Why do
newspapers
as legal
organs
matter?
T
he Union-Re-
corder, the state’s
oldest continuously
running newspaper,
also holds the distinc-
tion of being the legal
organ for Baldwin
County.
So what does legal
organ mean?
Like most states,
the state of Georgia
requires each of its 159
counties to designate
a local newspaper to
publish legal notices.
The legal organ status
is determined by the
county’s sheriff, clerk of court and
probate judge, but it is typically the
newspaper with the largest local cir-
culation, according to attorney Matt
Roessing of The Roessing Firm.
The newspaper collects publica-
tion fees for publishing the notices
and, in turn, is responsible for
making sure notices are published
correctly and in a timely fashion, he
says.
“State law requires certain govern-
mental and legal announcements to
be made available to the public. Ex-
amples include upcoming city coun-
cil meetings, personal and corporate
name changes, tax sales, and probate
proceedings,” says Matt Roessing, an
attorney at The Roessing Firm. “The
idea is to give members of the public
notice of the event and an opportuni-
ty to participate.”
Public notices help citizens stay
abreast of what local elected officials
are doing and scrutinize how their
tax dollars are being used. Access to
public notices via print newspapers
allows the community to be its own
watchdog and advocate.
“It’s useful for citizens to know
what their elected officials will
be discussing and deciding,” says
Roessing. “It’s helpful for creditors
or potential heirs to an estate to
know about probate proceedings.
And many businesspeople review
legal notices to learn about public
auctions, tax sales, or government
contracting opportunities. Some of
these notices are also required to be
published on a government website,
but publication in a local newspaper
provides an extra layer of transpar-
ency and might reach citizens who
would not check a website.”
In recent years, however, mea-
sures have been proposed to limit ac-
cess in print and allow public notices
to be placed online or in alternative
publications.
“Several newspapers and press
advocates are concerned, however,
that there is a nation-wide trend of
legislators considering changes to the
public notice system that would favor
internet publication over local news-
paper publication,” says Roessing.
“Those who support this trend argue
that the internet has become a more
accessible and familiar source of in-
formation than local papers. They also
argue that it saves money by eliminat-
ing or reducing the publication fees
charged by newspapers. Those con-
cerned about this trend worry about
a loss of revenue and status to local
newspapers, believe that newspapers
reach people who would not or could
not check a website, and are concerned
about putting what, in some cases, is
a government watchdog function into
the hands of government. It’s worth
pointing out that the Georgia Press
Association, although not required to
do so, collects statewide legal notices
and publishes them on a website that
is both free and searchable — Georgi-
aPublicNotice.com.”
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