By: E&P Staff Count the Town Council of Paradise, Calif., among those who want to eliminate the requirement, found in all states, that the municipalities' public notices be published in newspaper advertisements.
"Print media is dead," Councilman Alan White declared at Wednesday evening's meeting of the Town Council.
According to an account in the Paradise Post, which carries the town's public notices, the council approved a letter supporting a California Assembly bill that would allow government bodies to publish new ordinances and other legal ads on the Web rather than in local newspapers.
The measure will not just save money -- Paradise budgets $3,500 for advertising annually -- but reach more people online, the council said, according to the article by Post reporter Paul Wellersdick.
Town Clerk Joanna Gutierrez noted that the state association of town clerks was supporting the bill was a "practical matter." Paradise already posts public notices online, she added.
California legislators have repeatedly introduced similar bills in the past, but they have always died in the face of opposition that includes the California Newspaper Publishers Association -- which argues that print reaches a bigger audience, is more accessible than government Web sites and is a permanent record that cannot be changed.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here