Prominent new websites like recovery.gov and data.gov are an important part of making the process of pulling information out of the federal government more efficient. But websites are only a piece of a communications strategy. Public notice--which aggressively pushes information beyond the government confines--is a critical element of the nation's accountability mechanisms. Websites alone are not enough. First, broad swaths of the public still are not active online. Second, government websites tend to have fairly low readership--and when the desired audience goes beyond the usual stakeholders of an agency, it is not likely information will be found when solely on a website. Third, web information lacks fixity, and is expensive to archive and keep. This project must reach beyond the activities of building web functions and continue into a broader "push out" effort of information. Public notices traditionally have been delivered by mail, by newspaper and in the federal government's case, via the Federal Register. Accessible archives have been available through federal repository libraries.
This project should examine when information is so important that a passive posting by the government is not sufficient, define the mechanisms for helping agencies make that determination, and then proceed to build in the elements that have traditionally been part of public notices: they are accessible to the general public; they are archivable; they are verifiable and they are published through an independent medium that can help to hold the publishing entity accountable. In the Web 2.0 environment, a piece of the independent medium is recognizing that building audience is not a forte of the government. How will web-notice dovetail with print notice? Are we in a transitional period where print will be less necessary--and if so, how can electronic media replicate the permanance and fixed medium values in print? Will notice effectively be given through media websites, where audience is more easily found? These questions need to be part of the deliberation.
Comments (14)
But don't send out mailed notices to individuals as this is a real waste of money
Part of the solution is knowing your stakeholders. One size does not fit all. Each agency and it leaders and outreach staff at all levels should know who their stakeholders are and develop a strategy for the most effective way to reach them. They should know when it is just information they need or a higher level of involvement.
Websites aren't the solution to public notices for there are times, frequently lengthy times, when the internet is not accessible. Take for instance one-half of Kentucky in January. Because of an ice storm, most of the western one-third of the state was without power for 14 to 17 days. In Central Kentucky, no power was available in many places for "just" five to eight days. No power, no internet access. Yet the newspapers in those parts of the state did not miss issues.
In a rural state like South Dakota where some ranch families live 20, 30 or more miles from the nearest town, the Internet is not an option. Internet providers are almost non-existent in our state's most rural areas. Yet, those citizens do rely on their community newspapers for public notice.
If we are to be serious about using public notices to actually apprise the public of their government's business, then the Internet would be far down on my list for posting such important notices. In Arkansas, just over half of the households have Internet connectivity, so posting public notices to the Internet exclusively would disenfranchise almost half of the citizenry. Then there's the inconsistency of Internet service, lack of band width, and the more than troublesome prospect that anything posted online can be "hacked" by anyone with the knowledge of how to do so. With public notices, often the changing of just one word can alter the entire tenor if not the intention of the public notices, and the results could be disasterous. Newspapers remain a far better and certainly more dependable permanent archive option for publishing public notices.
In Oregon almost 25% of our households have no internet access availability - says the US Census Report. The Newspapers have a much deeper saturation in our state, making public notices in the newspaper very important. The state's newspaper association recognizes that the role newspapers play as the public's watchdog is best to handle the responsibility of public notice rather than patchwork websites run and updated by a government agency. Who is going to police that sufficient, accurate and timely notices are being done? The same government agency posting them? The state newspaper association in addition to having its members print the public notices in the newspaper, now also has 1 statewide website that has all current, accurate postings of public notices on it as well. The newspapers are not charging state agencies for this additional effort to reach additional readers to the print product. The combination of both the print and the statewide website is a win/win for our state.
In Arizona over 27% do not have internet access per the US Census. I become very leary when we allow the parties posting the notices have full control of those notices. Who monitors that legal notices are posted for the appropriate time frame? Who monitors that the notice is posted correctly? Newspapers have always done a great job at being that independent third party to make sure the Public is properly noticed. A large number of states press associations have their own websites which publish on the web after the notices are in print at no additional cost. Check out www.PublicNoticesAds.com for a great example of what newspapers are already doing for legal notices.
Please reemember: these notices are LEGAL DOCUMENTS.
Websites get hacked every day. Why threaten someone's rights by posting such notices on a website that can be compromised by public servants who either want to 1) cover up a mistake they made in the original posting of the legal notice or 2)unintentionally alter a legal notice through a few mistaken keystrokes?
Having a permanent & independent record of notice serves Democracy... and individual rights.
Having the government in charge of posting their notices on the Internet is a bad idea. That's like having the fox in charge of the hen house. Our founding fathers put freedom of the press in the first amendment for a number of reasons, and serving as the watchdog of government is one of the main reasons. As noted in some of the previous comments, many people do not have Internet access, cannot afford commuters, or have only a limited ability to browse the Internet. Even for those who frequently browse the Internet, finding a specific notice on a federal website can be very difficult and time-consuming. Newspapers continue to be the most accessible, most affordable and most transparent way to communicate with the most citizens.
Whereas I am all for "Transparency in Government," it is my opinion public notice on Government actions needs to be "noticed" in newspapers as well as in other media. In this particular case, less is not more. The internet can be compromised, as has been proven repeatedly. Computers and their operations are not only unavailable to some indigent populations, but even to those who are not indigent, but instead, refuse to become computer intelligent. I have experience with both types of individuals. My 93 year old friend, while able to afford a computer, is almost totally blind and feels she is too elderly to learn to use a computer. She feels that she needs to "save" her eyes the strain. However she is very aware the government and how it's decisions affect her. A gentleman who is successfully operating a business in our building, refuses to learn how to use a computer, but does depend on those of us who do have them. His business involves private investigation, but he employs people, when he needs information from the internet. Colorado has farming communities with migrant workers and their families. They do not have access to a computer, but the local community newspaper is available to them, and can be accessed without cost to them. How would these populations know to go to a website (and how many different government entities' sites would they be required to access to gain all the public notice applicable to them)? Then can it be guaranteed that they would be able to navigate their way through the site to find the exact subject to which they needed notification? How many people lose personal property, yearly, because they don't know to go to a particular government office's website to search for unclaimed property and money? The first amendment exists specifically to present all the facts, without distortion or secrecy. Government entities, however well intended the elected officials may be in their decisions, do not have the right to make decisions behind closed doors, or to decide what the population "needs" to be told. Multiple options for public notice need to be available to the population. All individuals must have the opportunity to be "noticed." Freedom depends on it.
This matters and deserves constant repetition:
"Public notice--which aggressively pushes information beyond the government confines--is a critical element of the nation's accountability mechanisms."
Public notice should be part of the permanent record of local news that people read every day.
The continuation of public notice advertising in newspapers is critical to our democratic form of govenrment. The government has a long-standing obligation to informthe public of actions taken or intended. The most efficent way to distribute this information remains the newspaper. In Indiana, 67 percent of Hoosiers recall seeing public notice advertisements in their local newspapers. A greater percentage, 73 state that public notices should remain in newspapers. Apparently some count on their neighbors who see the public notices to let them know if they should be concerned about a particular notice. When told that government agencies must pay for the publication of these notices, the number remained at 73 percent as those who thought publication of public notices should continue as is. Sixty-two percent said they would be less likely or much less likely to see public notices if they were moved from newspapers to Web sites. I think it's a matter of common sense. After a ful day involving work, getting children to school activities, etc., Dick and Jane aren't going to sit down and start checking any Web sites for the latest public notice advertisements. But Dick and Jane will see those same public notice advertisements as they read the newspaper. Independent, verifiable publication of public notices should remain a vital piece of any government transparency proposal.
Public Notices are like assigning homework to the intended audience. It needs to be read, but like all homework is perceived as a painful experience. While metro areas have Web availability, does the web user want to read public notices or watch U-Tube. Consolidating Legal Notices to a consolidated web site is the best way to hide a particular notice in plain sight. Even with search engines the number of Hits will exceed anyone's spare Time and time off from work. Unless you have a dedicated paid position, workers are not paid to do personal stuff at work. Though studies continually suggest that workes do personal stuff while working, business will adapt to curtail that behavior. The public does not look for issues that may affect their lives unless as they look at other articles they just happen to see an address or key word of the notice that perks their interest.
A city Bid for a 36" water line, in Byron Creek.
May get contractors to notice, but if the ad says Enviromental Study Byron Creek Improvment will get those living in Byron creek to Get involved. But who has time to type Byron Creek Every day of their lives.
Print Newspapers allow the broadest desimination of detailed information, with a headline to get readers attention, all without electricity, lost connections, Freezes, and pop up ads blocking the raders view.
robert
May want to check out congress.org whereby you can sign up for updates on bills, votes, pending votes, etc.