Hugh Hefner continues to back Chicago high school newspaper
CHICAGO -- Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner has renewed a grant to fund the student newspaper at the Chicago high school he attended.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Hefner made the commitment to Steinmetz College Prep last week. He will continue to donate $7,500 a year for another 5 years to cover printing costs. Hefner began the pledge to his alma mater in 2010.
About two months ago, Steinmetz Star student reporters clashed with the school's principal over allegations of censorship.
In December, students wanted to publish a story about later dismissal times. The principal says he held the piece so students could make it less "one-sided." The story was eventually published on the front page.
The Sun-Times says Hefner was a Steinmetz Star reporter and cartoonist before graduating in 1944.
In October, Playboy announced it was scraping nudity from its magazine.
Despite its success, Playboy suffered from the Internet explosion in which pornography is both free and easy to find, reported CBS News' Anthony Mason. The magazine's circulation dropped from more than five-and-a-half million in 1975 to about 800,000 readers today.
Playboy said their new approach will scrap the nudity and increase the raw intimacy. When the magazine removed nudity from its website last year, web traffic jumped from about four million to about 16 million unique users per month.