Legal Publications A Government Buoy For Print Media

Under Iowa’s Golden Dome.

Iowa – Are the legal advertisements required by law amounting to government financing of private business?

All across Iowa this week, government entities will be naming their official publications. This means that a newspaper(s) will be named as the point of publication for local government bodies.

Most of us have seen them, they list the minutes from a public meeting or announce a public hearing, just as an example. Those government publications in the newspaper mean big money for print media companies, and those dollars come out of the taxpayer wallet.

Mahaska County itself spent $12,549.06 during the 2014-2015 fiscal year on publication costs. That twelve grand doesn’t include the fees paid by the City of Oskaloosa, the Oskaloosa School District or the court system.

Iowa Code 618 stipulates how legal information is published, and what print media can be authorized by a government entity.

618.3 REQUIREMENTS FOR NEWSPAPER FOR OFFICIAL
PUBLICATION.

For the purpose of establishing and giving assured circulation to
all notices and reports of proceedings required by statute to be
published within the state, if newspapers are required to be used,
only a newspaper which meets all of the following requirements shall
be designated for official publication purposes:
1. Is a newspaper of general circulation that has been published
at least once a week for at least fifty weeks per year within the
area and regularly mailed through the post office of entry for at
least two years.
2. Has a list of subscribers who have paid, or promised to pay,
at more than a nominal rate, for copies to be received during a
stated period.
3. Devotes at least twenty-five percent of its total column space
in more than one-half of its issues during any twelve-month period to
information of a public character other than advertising.
4. Is paid for by at least fifty percent of the persons or
subscribers to whom it is distributed.

In a time of electronic publication, the question is begged as to why government agencies are still required to follow a law set into place that, during it’s time, allowed the most distribution of information. Today, the public could potentially have far greater access to vital public information in electronic formats that would allow for easier access and document searching for interested parties.

Today, the internet is that venue, and government agencies already have websites that could easily host the legal notices to the public, with many of them already utilizing electronic formats to inform the public in their communities. Yet the continued legal way of distributing information continues to be by print.

Why is that? Why continue to utilize print, people often ask. It can come down to a pretty simple answer. Politicians don’t like picking a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel. Newspapers and their lobbying arms can put a lot of pressure on politicians.

Members of the Iowa Legislature could, in fact, save the taxpayers of the State of Iowa a substantial amount of money annually by revamping this law to a system that reaches the most people, while providing an ease of use.

Yes, there will be a group of individuals that may be disenfranchised by such a move, such as the older generation that may not be as tech savvy as the younger generation. Although, there is currently a group of individuals that never see any form of legal publication because the newspaper industry continues to bleed subscribers, those who don’t see the value in paying for news that is readily available online for free.

Iowa Code 618 is keeping many small newspapers in business, and is a source of substantial revenue for many others, on the back of the Iowa taxpayers.

That money could be used to fix roads or buy much needed school supplies, while the public continues to be informed about important information in electronic formats, which would still be required by Iowa law if Iowa Code 618 was updated.