A Jersey paper gets the news out anyway

Whoever bought up and threw away copies of a South Jersey weekly newspaper presumably hoped to prevent it from being read.

But they forgot about the Internet.

The Retrospect made its July 27 edition's top story -- about unusual compensation arrangements for a Haddon Township public official -- available free online after a significant number of print copies were discovered in a dumpster at the Haddon Township municipal building.

"We wanted to make sure (the story) was out there," says Brett Ainsworth, publisher of the weekly, which covers Collingswood and nearby communities. He also personally restocked several retail locations on Sunday .

"Whoever did it, if they had taken a step back, would have realized (buying up copies) wasn't effective," the publisher adds, noting that newstands and honor boxes account for only 500 of the 5,500 papers old weekly. The rest are mailed to subscribers.

The apparent effort to keep the Retrospect from its readers "reminds me of a college prank," Ainsworth says. "The story still gets out."

Or as the crusading editor played by Humphrey Bogart in "Deadline USA," a classic newspaper movie from 1952,  says, "that's the press, baby!"