Finance Secretary John Swinney wants local councils to use online advertising for public notices, claiming it will help them save money.
His proposals were criticised by Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats who all urged him to think again.
Councils spend around £6 million a year advertising notices as diverse as temporary road closures to compulsory purchase orders, which they are legally required to do.
Pauline McNeill, Labour’s culture spokesperson, said the plans would take “vital revenue” away from the newspaper industry at a time when it was facing significant challenges.
She said: “The Scottish Government must rethink these proposals to avoid irreversibly damaging local papers which are important employers in communities across Scotland and a vital part of the media spectrum.
“If the SNP is as committed to supporting the newspaper industry, as it says it is, then it must not go through with these damaging plans.”
Tory spokesman Ted Brocklebank said the plan was “as untimely as it is unwelcome” and he appealed for it to be postponed.
He said: “Many people, especially the elderly, still look naturally to newspapers for public notices. The Government’s own Scottish household survey found that nine out of 10 pensioners, and nearly half of single parents and single adults, as well as 77% of couples of non-pensionable age have no access to the internet.”
LibDem spokesman Iain Smith said the proposals would deny newspapers valuable income.
“This is a worrying about-face from the SNP,” he said. “In the past they have pledged their commitment to local newspapers but now they plan to cut a valuable chunk of their income.
“The public are unlikely to stumble across a relevant public notice on the internet. Local newspapers have always been a vital means of communicating with the public.”
Tim Blott, managing director of the Herald & Times Group and president of the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society, said: “Many Scots will lose out if this legislation goes through.
“According to Ofcom’s Media Tracker, only 4% of people in the UK use the internet as the main source of information about their local area, 24% use newspapers.
“Furthermore, the Ofcom Communications Market Report 2009 shows that the proportion of households in Scotland with a broadband connection was 60% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 68% across the UK as a whole. The figure for Glasgow was 39%.
“I should add that the UK Government in its response last month to the Scottish Affairs Committee’s Report Crisis in the Scottish Press Industry stated its view ‘that there should not be a policy of publishing public notices only online. While notifying bodies have a duty to be efficient, they must also use appropriate means to reach their target audience,
and should not adopt a policy of publishing online simply to
save money’.”
A Scotland Office source accused the SNP of “trying to strangle papers which are the lifeblood of democracy”. He said: “The SNP are sore losers. The minute they get a bad press they want to punish newspapers.”
Mr Swinney insisted switching to online would provide “more cost effective public information”. The Government’s consultation on the proposals runs until February 12.
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