The McGraw-Hill Companies Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Overturn Unconstitutional Violation Of Its First Amendment Rights; Corporation Continues To Fight Unprecedented Governmental Censorship

Business Wire, Sept 19, 1995

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 19, 1995--Continuing to fight for its First Amendment rights, The McGraw-Hill Companies and its Business Week magazine today filed an expedited appeal with the United States Supreme Court seeking to immediately overturn a lower Court's unconstitutional ruling of prior restraint against the Corporation.

Early this afternoon, attorneys for The McGraw-Hill Companies filed the application for an immediate stay of the lower Court's ruling with Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Jr.

"This is an extraordinary case of censorship," said Stephen B. Shepard, Editor-In-Chief of Business Week. "We are taking our case to the United States Supreme Court to win back our First Amendment rights, and to swiftly reverse the lower Court's unprecedented order of prior restraint."

The Court order in this matter was issued via facsimile and without prior notification by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio last Wednesday evening, and caused Business Week, facing its weekly publication deadline, to remove a breaking news story which included significant information contained in court documents. The news story was an investigative report on the ongoing derivatives litigation between The Procter & Gamble Company and Bankers Trust Company.

"It is unconstitutional under the First Amendment for a court to order a news organization to refrain from publishing information that is legally obtained," said Kenneth M. Vittor, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for The McGraw-Hill Companies. "There is simply no precedent for the District Court's prior restraint order."

"We have been fighting to overturn this order since we learned about it on publication deadline last Wednesday night," said Shepard. "Every passing moment that this Court order is allowed to stand represents a dangerous violation of our First Amendment rights. We are hopeful the Supreme Court will immediately hear our appeal, and restore our editorial freedom."

"The information we were prohibited from publishing last week is based on documents Business Week legally acquired from a confidential source," Shepard continued. "Business Week acted lawfully in acquiring these court records, and should be free under the First Amendment to publish this controversial and compelling news story."

A number of major national news organizations concerned about the broader implications of the U.S. District Court's restraining order on their editorial freedoms have filed a brief in support of The McGraw-Hill Companies in this matter. They include The New York Times Company; Newsweek Incorporated; Time Incorporated; Gannett Satellite Information Network Incorporated; News America Publishing Incorporated; Magazine Publishers of America, Incorporated; Association of American Publishers Incorporated; Advance Magazine Publishers Incorporated; and Bloomberg L.P.

Business Week is the world's largest business magazine with a circulation of more than one million.

The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading information services organization serving worldwide markets in education, business, industry, the professions and government. Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies today provides information and analysis in multiple media through its rich portfolio of valuable brands. Sales in 1994 exceeded $2.7 billion.

CONTACT: Steven H. Weiss

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

The McGraw-Hill Companies

212-512-2247 (office)

201-867-7699 (home)

or

Eileen Gabriele

Director, Public Relations

The McGraw-Hill Companies

212-512-3852 (office)

201-358-1992 (home)