Florida Wal-Mart Bans Paper, Then Apologizes (Outtakes Opinion)

In late July, the manager of a Pensacola, Fla., Wal-Mart banned the local newspaper from being sold at the store after taking issue with a column the paper published that criticized Wal-Mart’s employee fringe benefits and insurance packages. We were glad to see the retailer reverse its decision.

The Pensacola News Journal reported that “the store ordered us off their property, told us to come pick up our newspaper racks and clear out. So we did.”

Two days later, Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville lifted the ban and apologized to the paper.

“We did make an error in judgment by removing the papers from our stores,” Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Sharon Weber told the paper in an e-mail.