Appen Media chosen as legal organ of Roswell

For the first time in its more than 30-year history, the Alpharetta-Roswell Herald, part of Appen Media Group, has been chosen to serve as the legal organ of the City of Roswell.

The legal organ publishes all public notice advertisements for the city as required by state law.

In July, the City of Roswell issued a request for quotes to establish an annual contract with a local newspaper, and in September, interim City Administrator Michael Fischer signed the contract with Appen Media, formally making the Herald the legal organ of Roswell.

The Herald has been in publication in Roswell since 1983 and delivers every Thursday. The Roswell Neighbor previously served as the city’s legal organ, but it recently made the decision to move to an online model only.

Roswell states that in a typical month, it places an average of 20 legal advertisements and legal notices for public hearings in various sizes along with retail displays.

The city also typically runs four ads associated with elections and approximately 20 alcoholic beverage license application notices every year, as required by law, and paid for by the applicants.

In a response to the city’s request for quotes, Publisher Hans Appen wrote that the core of the Herald’s mission is to keep the Roswell community engaged and informed by promoting local businesses and reporting on quality-of-life issues so citizens can be involved in the changes they wish to see.

“A city’s promotion of its legal advertising is an extension of its efforts to transparently communicate government services that are paid for using taxpayers’ dollars,” Appen wrote. “We believe we are the most effective possible partner to verifiably take on that responsibility…”

The Herald will begin publishing legal advertising this month.