College newspapers, especially two of Virginia's most prominent, won a big victory in terms of to whom they can sell advertisements, which now includes alcohol distributors.

Inside Higher Ed reported a three-judge panel in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Cavalier Daily and the Collegiate Times. The newspapers wanted to sell ads featuring alcoholic beverages and the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control group wanted to prevent them from doing so.

The board ruled student-run newspapers could not advertise with alcoholic beverages, unless it was for a restaurant, because of the demographic of underage readers. The newspapers argued that their readers, being a college environment, were mostly over the age of 21.

The appeals court also ruled the law banning the sale of certain ads infringed upon their rights under the First Amendment.

"In a lot of ways, it was really a relic of bygone days, and it's good to see that it's been swept into history," said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center (a plaintiff in the case).

He also noted the ban restricted the use of certain words that may reference the name of a drink.

"There's just no shortage of alternative outlets, especially on the Internet, where students can find out what to drink and where to drink," LoMonte said. "You couldn't have a regulation that singles out only the college media and selectively bans only a product that's legal for their readers to use."

The decision ends a seven-year case, similar to one the Pitt News, a University of Pittsburgh student newspaper had to battle to win. In the case of Pitt's newspaper, it cost them in lost advertising revenue while they fought the case. The paper was sued for a similar reason as the Virginia newspapers, and the court case lasted from 1999 to 2006.

"If we can't advertise for five years, that could well be $100,000 or more," said Harry Klomen, news adviser at the student paper, whose operating budget has shrunk from $900,000 to about $800,000 in recent years. "Every penny we spend, we have to earn, and for a number of years, we had an advertising avenue closed off to us."

Student newspapers often receive funds for their necessities - printing, office space, supplies and computers - by school funds. Any additional needs - like paying staff, hosting certain events and additional equipment - may have to come from ad revenue.