Modernizing Maryland’s Public Notice Laws by Embracing Digital Distribution (Opinion)

Maryland’s public notice laws, largely rooted in an era when print newspapers were the dominant source of news, are in need of modernization. Currently, these laws require that public notices be published in print newspapers, even as the way people consume news has fundamentally shifted toward digital platforms. Updating these laws to allow public notices to be distributed through online news organizations would reflect changing trends in readership and strengthen Maryland’s news ecosystem.

The Case for Change

Under Maryland law (§1–113), a “newspaper” eligible to publish legal notices must meet criteria designed for traditional print publications, including weekly print distribution and qualification for USPS Periodicals mailing rates. While these requirements were sensible when enacted, they no longer align with how most Marylanders access information today.

A 2024 Pew Research Center survey highlights this shift: 86% of U.S. adults now get their news from digital devices at least sometimes, and 57% do so often. Meanwhile, only 26% of adults report turning to print publications, marking an all-time low. Among those surveyed, 58% expressed a clear preference for digital news sources over print, television, or radio.

Locally, the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism underscores the precarious state of Maryland’s local news industry. Rural counties like Caroline have no local news outlets, and 10 counties have three or fewer. More than 60% of the state’s news organizations operate with a staff of five or fewer, and nearly 40% anticipate closing within two years without additional funding. Furthermore, according to a 2024 research study conducted by PMCJ 44% of Maryland’s news outlets are print and online, and another 30% are online only. That means that 74% of Maryland’s news coverage is available online, vs only 44% available with the same content in print and online. To continue requiring print distribution is a waste, allocating resources to less than half of Maryland’s news coverage.

Potential Benefits of Digital Public Notices

Permitting online-only in addition to traditional print news organizations to host public notices could address several challenges:

1. Increased Accessibility: Most Marylanders rely on digital platforms for news. Public notices on widely read digital platforms would be more visible to the general population than notices in print newspapers with dwindling circulation.
2. Support for Local Journalism: Public notice revenue is a key source of funding for news organizations. Allowing online outlets to compete for this revenue would help sustain small, independent newsrooms, particularly in underserved areas.
3. Cost Efficiency: Digital publication can reduce costs for businesses and governments placing notices. It also eliminates the expense of maintaining a print subscription solely to access legal notices.
4. Environmental Impact: Shifting away from mandatory print publication would reduce paper consumption, contributing to sustainability goals.
5. Increased Competition: Increased competition in the public notice space would allow for better solutions to be evolved by news media sites and traditional print publishers. Right now, public notices are typically buried in the classifieds section of newspapers, and often completely skipped over. By increasing competition, publishers could compete not just on cost of publishing a public notice, but efforts ensuring maximum reach of public notices.

Leveling the Playing Field

Expanding this framework statewide would not only modernize Maryland’s legal notice requirements but also level the playing field for digital-first news organizations, which now represent 30% of Maryland’s news outlets.

While public notice revenue is only a small percentage of revenue generated by print publications, it could become crucial to ensure success and growth of online news outlets, who will undoubtedly be able to provide such distribution at a much more affordable price point than traditional print outlets. Current law doesn’t just favor traditional print publications, but actually creates anti-competitive barriers of entry by depriving online outlets of the revenue enjoyed by print outlets while embracing news distribution methods which consumers clearly do not prefer.

And even better, by expanding to include online and no longer require print ads, the same budget could be used to distribute public notices in multiple online outlets for maximum coverage, instead of simply a single print outlet with limited coverage. Newspapers could still compete for public notice advertisements through competitive pricing, and public notices could still be published through newspapers if they so chose. This would enable consumer choice, especially in areas such as Hagerstown with only one newspaper.

Moving Forward

There have been several attempts to reform Maryland’s public notice requirements, including a bill which made it to the Governor’s desk and was vetoed. This most recent attempt would have simply placed certain public notices on a central state portal, which would be rather counter-productive since the driving reason behind public notices in the first place is to have the notices advertised independently of government influence. The solution is not to centralize the notices, but further decentralize by expanding access to the news consumption format consumers prefer – online. With only a 14% difference between online only and online and print publications, expanding to include online only publishing of notices will almost double the potential number of outlets which can post public notices across Maryland, and likely exponentially increase their reach.

As print readership declines and news consumption becomes increasingly digital, Maryland’s public notice laws must evolve. Updating these laws to include online news organizations will benefit residents, businesses, governments, and local journalism alike. In a time when many small newsrooms are struggling to survive, this simple reform could provide a much-needed lifeline while ensuring public notices reach the broadest possible audience, while still allowing newspapers to competitively price public notice advertisements.

It’s time for Maryland to embrace a 21st-century approach to public notices.

Story by Ken Buckler, President of Radio Free Hub City

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