High Court to Hear Videogames Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide the constitutionality of a California law that would ban the sale of violent videogames to minors. Two lower courts struck down the law as an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of speech. The case could also have implications for the broader entertainment industry, specifically for producers of violent movies and television shows.

California argued in its petition to the Supreme Court that lawmakers should be able to ban sales of violent videogames to those younger than 18 just as they can restrict the sale of sexual material to minors. Two trade associations challenged the law before it went into effect, arguing that videogames are a modern form of artistic expression entitled to First Amendment protection.

Oral arguments will take place during the court's next term, which begins in October.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal.

Newspaper Circulation Keeps Falling

Average weekday newspaper circulation fell 8.7 percent in the six months that ended March 31, compared with the same period a year earlier. Sunday circulation fell 6.5 percent, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The top 25 newspapers in the country showed some huge circulation losses. Among the 25 largest circulation newspapers, 10 had declines in weekday circulation of more than 10 percent.

The San Francisco Chronicle's weekday circulation dropped nearly 23 percent from the year before to 241,330. At The Washington Post, average weekday circulation fell 13.1 percent to 578,482. USA Today lost 13.6 percent of its circulation and averaged 1.83 million.

Read more at Yahoo News.

2009 Internet Ad Revenue

Marketers spent more in 2009 on Internet advertising than in magazines, according to a report from ZenithOptimedia. The research firm says online ad spending will rapidly close ground on newspapers. However, overall online advertising revenue declined 3.4 percent for the year from 2008. The loss in ad spending across all media was an even steeper 12.3 percent for the year and 2 percent for the fourth quarter. Although online advertising for 2009 declined slightly from 2008, it came in at $22.66 billion, the advertising bureau said. Meanwhile, ad sales at major magazines plunged to $19.5 billion, according to Publishers Information Bureau data.

Read more at the New York Times.