U.S. NOVEMBER 5, 2019 / 11:27 AM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO

Florida county to revisit rejection of digital New York Times for libraries

Peter Szekely
3 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Responding to a public furor, a Florida county board on Tuesday said it would revisit its decision to reject its library system’s request for a digital subscription to the New York Times, whose reporting one member had called “fake news.”

The Oct. 24 decision by the Citrus County commissioners drew sharp opposition as well as national attention when it came to light in a local report late last week.

“One of the most, if not the most, disappointing aspects of all of this has been the vitriol that has come about so quickly,” said Jeff Kinnar, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. “I have gotten more foul language in my emails in the last 48 hours than I have gotten in the past three years.”

Members of the five-person board in Citrus County, about 75 miles (121 km) north of Tampa, said the request for about $2,700 a year to fund the Times digital version would be taken up again their Nov. 19 meeting.

“Come back during the next meeting when it’s on the agenda,” Commissioner Jimmie Smith urged critics of the decision. “I don’t expect us all to agree on all these issues. But let’s have a civil conversation. Stop the name-calling.”

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