Newspaper that had banned Bryant coverage resumes it

ASPEN, Colo. - The Aspen Daily News lifted its 10-month-old ban on news about the Kobe Bryant case Thursday with a 1,000-word page-one story on prosecutors' decision to drop the rape charges.

The 12,500-circulation paper stopped covering the case in October, three months after the NBA star was charged. Citing a "media mob" swarming the case, the Daily News said its readers were losing interest and its reporters could better spend their time.

On Thursday, the Daily News published an Associated Press report on the end of the criminal case and the text of Bryant's apology to the accuser.

"It was a no-brainer," editor Rick Carroll said. "From the very beginning we said we would report on the case when there was a disposition, a settlement or verdict reached."

Carroll said the paper missed out on some substantive stories, including a challenge of the state's rape-shield law by defense attorneys.

"There were so many interesting developments that came out of this case," he said. "It became more than a celebrity trial."

The paper will cover developments in the accuser's lawsuit against Bryant in Denver federal court, he said.

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