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Opinion by Chris Smith, Clarksville Now editor-in-chief:

What happens when a good law designed to ensure government transparency to the public outlives its usefulness to the public? That’s at the crux of a proposal that’s been floating around the state Legislature the last few sessions, and it’s tangled up with historic shifts in technology, in journalism and in the very connective tissue of communities across Tennessee.

As in most states, Tennessee has laws on the books to ensure that the public knows when government meetings will be held, when certain laws are being proposed and the like. City and county governments, for example, are required to publish in a local “newspaper of general circulation” their plans to hold meetings. If they fail to do that, the meeting can’t be held. If they meet anyway, any action that they take – any vote that is held – can be voided.

That could be huge if, for example, your government wants to quietly pass a tax increase.

When newspapers were lifeblood of community

When the law was created, everything about it made sense. Newspapers were the primary means of communicating with the public. In fact, some newspapers started primarily to publish public notices and advertisements.

In turn, revenue from paid public notices helped support local journalism in small towns, along with other classified ads with job listings, furniture sales, houses for rent and personals (“Do you like pina coladas?”). The newspaper was the only place to go for all of that information.

How things have changed.

Printed newspapers are not merely in decline across the country, they’re in collapse. Some signs of the times: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, once the flagship newspaper of the Southeast, announced in August that it will end its print edition and go fully digital. Also in August, News Media Corporation announced it was shuttering 23 news operations in five states. In all, more than a third of the country’s print newspapers have closed over the past two decades.

Separately, local governments have done the right thing in no longer relying just on newspapers to print their meeting schedules. Most have their own websites where they post everything from calendars to election information, to press releases once available only through the “press.”

And newspapers – the ones that have any business savvy at all – have made the transition to digital, publishing on dual platforms: in print and online. That makes sense. As people move from print usage to digital, all of that journalism and public notice ought to simply shift to newspaper websites.

If only it were that simple.

Tennessee law defines ‘newspaper’ as print

The problem is in the wording of the Tennessee law. It requires public notice to be in a “newspaper of general circulation,” which is defined as being published “for the dissemination of news of general interest to the community which it serves.” But it’s also defined, in part, as being published at least weekly for a definite price, having third-class mailing privileges, and being at least four pages. That is not a digital platform, and it leaves no room for one.

The Legislature made some headway in 2024 when it added a provision to the law that requires newspapers that have websites to publish the public notices on both platforms, and without putting notices behind a paywall. Notably, the 2024 rule included some key provisions defining a news website: “Has been published using recognized standards of professional journalism.” (That excludes the former Scoop Clarksville/Clarksville Today, which didn’t adhere to any journalism standards known to man.) Also, the site is required to have a local office that is open to the public during normal business hours.

Frustratingly, while Clarksville Now is the primary local news source with over 80% of the digital news market share, and it meets all the other legal criteria, we don’t qualify as a “newspaper of general circulation” simply because we don’t publish in print.

Shifting ‘burden’ from government to citizens

Now, municipal leaders across Tennessee are trying to modify the public notice rules to “ease the burden” on government agencies, making it so that publishing their calendar on their own website is legally sufficient. The Montgomery County Commission voted this week to support the move as part of its Legislative Agenda.

Here’s one problem with that: If you’re Jane Citizen trying to keep up with what’s happening in local government, you would have to check in daily with the websites for both the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County. Plus, those notices would be separate from other legally required public notices for matters such as foreclosures, public auctions, and matters that aren’t related to local government – who knows what website would publish those.

Local government seeking to “ease the burden” of taking an extra step for transparency would add to the burden for concerned citizens and taxpayers.

Two more points: I can tell you from personal experience that those online government calendars aren’t always accurate, particularly when they cross agency lines. And, as Main Street Clarksville Owner Dave Gould pointed out, the online government calendar listings aren’t permanent – there’s no record of them that continues past the event date, therefore no proof that the government gave adequate public notice. Particularly in tiny towns and rural counties, do you really expect the government to keep reliable records on whether they neglected to give public notice? So much for having that secret tax increase vote voided.

Keep public notices in 1 local spot

Public notices need to be gathered in one local source that isn’t owned by government agencies. It’s time to update that limited “newspaper” terminology to keep it as close as possible to what was intended by the original law, to include local news websites. There are already plenty of communities across Tennessee that no longer have printed newspapers, and they need a central, local source for public notice. Perhaps changing this law would also have the effect of incentivizing the creation of local news websites in some of these small communities, without the heavy financial burden of also producing a printed version.

Obviously, Clarksville Now would have a financial interest in seeing that happen, just as Main Street and Gannett have a financial interest in the status quo. My suggestion is based somewhat on that. But it’s also based on the phone calls and emails I’ve received over the years from attorneys, agencies and clerks pleading with Clarksville Now to post their public notices because we’re fast and responsive. It only makes sense that we would: We are the primary local news operation – we should be the source for public notice.

But whatever happens, however this plays out, the people of Tennessee can’t allow state and local governments to diminish the transparency that holds them in check.

Look at your property tax bill. It’s all the argument you need.

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