Apart from the point about the free market that I made in another message...

Note that I am not competing with the newspaper's staff. They don't have
astronomical telescopes as far as I can determine.

Note further that I often sell astronomical pictures commercially (for as
much as $500 for one-time use), and judging the relatively limited
commercial value of this particular picture, I thought it would be good PR
to give it to them free and get some free publicity from it.

Are you familiar with the concept of creating a market? Most local
newspapers are not aware that pictures like this *can* be taken locally. By
showing that it can be done, even if I don't get paid for a particular
picture, I increase the demand for such pictures as a whole.

--
Clear skies,

Michael A. Covington
Author, Astrophotography for the Amateur
www.covingtoninnovations.com/astromenu.html