The following is a letter to the editor of the Longmont (Colo.) Times-Call published on the newspaper’s website on March 9.
To the Editor:
What is public notice 02-2017-14 published on March 3, 2017, about? Vacation? What is a PUD? Where is Blue Vista? How can anyone be expected to make comments or decisions based on a map that is printed so small that it is unreadable — it could have been in Swahili for all it is worth.
Kentucky Paper Treats Public Notice Like News
Most public notices look like classified ads — an undifferentiated mass of agate type, designed primarily for goal-directed readers.
The public notices in Kentucky’s Georgetown News-Graphic are different. They look like news stories (PDF), designed to capture readers’ attention and promote the kind of serendipity that distinguishes newsprint from electronic formats. News-Graphic Publisher Mike Scogin (photo on left) decided to make this change about a year ago, after reading an issue of a newsletter distributed by newspaper-design consultant Ed Henninger.