How Arizona preserved publishers’ public-notice role while expanding digital access

Column is grateful for the tremendous work the Arizona Media Association and local publishers did to help shape this compromise. Our work is deeply tied to the health and success of local publishers. Efforts to preserve the essential role of newspapers while expanding public access represent a meaningful step forward for the entire public-notice ecosystem.”

Megan Villanueva, CEO, Column

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Column helps publishers and press associations:

• Navigate legislative changes.
• Modernize public notices.
• Launch searchable digital notice sites.
• Preserve the newspaper's trusted role.

Learn more at Column.us.

Arizona has found a way to expand digital access to public notices without removing local news organizations from the process. When Gov. Katie Hobbs signed Senate Bill 1167 in June, the state established a more flexible framework that recognizes changing audience habits while preserving an independent, trusted public record. The legislative achievement belongs to the Arizona Media Association, participating publishers, lawmakers and local-government stakeholders who negotiated the compromise. For Arizona publications already adapting new technologies to modernize the new law also demonstrates the value of having modern digital systems in place before regulatory change arrives.

For publishers nationwide facing similar legislative debates, Arizona offers something increasingly valuable: a roadmap. "This agreement strikes the right balance between modernization and maintaining trusted, broad public access," said Lisa Simpson, senior vice president of the Arizona Media Association. "By ensuring notices are available on government sites, newspaper websites and in print, we are strengthening transparency and making it easier for all Arizonans to stay informed about decisions in their communities."

What Arizona’s new framework changes

SB 1167 allows Arizona cities, towns and counties to satisfy certain public-notice requirements by posting notices on their official websites and providing them to a qualified publication’s website. Publications may continue running those notices in print.

The framework addresses concerns about publication frequency, deadlines and access in communities that may no longer have a daily printed product. At the same time, it preserves an important principle: Public notices should not exist exclusively on government-controlled websites.

Arizona did not eliminate publishers from the system to achieve greater digital access. Instead, the state created a structure in which government websites, publication websites and print can work together.

That distinction matters because public notices serve two purposes. They distribute information about government actions, but they also create an independent and verifiable record outside the control of the institution issuing the notice.

Preparing for change before it arrives

While the legislation establishes new requirements, some Arizona publications had already been updating the way they receive, process and publish notices.

Column, a technology company that helps publishers manage, process and distribute public notices, reports that 32 Arizona publications and 358 government users currently use its platform. During the previous year, 2,724 Arizona notices were processed through the system, with 85% of government notices submitted through self-service workflows.

Those figures illustrate how some Arizona publishers had already begun modernizing the operational side of public notice before the new framework took effect.

Column centralizes notice submission, proofs, affidavits, billing, recordkeeping and digital publication. A participating publication can also maintain a branded, searchable page where notices are automatically organized and made available to the public. For publishers navigating similar policy conversations, those capabilities can help demonstrate that greater digital access and an independent newspaper record do not have to be at odds.

That infrastructure can reduce the need for staff members to transfer information manually among disconnected systems. It can also give government customers a more direct submission process while providing residents with a consistent place to search for notices.

What modernization looks like locally

For Doug Bauer, publisher of the Arizona Daily Sun, digital modernization is not about replacing print. It is about making public information easier to discover across all the channels his audience uses.

“We want to help make public records more public,” Bauer said. “Column gives us a platform where these notices can be organized and easily found. We've traditionally published legal notices in our print and e-editions, as well as our website. The opportunity now is to add that information to our newsletters and social-media channels, so it reaches audiences wherever they engage with us."

Once notices are processed, they can appear on a public-facing search page branded for the publication. The publisher can then direct readers to that resource through its website, newsletters, social platforms, print edition and e-edition.

For residents, that creates a simpler path to information. For government offices, it provides an established digital destination. For the publisher, it expands public access without surrendering its role as an independent steward of the record.

The operational lesson for publishers

Arizona’s experience offers a broader lesson for news organizations watching public-notice legislation develop in their own states.

Publishers increasingly need to demonstrate more than the historical importance of printed notices. They also need to show that notices can be submitted efficiently, published reliably, searched online and distributed wherever audiences now consume information.

Technology can help a publication document how quickly notices are processed, how reliably affidavits are produced and how many government customers use digital workflows. It can also make the public-facing benefits of modernization more visible.

The legislation does not endorse a particular technology provider. It does, however, reinforce the importance of having systems that can accommodate changing publication rules and public expectations.

Modernization without surrendering independence

Arizona’s compromise shows what can happen when publishers help shape modernization rather than simply react to it.  It is an industry and legislative achievement that gives publishers an opportunity to demonstrate how independent local media can remain essential within a modern public-notice system.

For publications already using platforms like Column, the immediate benefit is readiness. Their submission, workflow, affidavit, archive and search tools are already operating as Arizona moves into its new framework.

Other publishers now face an important question: If similar legislation arrived in their state tomorrow, would their public-notice operation be prepared?

Column helps publishers modernize those operations so they are better positioned to serve readers, government customers and the broader public—and to participate constructively when similar policy conversations emerge in their own states.

About Column:

Column builds the technical infrastructure that helps publishers modernize public notice operations, protect recurring revenue and better serve the law firms, governments, businesses and individuals who rely on newspapers for legally compliant publication. Today, thousands of publishers and tens of thousands of agencies, firms, and individuals nationwide rely on Column to keep their communities informed. The platform centralizes notice placement, proofs, affidavits, and billing in one place. By automating high-friction operational steps and standardizing the back office, Column helps publishers protect and grow public notice revenue while making public information easier to access for local communities. We’re reimagining how public information connects people, institutions, and media.