Newspapers Could Lose Abandoned Property Legal Notices in Ohio, New Bill Proposes.
Newspapers Take Pragmatic Stand On Bill:
An obsolete statewide Ohio law mandating legal notices in print might change with a new bill which would allow storage facilities to advertise the sale of abandoned property online.
What is newsworthy about this item is how the newspaper lobby, once so strong, has, by action, conceded their weak bargaining position. Here's how:
1.) According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer while they oppose the law, newspapers have already conceded that maybe instead of publishing twice in print, maybe the nice government could publish them once in print. This is substantial change from the hard line that newspapers' lobbyists have taken opposing previous bills.
2.) The law allows those running the ads to avoid paying the high newspaper prices "if at least three independent bidders attend the sale at the time and place advertised." Here is a loophole the storage facility owners could drive their trucks through.
Comically the Cleveland Plain Dealer editorialized last week that the marketplace is more efficient when notices are published in print. We're not sure all of the people selling items on Craig's List would agree. Looking at the size of the classified sections of the local newspapers, it appears that the market has spoken, and if this law passes, it also appears that the governments are now catching up.
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