Marketing analyst eMarketer.com is saying that internet advertising spending for the first time will be greater than that for advertising spending in print media this year.
eMarketer predicts that spending for on-line ads will grow 23.3 percent to $39.5 billion while spending in magazines will shrink 6.1 percent to $36 billion.
The climate is changing and only the small reptiles will survive.
One thing that would be of benefit to the taxpayer and would have long happened but for the logic of corruption inherent in the use of tax money would be the end of requirements for governments to take out public notices in print media. These notices are for things like meeting schedules, bids sought and especially sheriff sales.
The requirement for these notices cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Newspapers, it should be noted, reserve their highest rates for this mandated advertising.
Allowing these things to be published and stored on the web — and yes, there should be a mandate to do this — would be far cheaper and more efficient. The notices would be searchable and publicly archivable, which would mean significantly more open government.
In fact a bill is pending in Harrisburg, HB 633, that would allow for web publishing of public notices. The newspapers, unsurprisingly, are very much against it, and it has been languishing in the House’s Local Government Committee since Feb. 14.
Every once in a while, but not often enough, even our mostly self-serving solons in Harrisburg get something right.
Let us all stand up and put our hands together for Rep. Tom C. Creighton who is the prime sponsor of House bill 633 that calls for ending of citizens paying big money to take out those seldom read public notices. I’m not saying they are not needed, but they can now be put on and stored on the web to be read at a person’s leisure without the expense.
We’d like to see a decent plan for school vouchers that would allow all parents to send their kids to the school of their choice. Are you still listening Rep. Creighton?
So, let’s get rid of all legislative state pensions and health benefits Mr. Creighton. Get a feel for paying for them as the rest of us do.
What about compulsory auto inspections? Florida doesn’t see a need for them, simply because they really aren’t needed.
Another simple thing. I really don’t want you and your free spending colleagues to spend my tax dollars for you to send me Christmas or birthday cards.
That “walking around money’ would be better spent if we were doing the spending.
I am not grateful for the taxpayer’s dollars being spent to honor Arlen Specter and John Murtha who most Pennsylvanians would rather not hear from again.