Challenge?
you've got a subscription?
Menzies for a copy, journey they don't The reason for this glaring gap among the soft porn the skateboarding mags on the shelves paper shop can be summed up a single word: 'distribution'. And as The Other Secret Service (Minority Press Group, 60p) shows, 'distribution' can be a very dirty word indeed.
The market for wholesaling magazines and papers to local shops is heavily monopolised by three major companies. Smith, MenDawson control 57 per cent of daily paper sales and 69 per cent ot weekly and magazine sales. Menzies alone hold a staggering per cent OTI magazine wholesaling market in Scotland.
The managements of these three firms, accountable only their shareholders, wield absolute power in deciding what will and won't appear in Britain's 39,000 newsagents.
Predictably this power is used to prevent the widespread distribution publications that are critical of an economic and political system in which Smenzies do very nicely thank you.
June above Is never given as the reason for refusing pantone such HOW did you get hold of this copy of Socialist Are you a regular seller supplied direct from the office? Did you buy it in your factory or sell In fact Challenge isn't sold in any newagents unless supporters take the paper round there themselves.
- that would be admilling censorsnip it? No, more subtle justifications alic Calcu for: your circulation is too small' youl libellous'.
Libel
aside the ularity of the first of these LOVILL explanations, neither stands distributes many scrutiny. wim circulanons wereow that of Socialist one of the 3,000 copies of this month's Dental Technician a any Smith's branch you cared to walk into. culation 100,000 +) and Gay News (26,000) are excluded by the both Smith and Menzies.
The convenient libel exists because Stales that distributors, well as publishers, can be prosecuted tor detamation. the excuse is applied selectively.
For example, Private Eye had eight libel cases outstanding against it in 1972 Times, whose distribution has never been in doubt, had.16.
National dailies massive cases over their heads, but they're there always newsagents' counters.
The past few years have seen a massive explosion in may organised operates depending on sie- into and type of publication.
As the company has developed over the years, radical • pubishers have con gregated in one co-operative
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when you were out shopping in the market? Perhaps However you bought the paper, one thing is cer- tain: you didn't pop round to your local WH Smith or or if you did it was a wasted