Opinion: Keep public notices public
April 12, 2009
OPINION
Bucks County Courier Times
If you feel like you're in the dark about what your government is up to, it could get worse. A Senate bill that is moving quickly through the Legislature would remove public notices from newspapers and put them on government Web sites.
It's a bad idea.
We say this not because it would impact the bottom line for newspapers, which it would, but because it would undermine transparency in government and promote secrecy and cronyism. Supporters say the proposal would save taxpayers money. In fact, the costs of publishing public notices are relatively small and the price in terms of reduced public awareness quite large.
We know this because research shows that government Web sites are not well traveled. Newspaper Web sites, which garner much more traffic, already post public notices that appear on their news pages. Shifting the notices to little-read government sites essentially would shield them from public view.
Additionally, newspapers provide a permanent record of public notices and also serve as third-party verification that notices were published in accordance with the law. Also, and perhaps most importantly, newspapers are independent of the political forces running government Web sites.
Look, we know it sounds self-serving for this or any newspaper to advocate the continued publication of public notices in the newspaper. We'll accept that criticism as the price we'll pay to keep public notices squarely before the public.
Bucks County Courier Times
If you feel like you're in the dark about what your government is up to, it could get worse. A Senate bill that is moving quickly through the Legislature would remove public notices from newspapers and put them on government Web sites.
It's a bad idea.
We say this not because it would impact the bottom line for newspapers, which it would, but because it would undermine transparency in government and promote secrecy and cronyism. Supporters say the proposal would save taxpayers money. In fact, the costs of publishing public notices are relatively small and the price in terms of reduced public awareness quite large.
We know this because research shows that government Web sites are not well traveled. Newspaper Web sites, which garner much more traffic, already post public notices that appear on their news pages. Shifting the notices to little-read government sites essentially would shield them from public view.
Additionally, newspapers provide a permanent record of public notices and also serve as third-party verification that notices were published in accordance with the law. Also, and perhaps most importantly, newspapers are independent of the political forces running government Web sites.
Look, we know it sounds self-serving for this or any newspaper to advocate the continued publication of public notices in the newspaper. We'll accept that criticism as the price we'll pay to keep public notices squarely before the public.
