Problem: Full-time person dedicated just to affidavits
“There’s got to be a better way,” Keven Zepezauer and his team often said about affidavits. Zepezauer, president and publisher of Restoration NewsMedia in North Carolina, knew the public notice process was inefficient. “It was ugly,” Zepezauer stated. “We had a full-time person just for affidavits. We knew we needed a change.”
Zepezauer assumes other media businesses can relate. “I’m always looking for the best way to run our company,” he explained.
Two years ago, Zepezauer switched his papers to Column. Column is a public benefit software company dedicated to improving public information systems. At that time, Column had just launched its core product. It was the first software to streamline the public notice process for newspapers and their customers. Restoration NewsMedia was one of Column’s first partners. Zepezauer said the transition to the technology was smooth. “Their team made me feel very comfortable,” he reflected. “We redefined our organization right away. Column allowed us to move our full-time public notice person to a different position, saving us a lot of money.”
The Solution: Full-service affidavit automation
This spring, the public notice process became even easier for Zepezauer’s newspapers. Column’s team asked if he’d pilot their new full-service affidavit automation. “I was immediately on board,” Zepezauer said. “It was a program we needed. I knew no better company could handle it. If the Column team supports something, they’ll make it happen.”
Column made it happen. Column’s affidavit automation handles everything related to affidavits within two business days. Once the publisher uploads the e-edition of the notice, the automation starts. Column verifies the notice, notarizes it with their in-house notaries, organizes a call between notary and signatory, and sends the final affidavit to the publisher, all within two days.
“We literally don’t touch affidavits at all,” Zepezauer said. “Column handles the entire process, end-to-end. We haven’t looked back.”
The Impact: Increased efficiency
The person who handled public notices now works in the business office, Zepezauer explained. She can now balance out business responsibilities, address billing issues, and explore revenue-generating opportunities for all five papers.
“There was nothing else we could have done back then that would’ve made us as efficient as we are now with Column,” Zepezauer said.
Zepezauer acknowledges concerns in the news industry about Column’s intentions. Some fear Column aims to take public notices away from newspapers. “That’s not Column’s goal,” Zepezauer affirmed. “They’re a public benefit mission-driven company. They support us at state legislative sessions. They’re one of the best partners out there.”