The photos above show a Melrose Avenue billboard before and after removal of a billboard from the group Stop30billion.org. Apparently the subject matter was too hot to handle for CBS Outdoor, who removed all 23 of the billboards shortly after they were posted under what seems to be a a rather thin pretense .
Corporate advertising space dominates the public's view in many parts of the city, but it is not subject to all the laws of public space, as it is a private enterprise. This is yet another reminder that corporate space is not subject to free speech, even if it is forced into the public space by a corporate billboard. Activists should remember that getting unpopular ideas out to the mainstream will never be easy when going the corporate route.
