Editorial from The Charleston Gazette-Mail:
A legislative audit released last week suggests setting up an online repository for legal ads, rather than require state, county and city agencies to run such ads in local newspapers of record. In the coming year, it’s estimated the effort would save government agencies a combined $4.6 million.
That’s not the whole story, but before getting into that, it’s important to offer full transparency. Newspapers like the Gazette-Mail, and others across the state, receive money from legal ads. One of the reasons the West Virginia Press Association weighed in on the issue Monday is that it’s important for newspapers to keep their revenue sources where they can.
It would be dishonest to suggest newspapers aren’t concerned about that aspect of the issue. Of course, it’s also important to note that revenue from legal ads helps newspapers to continue to operate, and bring state and local news to their readers.
Money aside, though, some other problems with this proposal are worth discussing. For instance, leaving the responsibility for posting legal ads to a government agency isn’t the best way forward. Who is making sure they post these ads? Who is making sure concerned citizens can find them? If you’ve spent any time on government websites, whether it be a local city council or a massive state agency, you already know it can be difficult to find what you’re looking for, and that’s when you know what it is you’re trying to find.
Sure, not everyone in an area affected by a required legal ad receives their local newspaper or visits the paper’s website. But actively seeking to inform impacted citizens places some responsibility on these agencies and keeps the public better informed than a passive system would.
As the WVPA pointed out, it’s also important to recognize that some of these ads, while costing an agency money on the front end, wind up making up for the cost and then some afterward. When a county or municipality runs a delinquent tax list, and those taxes are paid, they come with late fees or interest. So it’s a tool that helps those agencies collect beyond their original due. It’s also something of a deterrent, as most residents don’t want their name to wind up in print for not paying their taxes.
Should this issue progress, we urge West Virginians to consider all of the arguments presented, as the cost for purchasing legal ads isn’t even really half the story.
That’s not the whole story, but before getting into that, it’s important to offer full transparency. Newspapers like the Gazette-Mail, and others across the state, receive money from legal ads. One of the reasons the West Virginia Press Association weighed in on the issue Monday is that it’s important for newspapers to keep their revenue sources where they can.
It would be dishonest to suggest newspapers aren’t concerned about that aspect of the issue. Of course, it’s also important to note that revenue from legal ads helps newspapers to continue to operate, and bring state and local news to their readers.
Money aside, though, some other problems with this proposal are worth discussing. For instance, leaving the responsibility for posting legal ads to a government agency isn’t the best way forward. Who is making sure they post these ads? Who is making sure concerned citizens can find them? If you’ve spent any time on government websites, whether it be a local city council or a massive state agency, you already know it can be difficult to find what you’re looking for, and that’s when you know what it is you’re trying to find. …
Read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com
