Show 1 t j 0ctober 1 2008 Millard County Chronicle Page Progress National Newspaper Week October 2008 5-- 11 Public Notice: Good Government on Display Don’t take anything off that table I 3v Bee Buwei TheA1£(TX)Nes What it really comes down to is osmosis You remember osmosis don’t you? In high school sci- you learned that’s the process that lets stuff pass through the membrane that surrounds your cells Osmosis lets the good stuff in and the bad stuff out trading spent fuel for new fuel It ence keeps you alive I - I The funny thing about osmosis (other than the name) is that it's automatic There’s no conscious thought involved Thai’s why if you get stranded at sea like Tom Hanks in Castaway you mustn’t drink seawater even if you’re dying of thirsL In fact if you dnnk seawa ter osmosis is what will kill you It will move the fresh water out of your cells and take salt water in until you’re basically a pickle You can’t stop it anymore than you can consciously make your nose stop running You don’t have a choice Switch gears from water to information from your cells to your mind There is an enormous amount of information out there every day try ing hard to get into your head Advertising Celebrity fluff Sports statistics Dates Disclaimers Passwords Informat’on you will never need competes w ith information you vitally need — all jockeying for space w ith that long poem you had to learn in junior high able to pick up the new spaturn on the radio browse the Internet flip on the TV and check out the smorgasbord of data to see what we need and what we don’t We are our own filter The fact per Notice Good Government On Duplay that all this information is out there is the foundation of this country and absolutely essential to the freedoms w e enjoy The newspaper is the ultimate buffet table of information It's not that way everywhere In many countries NATIONAL NEWSPAPER WEEK But unlike osmosis w hen comes to information you have a choice You control what goes into your head That’s what makes newspapers so irreplaceable and public notice such a vital part of this free society In America w e take the free flow of information for granted We count on being it dictators take over the media and strive mightily to control the flow of information to the people they w ish to keep in And as we’ve subjection seen throughout history once information begins to flow freely in a culture it’s difficult to keep people under the thumb of repression We see that repressive spint here too in the school superintendent who doesn’t want board members to talk to teachers the city council that wants to stifle comments at meetings judges who issue unneeded gag orders commissioners who w ant to w ork it all out behind the scenes and have every vote unanimous There are officials at every level of government w ho resist the free flow of information They think they know better They don’t get iL Newspapers fight this battle every day at every level because the free flow of information is ultimately what guarantees our freedom Much Ls said about posting public notices on the Internet They should In fact most new spapers already put them there But the idea of removing them from newspapers ought to send chills down the g spine of every American That’s like taking a main course off the buffet table and serving it only in the back room for the privileged few who know the password Public notice should be out there for everyone to browse notice and read It should be available to all Anything that takes away control from the people — anything that pulls an item off the smorgasbord of information — is something we should resist It’s a step tow ard osmosis toward not hav ing control And as we learned in science class that w ill kill you 33 ossword i ti H i I WuM Vm mm Mi Mi (Md toayjtoa St It wo 9) rm It mt4h data ton uag nrm Sm 9 r vial 1?Atou toaiua trrtwl wf vmm toaTguat to'itoy tfn tot imk 3 P061IC NOTICES: Socv GoVgRMENTQN n mm vW DISFL4Y Public Notice: Taxpayers have a right to know Donnis Tit i i the lowest rate available for these notices and we’re happy to do so — not only Baggett Staton (TX) Eaoe “Public notice” Sounds great but it costs money at least in the print media So w hy in the world should governmental entities spend taxpayers’ money on public notices w hen they can post them on the Internet for next to nothing? Because the taxpayers have a right to know have a need to know and want to know that’s why The argument is as simple as that Sure a school district a city a county a utility district or a state government can post legal notices online at little or no cost But so what? If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear docs it make a sound ? If a notice gets posted on an obscure Web site and taxpayers don’t think to look at the site does the notice really matter? Nope That’s why newspaper notice is important The difference between governmental or y postings and newspaper postings is very It down to comes simple w hether a reader — ic a taxpayer — has a reasonable opportunity to see the notice or not If the notice is one that the reader must search for online chances are it w on’t be seen by very many of us w ho ev entually pay the bills It’s a simple readership a issue — or in traffic issue That is the nut of the matter If our government is based on transparency — and w e like to think it is despite all the open records and open meetings battles we fight every day — then our government’s actions need to be published in the most accessible form possible The reality is that the most visible endurable medium is still the printed new spaper along w ith its associated Web products Most new spaper Web sites are the stars of the online market in their respective communities Almost without exception newspaper Web sites have more traffic than any other local cr regional sites Any “notice” that is posted independently online by a governmental entity or a vendor is likely to be read only by those who have a vested interest and are searching for notices of that sort A published new spaper notice on the other hand is right there in black and white for anyone w ho reads the classified ads and in most cases online as well Obviously legal notices are a source of revenue for newspapers But generally they’re not our bread and butter Most newspapers give because we make a little bit of money off the notices but because they’ re an important part of the public record And the public record is what newspapers protect and preserve every day every week every month and every year To relegate public notice to online scrv ices only would be a severe detriment to the people’s right — indeed the people’s demand — to know what our government is up to That is w hy we must continue to fight to maintain printed public notices After all information is pow cr and power determines the direction of our republic To weaken that is to w eaken our control over the government that we I AHirtKeivoo oooo jxlOn Find out what your government Your local newspaper gives Public Notice U3MSNV3W3HOS t 3W3H1 is doing awani is a voice to public notice Good Government on Display National Newspaper Week October 1 12008 |