper racks in its terminals, Editor & Publisher reported.

In a 2-1 vote, a panel of justices at a U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond (4th Cir.), rejected arguments by the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority that the racks were a security threat, obstructed traffic and caused terminal stores to lose money in newspaper sales.

The court’s decision, which upheld a November 2008 ruling by a district court that ordered the airport authority to permit news racks, may still be appealed to the entire appeals court.