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Opinion of the Court
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. Motivated by its interest in the safety and attractive appearance of its streets and sidewalks, the city of Cincinnati has refused to allow respondents to distribute their commercial publications through freestanding newsracks located on public property. The question presented is whether this refusal is consistent with the First Amendment.1 In agreement with the District Court and the Court of Appeals, we hold that it is not.
I
Respondent Discovery Network, Inc., is engaged in the business of providing adult educational, recreational, and social programs to individuals in the Cincinnati area. It advertises those programs in a free magazine that it publishes nine times a year. Although these magazines consist primarily of promotional material pertaining to Discovery's courses, they also include some information about current events of general interest. Approximately one-third of these magazines are distributed through the 38 newsracks that the city authorized Discovery to place on public property in 1989.
Respondent Harmon Publishing Company, Inc., publishes and distributes a free magazine that advertises real estate for sale at various locations throughout the United States. The magazine contains listings and photographs of available
Stewart; and for the Washington Legal Foundation by Charles Fried, Richard Willard, Daniel J. Popeo, and Richard A. Samp.
Briefs of amici curiae were filed for the City of New York by O. Peter Sherwood, Leonard Koerner, and Paul T. Rephen; and for the American Newspaper Publishers Association et al. by P. Cameron DeVore, Marshall J. Nelson, John F. Sturm, René Milam, Harold W. Fuson, Jr., David M. Olive, Richard J. Tofel, Barbara W. Wall, and Peter Stone.
1 The First Amendment provides, in part: "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . . ." The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been construed to make this prohibition applicable to state action. See, e. g., Stromberg v. California, 283 U. S. 359 (1931); Lovell v. Griffin, 303 U. S. 444 (1938).
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