UTAH NEWSPAPER RUNS LIQUOR ADS; DEFIES STATE LAW

By: Staff reports Publisher Says 'We Advertise Any Legal Product'



The Salt Lake Tribune recently ran advertisements for hard liquor, violating a state
law the newspaper's publisher says is unconstitutional, reports The Associated Press.



'We advertise any legal product,' Publisher Dominic Welch told the AP. He said his
newspaper doesn't solicit liquor advertisements, but that he accepted an order placed
for a national advertising campaign for Canadian Mist whisky.


The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said such advertising is not
allowed, and filed a complaint with the state's criminal investigation bureau. The
department informed Canadian Mist distributor Brown-Forman of Louisville, Ky., that
the ads are illegal.



A Brown-Forman spokesman said the national ad campaign qualified for an exemption in
Utah because the ads also are appearing in national papers like USA Today, which
regularly run liquor ads.



The Spectrum in St. George, also runs liquor advertising, the AP reports.