Newspapers Lose Public Notices Revenue
Web Postings Replacing Printing of Public Information
May 29, 2009
Newspapers looked to classified advertising and public notices for revenue in the past. Craigslist on the Internet effectively took the profit out of ads and now public notices may follow the same path. Strapped for cash, many towns and cities are finding it can save thousands of dollars by using a Web page to make the notices available to the public.
What are Public Notices
Public notices are required by government agencies and corporation to publicize such things as
- mortgage foreclosures
- public meetings
- open bids for government contracts
- public auctions of seized properties
- changes to certain types of laws
For example, notices of zone changes and land development plans, which can be quite lengthly, were moneymakers for newspapers. Now city and country governments use the Web as a way of saving taxpayer money.
Even the Obama administration is planning to publicize its Asset Forfeiture program on the Internet instead of in newspapers, saying that the savings would amount to a $6.7 million savings over a five year period.
Opposition to Putting Public Notices Online
One of the complaints about no longer putting public notices in newspapers is that it will limit the public awareness of legal actions being taken in their communities if they are not on the Internet. This is common in poor and rural communities, some of which still do not have Internet access.
A spokesman for the North Carolina branch of the National Association for the Advancement, Rev. William Barber, has said that people in the communities he serves still rely on newspapers. This would prevent them from having the same access to public notices as those who live in more affluent communities.
Even those having Internet access might not see all the notices because it would mean going to multiple Web pages instead of just looking at the public notice page in the newspaper.
Governments May be Forced to Use Internet
As the recession deepens, local and state governments increasingly try to find ways to save money. In Arizona, for example, 90 municipalities spent approximately $900,000 in 2008 on public-notice ads. Now legislation is being presented to the state legislature to allow communities to move the public notices from newspapers to the Internet.
California, looking for ways to reduce its budget deficit, is considering changing the way public notices are publicized.
If there is a choice of spending money on public-notice advertising or using the funds to pay for citizen programs, there is little chance that the newspapers would win out. There is no doubt that the trend is gathering momentum as local and state agencies look for ways to cut spending.
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