{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Legislators\u2019 theme: \u201cThe less you know\u201d &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"7wPglt3lRX\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/legislators-theme-the-less-you-know\/\">Legislators\u2019 theme: \u201cThe less you know\u201d<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/legislators-theme-the-less-you-know\/embed\/#?secret=7wPglt3lRX\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Legislators\u2019 theme: \u201cThe less you know\u201d&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"7wPglt3lRX\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Don-Estep.jpg","thumbnail_width":150,"thumbnail_height":226,"description":"NBC has a theme on Saturdays intended for children which says, \u201cThe More You Know.\u201d Some of our legislators in Frankfort apparently also have a theme too. It is,\u201cThe Less You Know.\u201d I\u2019m referring to legislation over the past several years by the Kentucky General Assembly that has eliminated much of the cities\u2019 and counties\u2019 legal advertising in newspapers. It is a disguise when some argue that it is an attempt to save money. In reality, it is a move to become less transparent with your tax dollars. The House passed a bill last week that most of us could live with, but an under the table move by a representative in west Kentucky added language that would be detrimental to newspapers and could put many community newspapers out of business. This is important to us and to you our readers. Below, on this page, Mark White proposes scenarios that illustrates the value of legal advertising. I have also chosen to reprint an editorial from the State Journal in Frankfort, written by Steve Stewart, to further explain what is at stake with House Bill 351. From the State Journal: \u201cThe infamous \u201csewer bill\u201d that brought scorn to Kentucky legislators a couple of years ago apparently taught no lessons on transparency. A couple of weeks after Kentucky newspapers worked with representatives of the Kentucky League of Cities and Kentucky Association of Counties on a compromise to keep important public notices in newspapers, state Rep. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, chairman of the powerful House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, single-handily destroyed it. The sewer bill authors, who attempted to overhaul Kentucky\u2019s public pension system by amending an unrelated wastewater bill in the waning days of the 2018 session, would have been proud of Rudy\u2019s maneuver. Hours before lawmakers voted on a two-year state budget plan, Rudy inserted completely unrelated language allowing cities, counties, school boards, planning commissions and other local government entities to publish notices about tax increases, zoning changes, bid solicitations and other important matters on their own websites rather than in local newspapers. Rep. Joe Graviss, D-Versailles, a champion of transparency, attempted to remove the public notice language on the House floor Friday but was unsuccessful, so it will now be up the Senate to call foul on Rudy\u2019s power play. Reps. Angie Hatton, Mary Lou Marzian, Patti Minter, Terri Branham Clark, Maria Sorolis and Lisa Willner made passionate appeals on behalf of transparency before the House vote. In an era when it\u2019s fashionable for politicians to beat up on newspapers, lawmakers love to cast public notices as government subsidization of struggling newspapers. Given the state\u2019s rush in recent years to privatize every manner of public service and to throw tens of millions of taxpayer dollars at boondoggles like the Braidy Industries aluminum mill and the KentuckyWired broadband internet project, it\u2019s laughable to single out public notices in newspapers as corporate welfare. A typical local government spends 1% of its operating budget to purchase advertising space in the newspaper to keep citizens informed. That said, what is a minor expense for local governments is a major source of revenue for community newspapers. Public notices in The State Journal fund the salaries and benefits for two journalists who cover this community and keep citizens informed. For many small newspapers under assault by economic forces beyond their control, the loss of government public notices would put them out of business \u2013 and leave their communities with no journalists to hold local governments accountable. But sympathy for newspapers is not the reason to oppose Rudy\u2019s backdoor blow to government accountability. A citizen interested in the important activities of local governments shouldn\u2019t have to visit a dozen websites and surf endlessly to find the information. Under current law, The State Journal \u2013 like other local newspapers across the commonwealth \u2013 serves as a one-stop resource for public notices in this community. We publish them not only in the print edition of the newspaper but free online at State-Journal.com for nonsubscribers.\u201d Thanks Steve for that well written editorial. Here at the News Journal we do not receive enough to fund a reporter, but the advertising helps. And like the State Journal we publish legals free on line to everybody. We have some good local elected leaders that will right the wrong Rudy has done."}