Projo Lobbies to Remove Budget Article that Would Have Saved $1 Million
Monday, June 09, 2014
The Providence Journal's lobbyist successfully removed a key provision of the budget that would have saved the State and local communities as much as $1 million dollars.
This legislative session, Providence Journal hired long-time State House lobbyist Joe Walsh. The newspaper, now being sold by the Dallas-based A.H. Belo, tapped Walsh to protect the existing state statute which is decades old and most consider outdated. The proposed amendment was designed to remove the provision which requires the advertising of legal notices in a newspaper. Passage would have reduced unnecessary cost estimated to be $1 million.
"The FY 2015 Budget provides entities the option to use alternative methods of posting legal notices," according to the budget summary. The provision, Article 22, would give the state 120 days to establish rules for a public website.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Chafee administration's argument for passage of the provision is that newspapers no longer reach as many people than the Internet. Since 82 percent of Rhode Island adults have used a state web site for services, it will be a difficult argument for newspapers to defeat. Not only will the proposed web site be available for free - not behind a pay wall or stuck in a newspaper box – but it aims to be proactive. Users will be able to sign up to receive postings that match their business or interests.
It's hard to tell how much money the state will save because the Department of Administration can't keep accurate records, as each department handles legal ads differently. "The very idea of having to publish legal notices in a newspaper seems pretty old fashioned," said Dan Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University in an earlier interview about the Providence Journal's effort .
Walsh Once a Power Broker
No longer the lobbying force he once was, Walsh is an old school power player. As the former Providence Journal reporter Mike Stanton wrote in 2006, "Joseph W. Walsh, one of the most powerful lobbyists in Rhode Island, appeared in a federal courthouse in Providence yesterday, where a grand jury is probing the State House dealings of one of his clients, drugstore giant CVS."
Walsh and the Providence Journal have multiple business links. Beyond Walsh's lobbying for the newspaper, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC). PPAC and the Providence Journal have multiple close ties including PPAC spending more than $450,000 with the Providence Journal. GoLocalProv has repeatedly asked PPAC officials about the relationship and any potential quid pro quo relationship and PPAC officials have refused to respond.
Related Slideshow: PPAC and Projo: How Are They Connected?
Top board members for the Providence Performing Arts Center have a vested financial interest in the newspaper into which the nonprofit funnels hundreds of thousands in advertising revenue, the Providence Journal. See the list of the board members who have a potential conflict of interest.
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