Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/08/2013

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December 19, 2012 To: Mayor, Council, & Administrator, City of Ramsey From: John M. Kysylyczyn, Owner & Publisher, Anoka County Record RE: Legal newspaper bidding information Page 1 of 2 Anoka County Record is a local community legal newspaper of general circulation that was founded on "new media" principles. All legal newspapers of general circulation, like the Anoka County Record, are required to meet certain publication standards set in state law. What delineates "new media" from "traditional media" though is what a publication does to go beyond these standards. Traditional media is driven by print advertising dollars. That requires printing and distributing thousands of paper copies regardless of whether they are actually read or wanted. The amount of paper, chemicals, fuel, and auto emissions generated in production and distribution of the newspaper is a secondary concern. Also, there is little incentive to improve or expand online distribution under this business model. Anoka County Record is a new media newspaper. We recognize that libraries, county, city, and township buildings are within reasonable distance of all residents, and that internet access is available throughout the entire county. We also recognize that local government and residents have limited budgets. We recognize that many local governments have their own newsletters and simply advertise in legal newspapers because it is a requirement of state law. Anoka County Record operates under a different set of principles than traditional media. • Our price for publication of government contract legal notices is $5.94 per inch (9 lines per inch) which is half of what is commonly charged by traditional media. Note that our column width, font, point size, and leading are the same as the Anoka County Union. • The entire newspaper layout process is 100% computerized, allowing emailed legal notices to be submitted with a deadline of noon Wednesday, one day prior to the Thursday publication date. • The newspaper is published every two weeks on a Thursdays, with the first edition in 2013 to be published on January 4, 2013.