Public Notice Press Releases, Op-Eds, Slide Decks, Guide Book, & More in PDF format
Michigan Press Association, local media to highlight danger of legislation to eliminate public, legal notices and reduce transparency
The Michigan Press Association (MPA) and local media are raising concerns about proposed legislation by Republican lawmakers that would eliminate the requirement that public and legal notices be published in newspapers. They argue that such changes would reduce public transparency and access to important government information. During the MPA’s Annual Convention, a media briefing will emphasize the need for transparency and public access to documents, with journalists and legal experts discussing the value of published public notices, which inform residents about elections, tax proposals, zoning changes, and public meetings.
Transparency is key in knowing where your tax dollars are spent
On this Tax Day, it’s especially important for MPA members to remind their communities that public notices in local newspapers are a cornerstone of government transparency and taxpayer accountability. From property tax assessments and budgets to public hearings and infrastructure spending, these notices ensure citizens can see exactly how their tax dollars are being used and have a fair opportunity to respond. Moving notices away from newspapers and into less visible or less accessible channels reduces public awareness and limits oversight at the very moment taxpayers are most focused on where their money goes. By keeping public notices in trusted, independent local newspapers, we protect both the public’s right to know and the integrity of the democratic process.
Public and legal notices in Michigan newspapers are—once again—under serious threat
Leadership in the State House is working on developing legislation that would strip both public AND legal notices from newspapers, undermining a long-standing system that ensures transparency, accountability and public access to critical information.
The Michigan Press Association needs your help to stop these efforts.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be equipping you with resources to inform and engage your readers—tools you can publish in your newspaper to clearly demonstrate why keeping notices in newspapers remains essential for your community.
To get started, we’re sharing two key resources today:
- A press release outlining the issue and what’s at stake
- A newly developed house ad, ready for placement on your public notice page
Now is the time to act. Let’s make sure your readers—and your lawmakers—understand why public notices belong where the public notices.
Legislative Alert: Lawmakers' Home – Time to Press for Transparency Commitments
Michigan lawmakers are back in their home districts for the next three weeks, creating a critical window for MPA members to engage directly and advocate for policies that protect the public’s right to know.
We encourage you to schedule meetings, attend local events, or connect informally with your state senator and representative to reinforce the importance of the three-legged stool of government transparency:
- Public & Legal Notices
- Freedom of Information (FOIA)
- Open Meetings
These pillars work together to ensure accountability. Weakening any one of them undermines the entire structure of open government.
Key asks for your conversations:
- Secure a clear commitment that both the Governor’s Office and the Legislature will be subject to FOIA. Michigan remains one of the few states where these offices are exempt—this must change.
- Reinforce the importance of maintaining public and legal notices in trusted print publications and on newspaper websites, where they are accessible, verifiable, and preserved as a permanent public record.
- Emphasize that any efforts to move notices away from newspapers risk reducing transparency, limiting access, and eroding public trust.
Attached to this alert, you’ll find MPA’s Public Notice Core Principles and an overview of proposed FOIA reforms to guide your discussions.
Take action:
After your conversations, please report any affirmative commitments from lawmakers—especially on FOIA expansion and public notice protections—by emailing: lisa@michiganpress.org. Your feedback helps us track support and shape our ongoing advocacy efforts.
This is a key opportunity to ensure Michigan moves toward greater transparency—not further away.
DOWNLOAD THE 2026 MPA CORE MESSAGES
DOWNLOAD THE 2026 FOIA POSITION PAPER BELOW
Keeping Public Notices Where the Public Notices
The dos and don’ts of good public notice in newspapers.
We should not underestimate the importance of public notices and the care with which they must be managed. Newspapers have an obligation to provide readable, accessible public notices to the public, and the fees paid to newspapers for publication require adherence to certain standards.
Newspapers also must encourage the general public’s readership of printed notices. Write articles to report on notices in your newspaper or other papers in your coverage area and refer readers to the actual printed notice. Promote readership of notices in your printed newspaper, on the newspaper website and on social media when appropriate.
Public Notice: An American Tradition
An Examination of the Role of Newspapers in Public Notice
Introduction
Most of us take public notices for granted. Which is understandable. After all, they’ve been running in newspapers for hundreds of years. So we tend to forget about them. But when you really think about it they’re kind of amazing. Federal and state governments actually passed laws requiring themselves—and politically powerful private interests—to disclose information about their plans and activities. They represent the best of self-government. Along with open-meeting and freedom of information laws, they’re an important part of the three-legged stool of government transparency. They ensure citizens have access to information they need to participate in the governance of their communities. They’re an essential element of our fragile democracy. Unfortunately, proposals that would drastically revise our public notice laws put their vital role in our democracy at risk. This pamphlet will explore the origins, purpose and defining characteristics of public notice in the U.S., and will address the present threat and how we can avert it.