Council rethinks requirement to advertise meetings in newspapers

Philadelphia City Councilmembers want to make sure the crisis in the newspaper industry doesn’t make them obsolete.

Philadelphia City Councilmembers want to make sure the crisis in the newspaper industry doesn’t make them obsolete. WHYY’s Susan Phillips reports.

Script:
The City Charter prevents Council from meeting, unless it advertises all gatherings in three paid, daily circulation newspapers. But with The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News in bankruptcy procedings, Councilman Clarke is worried that some day, the city won’t have three daily papers to choose from.

Clarke: “If something happens, there’s no longer three paid daily circulation newspapers we can no longer advertise for public hearings or public meetings we would have to shut the council down.”

Councilman Clarke introduced a resolution that seeks to change the city charter, making the public notification requirement more flexible. Currently, Council advertises in The Inquirer, Daily News, and the Legal Intelligencer. Clarke says he wants to include the internet as a required vehicle of notification, and possibly free daily papers. The charter change would be put to voters as early as this spring.

Listen:
Click on the play button below or right click on this link and choose “Save Link As” to download. [audio: reports20090306councilpaper.mp3]