South DaCola

The Argus Leader defends its draconian cash cow

If only Plato had the internets

The Argus doesn’t want legal notices put online, they want them to continue to be printed in their newspaper instead;

As it currently stands, governmental bodies must turn over the notices to be printed to an independent party – namely the daily or weekly newspaper – in a timely fashion. That assures an integrity and trustworthiness to the process. Taxpayers can trust that the information has not been delayed, altered or edited by a public official.

For that reason and others, it’s important to maintain this system.

I do partially agree, but I find it ironic that no where in the editorial did they mention the city paid aproximately $75,000 to the Argus for that service last year.

But this is a worthwhile investment. Newspapers have not changed the rates for publishing the notices in at least two years – longer in some cases – and they are much lower than traditional advertising rates.

But you still didn’t mention the figure – go figure. When the council voted this last year on the official paper, which they had little choice, Councilor Litz suggested the Shopping News instead. I partially agree with him on that suggestion. Why? First, it’s cheaper, it has a wider distribution, and it is FREE to the public (like the internet) the only downside is that it comes out once a week. I recommend the city looks into rates at the Shopping News, and continue printing the legal notices – but not in their newspaper.

BTW, I read this story online.

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