Digitizing Public Notices

A startup helps papers bring government disclosures online to fend off rivals

- Sarah McBride

Without public notices, the Mercury, a 138-year-old newspaper in Manhattan, Kan., would have lost money in 2021. Instead, it eked out a tiny profit. The state-mandated publication of zoning changes, foreclosures, government bidding processes, and the like by newspapers has become crucial for the industry amid falling circulation and ad sales moving elsewhere. But that lifeline is under threat, and the Mercury is playing an important role in the fight to hold on to the business.

The paper is testing Column, a service that helps publications digitize notices to run them on their websites as well as in print, so they can head off political efforts to move the disclosures to government sites. The Mercury is also funding the startup, which was founded by Jake Seaton, 27, whose great-great-grandfather bought the paper in 1915 and whose father, Ned Seaton, is now publisher.