Notices vital to newspapers

By Reed Anfinson, Publisher, Swift County Monitor-News

Efforts are underway in the Minnesota Legislature to further damage the future of the state’s community newspapers.

The Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) has proposed last-minute legislation allowing school districts to publish their public notices on school websites rather than in their local newspapers.

In its argument for moving public notices to school websites, the MSBA points to the loss of community newspapers and the increasing difficulty of finding one in which to publish its notices. Although those instances are rare, they are happening too often lately.

Earlier this month, Alden Global Capital’s operating entity announced it would close the doors at eight Minnesota newspapers: the Hutchinson Leader, Litchfield Independent Review, Chaska Herald, Chanhassen Villager, Jordan Independent, the Shakopee Valley News, Prior Lake American and Savage Pacer. Their demise comes at the end of the month.

However, vigorous efforts are underway in these communities to replace them. Public notice income will be essential to helping the citizens of these communities start and operate newspapers.

“School districts, in response to these closures, are forced to go to a regional source outside of the school district community to publish the required postings at higher costs and a greatly diminished effectiveness in getting important information to the public,” the MSBA says.

Rather than arguing for legislation that helps their community newspapers survive or get restarted with local ownership, their efforts aim to ensure even more communities lose newspapers.

In the Minnesota Senate Education Policy Omnibus bill (SF 3567), there is language that would allow school public notices to drop newspaper publications and put them on their websites. A House bill limits the language to a temporary exception for communities that have lost their newspaper – it would lapse when a new newspaper was publishing.

The Minnesota Newspaper Association’s effort to work with the MSBA to craft legislation that addresses both of our needs in getting notices published has been brushed off. They feel they can take advantage of the moment in rushing through legislation that damages government transparency and community newspapers.

As the MSBA seeks to remove public notice from newspapers, it is surveying its members to build an argument that we don’t matter anymore and are too expensive. Public notice costs are a tiny fraction of a school board’s budget. However, when you consider its value in print and in supporting the local newspaper, it is invaluable.

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