It's World Press Freedom Day; in U.S., public-notice ads have become much more important to newspapers' survival

Today is World Press Freedom Day, a global observance that is especially pertinent this year because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its denial of a free press to Russians, as well as the increasingly bad treatment of journalists and news media by authoritarian governments.

Public Notice Resource Center graphic

At every level of American government, journalists and their paymasters are fighting for open government and the sustainability of their operations. Open government in this country is a three-legged stool: open records, open meetings and public-notice laws that make government tell you what it's doing (spending your money) or might do (granting a permit).

That third leg is often forgotten in national debates about government transparency, but it's more important than ever because public-notice advertising has become a much more important part of the revenue of local newspapers, which are the main fact-finders in the U.S.  In nearly every state, local governments are asking state legislators to cut back on such advertising, and the Florida Legislature just passed a sweeping bill that could spell trouble for newspapers.

So, as we observe World Press Freedom Day, let's remember that someone has to pay for journalism. Increasingly, that is the audience rather than advertisers, since the digital era has destroyed old business models. But if the audience pays too much, it will become too narrow, so newspapers need public-notice advertising. And not just for the money, but for the information, which is harder to get because they have fewer reporters to dig it out. For more information, go to the Public Notice Resource Center.

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