Government Subsidies for Newspapers

It's happening here in Idaho

The free press is so important to our republican form of government that our Founding Fathers included it in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Americans look with suspicion on nations that operate state-run news outlets, rightly assuming that such entities can never properly hold their government accountable.

What if I told you that Idaho taxpayers are required by law to subsidize legacy news media outlets to the tune of $1 million or even $2 million each year?

It’s true. Idaho law mandates that government agencies provide official notice for hearings, projects, and other matters of public interest. These notices must be published in the local newspaper of record at rates set by statute.

In 2018, then-Rep. Ron Nate introduced House Bill 420, which would have allowed government entities to publish notices on their websites instead of in local newspapers. In the bill’s fiscal note, Nate cited an estimate from the Idaho Association of Counties that Idaho counties collectively spend around $600,000 per year on these notices, while the Department of Administration spent approximately $130,000. These figures do not account for cities and other taxing districts, which are also required to publish public notices.

This morning, in the House Revenue & Taxation State Affairs Committee, Rep. Jeff Ehlers presented House Bill 33, which would permit government entities to publish required notices on the State Controller’s website. The Controller’s office would develop the site to allow citizens to subscribe via email to receive notices on topics of their choosing.

Representatives of Idaho cities and counties testified in favor of the bill, appreciating the convenience and cost savings it would provide. Conversely, representatives of Idaho newspapers testified against the bill, arguing that newspapers still play an important role in society. Of course, they left unsaid the obvious implication: the industry stands to lose a guaranteed seven-figures of revenue courtesy of Idaho taxpayers.

During the hearing, Rep. Heather Scott pointed out that many public notices in newspapers are tiny and indecipherable. Moving to an online repository would solve that problem, as there would be no word limits, and display size would be adjustable based on each citizen’s device settings.

In the end, the committee voted to hold the bill in committee. Rep. Joe Alfieri made that motion, expressing concerns that placing these notices on a government website rather than in local newspapers could potentially deprive citizens of sufficient notice. He also worried that government entities might attempt to withhold information from the public.

Hopefully, we see this bill again. For one, it’s time to bring this function of government into the modern age. The idea of buying a local newspaper and searching through tiny boxes of text to find information about public hearings seems antiquated in an era when information is delivered instantly to our fingertips via email and push notifications.

It’s also time to end taxpayer subsidies of local newspapers. If conservatives truly believe in the free market, they should be willing to let newspapers live or die on their own merits, rather than mandating that they continue to be propped up by Idaho tax dollars.

Reform is the theme this year, and ending this archaic law would be a great step toward modernizing our system and saving taxpayer dollars. I hope the concerns of good conservative legislators like Rep. Alfieri will be addressed should this bill return in some form this session so that it can move forward.