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Keep Legal Advertising In Local Newspapers

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 30, 2009

A bill proposed by Sen. Ronda Storms of Valrico to abandon the longstanding requirement that legal ads and notices be published in a local newspaper would make it harder for citizens to know what their governments are doing.

Her idea, also included in a companion bill in the House sponsored by fellow Republican Juan Zapata of Miami, is to allow local governments the option of posting these notices on their own Web sites.

Newspapers obviously have a vested interest in keeping this ad revenue. The smaller the paper, the more important legal advertising can be. For some small newspapers, legal ads account for 20 percent or more of revenue, says Dean Riding of the Florida Press Association.

Weakening the independent voices of newspapers across Florida would make it harder for citizens to keep up with what their local elected leaders are doing. Not only would the important notices disappear, but the reporting staff might also be cut.

But aside from our bias in favor of print journalism, the change would be wrong for another important reason: It would put folks without easy Internet access at a big disadvantage.

That's why the AARP is among the bill's many critics.

"AARP is concerned about the limited access for those without Internet or those who are homebound and can't get to the library," says Leslie Spencer of the AARP. "Many seniors rely on newspapers and even share with neighbors to save money."

One newspaper left in a doctor's waiting room, for example, will be read by many people all day long.

Among the things readers might come across in legal ads are notices of public hearings, requests for bids on public projects, city annexations, proposals to change land use, budget information, foreclosure sales, tax changes, permit applications and proposed assessments.

If governments were allowed to satisfy the legal requirements by posting their own notices somewhere on their own sites, we wonder if anyone would see them who didn't already know what they were looking for.

Another concern is that local officials would have a vested interest in burying information that might be unpopular.

When a legal ad runs in a newspaper, it becomes part of a permanent record. Ads posted on the Internet would be allowed to disappear after a certain time. And if a requirement is added to keep them archived forever, costs would go up.

People think of the Internet as free, but it's not. Running and constantly updating an Internet site requires staff and equipment.

But even if Storms' idea would save a little money, the least expensive option is not always the best.

Newspapers are doing a great job of giving the public access to legal advertising that could affect their own pocketbooks and property. You don't even have to be a subscriber to benefit.

Florida newspapers cooperate to post all of their legal ads on the free Internet site www.floridapublicnotices.com. You can search the site for any name, company or town.

The time-honored system of requiring legal ads to be published helps maintain a healthy press and is working well for the public.

Storms' bill deserves the same treatment it would give legal ads: a deep burial.

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