April 2011 Illinois PressLines

April 2011

Official publication of the Illinois Press Association

Illinois

www.illinoispress.org

In this issueSurvey shows taxpayers want public notices in newspapers

UI applicant names not private under FOIA

IPA legislative reception photos

Learning new tricks in InDesign

PLUS

7-page Convention Guide!

Save the dateJune 8-10, 2011

IPA Annual Convention& Awards Ceremony

Springfield

Illinois PressLines / April 2011

900 Community DriveSpringfield, IL 62703

Ph. 217-241-1300, Fax 217-241-1301www.illinoispress.org

ILLINOIS PRESSLINES (USPS 006-862) ispublished bimonthly for $30 per year forIllinois Press Association members by theIllinois Press Association, 900 CommunityDrive, Springfield, IL, 62703. © Copyright

2011. All rights reserved.Volume 18 – Apr/2011 Number 2

Date of Issue: 4/19/2011

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to ILLINOIS PRESS LINES, 900 CommunityDrive, Springfield, IL 62703. Periodicalpostage paid at Spring field, Illinois and

Peoria, Illinois.

Illinois PressLines is printed and distributed courtesy of GateHouseMedia, Inc. in Peoria and Springfield.

David Porter, EditorE-mail [email protected]

Illinois

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - OFFICERS

Steve Raymond, PresidentEffingham Daily NewsJohn Barron, Treasurer

Sun-Times Media, ChicagoKathy Farren, Immediate Past President

Kendall County Record Newspapers,Yorkville

Rich Martin, Ex Officio DirectorDepartment of Journalism, College ofMedia, University of Illinois, Urbana

DIRECTORSSam Fisher, Bureau County Republican,

PrincetonKaren Flax, Tribune Company, ChicagoJohn Galer, The Journal-News, HillsboroDon Hurd, Times-Republic, WatsekaSandy Macfarland, Chicago Daily

Law BulletinWendy Martin, Mason County Democrat,

HavanaGregg Ratliff, Pekin Daily Times

Chris Russell, Russell Publications,Peotone

Jim Shrader, The Telegraph, AltonCaroll Stacklin, GateHouse Media, Inc.Gary Stricker, The Okawville Times

Dennis DeRossett, Executive Director

IPA STAFF — PHONE 217-241-1300Dennis DeRossett, Executive Director

Ext. 222 — [email protected]

Kathy Galloway, Director of Finance

& Business Administration


Jeffrey Holman, Director of AdvertisingExt. 248 — [email protected]

Barry Locher, Director of Foundation & Member Services

Ext. 223 — [email protected] Sue Montalvo, Director of the Illinois

First Amendment Center


David Porter, Director of

Communications & Marketing


Josh Sharp, Director of Government Relations


Survey shows taxpayers wantpublic notices in newspapersA just-released statewide survey on

public notices reveals that Illinois tax-payers believe public notices areimportant and should continue to bepublished in newspapers. This sur-vey was commissioned in March bythe Illinois Press Association board ofdirectors in quick response to HouseBill 1869, which would take publicnotices from newspapers and allowgovernment entities to post them ontheir websites.

The survey was conducted by anindependent research firm, NewtonResearch & Marketing of OklahomaCity, Okla. Five hundred householdswere surveyed and all Illinois coun-ties were represented.

The survey results are very favor-able for the newspaper industry. Thatis not really surprising; rather, theresults are confirmation of what wehave been telling legislators all along:newspapers are the traditional andtrusted independent source for dis-semination of public notices fromgovernment to the taxpayers.

This survey also dismisses theuninformed claims by naysayers whosay newspapers are no longer rele-vant. The newspaper industry is cer-tainly evolving but we are in no waydying.

Here are some key points of thesurvey:

• 76 percent read their communitynewspaper

• 55.4 percent accessed a newspa-per website within the past month

• 73.2 percent have some or very

little confidence in their county gov-ernment

• 84.2 percent have some or verylittle confidence in their state govern-ment

• 79.8 percent believe state andlocal government should continue topublish legal and public notices innewspapers on a regular basis

• 70.2 percent believe publishinglegal notices helps keep local officialsmore honest

• 64.2 percent believe publicnotices make local officials more care-ful about how they spend taxpayermoney

• 67.6 percent believe publishinglegal notices is money well spent

• 72.2 percent believe publishinglegal notices provides informationyou would not get from other sources

• 52 percent were “not likely orsomewhat unlikely” to seek out andread public notices on governmentwebsites

One point of some concern is thatonly 54.6 percent of those surveyed

“usually or sometimes” read publicnotices while 45 percent say they “sel-dom or never” read public notices. Itappears we have an opportunity tomore regularly inform readers on thecontent in public notices in newspa-pers to help increase readership ofpublic notices.

The IPA’s government relationsteam is using these survey resultseffectively in our battle to keep publicnotices in newspapers. The entire sur-vey is available on the IPA websiteand we encourage members to toutthese results when talking with yourstate senators and representatives.Your continued efforts are critical tokeeping government officials account-able to the taxpayers through publicnotices in newspapers and newspaperwebsites. That’s clearly what the tax-payers want.

Dennis DeRossett is executive directorof the Illinois Press Association. He can bereached at [email protected].

EXECUTIVE REPORT

Dennis DeRossettExecutive [email protected]

By Esther SeitzThe federal Family Education

Rights and Privacy Act does not baraccess to application-related studentrecords of public universities underthe Illinois Freedom of InformationAct.

BackgroundIn 2009, the Chicago Tribune pub-

lished a popular series of articlesabout the University of Illinois’(“University”) admission practices —titled “Clout Goes to College.” Theseries detailed the Tribune’s investiga-tion into a list of applicants with ties toinfluential persons; that list becameknown as “Category I.” As part of itsinvestigation, the Tribune submitted arequest under the Illinois Freedom ofInformation Act (“FOIA”) for publicrecords concerning each Category Iapplicant who later attended theUniversity, including the applicants’parents’ names and addresses, as wellas the identity of the influential per-sons who intervened on behalf ofthese applicants. The Tribune also

asked for records regarding the identi-ty of University officials who receivedthose inquiries and their effect on theapplication process.

Legal Proceeding and AnalysisThe University denied the Tribune’s

FOIA request — claiming that the fed-eral Family Education Rights andPrivacy Act (“FERPA”) prohibitsrelease of the information. Because theTribune disagreed about the applica-bility of FERPA, it filed a federal law-suit asking the court to declare that

FERPA does not prevent release of therequested records. The court agreedwith the Tribune. The court stressed that the FOIA

should be construed liberally in favorof access. Accordingly, the exemptionsto the FOIA must be read narrowly.The University attempted to invokeFERPA under an exemption to theFOIA that allows the withholding ofrecords where federal law “specifical-ly prohibit[s]” release. 5 ILCS140/7(1)(a) (West 2009). But the courtheld the FERPA does not prohibitschools from releasing educationrecords — it only makes the receipt of

federal funding contingent uponmaintaining the confidentiality of cer-tain records pertaining to students.“Illinois could choose to reject federaleducation money, and the conditionsof FERPA along with it, so it cannot besaid FERPA prevents Illinois fromdoing anything,” the court reasoned.That is, because Illinois has the optionto choose whether to accept or rejectFERPA’s conditions — which includefederal funds, but also compliancewith privacy requirements — it doesnot “specifically prohibit” anything soas to constitute an exemption underthe FOIA.

Chicago Tribune v. University ofIllinois Board of Trustees,

United States District Court, N.D.Ill., case no. 10 C 568 (Judge Joan B.Gottschall)

Esther Seitz is an attorney is the officeof Donald M. Craven P.C., Springfield.She can be reached at [email protected].

April 2011 / Illinois PressLines

UI applicant names not private under FOIAFederal law does not prohibit disclosure

ASSEMBLY HALL, University of Illinois, Urbana. Photo: Photobucket.

Behind the photoSwirling blasts of water gush out

of a fire hydrant as JeremiahKennedy emerges during a blockparty in Oak Park. The photo wasshot by Jason Geil for WednesdayJournal and was entered in theIllinois Press Association’s annualnewspaper contest.It’s a great shot, but was it

enough to place in the highly com-petitive contest? To find out, attendthe annual convention June 8-10 inSpringfield. A convention guidebegins on page 9 of this edition.

Due to a change in printers, IllinoisPressLines has a slightly differentlook. It’s the same basic design asbefore, but the pages are a little widerand shorter.PressLines is now printed by the

Journal Star in Peoria. It previouslywas printed at The State Journal-Register in Springfield and at TheCourier in Lincoln; all three areGateHouse Media newspapers.The IPA thanks GateHouse for its

continued support of this importantmember service.

New look forIllinois PressLines

From The State Journal-Register,Springfield — “More than a monthafter being asked, the city ofSpringfield has not disclosed thenames of City Water, Light and Poweremployees who were disciplined forviewing pornography on work com-puters.” The city cited privacy con-cerns, a union agreement and claimedthat the records were preliminary. “The sheer number of people impli-

cated in the city’s probe raises ques-tions about the supervision and train-ing at CWLP,” said Jon Broadbooks,executive editor of the SJ-R. “The pub-lic was paying for this non-work activ-ity, so we feel the public has a right toknow more details about why this wasallowed to happen and what’s beingdone about it.”

Stevenson HS lifts reviewFrom the Daily Herald, Arlington

Heights — “An administrative com-mittee that has reviewed every issue ofthe Stevenson High School newspaperbefore release since February 2009 hasbeen dissolved, officials announced…” Officials said they no longerbelieve the newspaper must be sub-jected to such prior review.

AG rules against high schoolFrom The Streator Voice — “Acting

on a complaint filed by The StreatorVoice, the Illinois Attorney General’sOffice has ruled that the Streator HighSchool Board violated the OpenMeetings Act on two occasions lastspring by discussing matters in closedsessions that should have been dis-cussed openly.” Among the itemsallegedly discussed was the layoff of20 employees.

Tapes releasedFrom The Daily Times, Ottawa —

“Nearly three hours of closed sessionrecordings from two March, 2010,

Woodland School Board meetingswere made public this week.“The Illinois attorney general deter-

mined the closed meetings … were inviolation of the Open Meetings Act.”

Chairman wants transparencyFrom the Staunton Star-Times —

“In an effort to mark the importance of‘Sunshine Week’ across the country,Macoupin County Board ChairmanAndrew Manar will seek the CountyBoard’s approval to post all countycontracts above $5,000 on the officialwebsite of Macoupin County.“’The County Board and County

officials have steadily increased publicinformation available on our websitein the past several years,’ said Manar.‘Adding this new layer of informationto the website will continue our trendof promoting transparency in Countygovernment.’”

Best kept secretFrom the Rock Island Argus —

“The worst kept secret in the Quad-Cities is that Rock Island CountyState’s Attorney Jeff Terronez is underinvestigation by the Illinois StatePolice. Of course nobody will say why.And most only know about the inves-tigation because the state police con-firmed it in denying a Freedom ofInformation Act request saying aninvestigation was ‘ongoing.’”

Cameras in the courtroomFrom the Chicago Tribune — “As

attorneys prepare to argue a pioneer-ing hearsay law, Drew Peterson’s mur-der case will blaze another new trail …when an Illinois appellate court allowsoral arguments to be broadcast live forthe first time in state history.”

Not proud of tacticsFrom the Quad-City Times, Davenport

— “Go ahead and snicker about the blog-ger whose prank call duped WisconsinGov. Scott Walker. Laugh at the wag whoimpersonated Rahm Emanuel in a stringof r-rated tweets.

“As pranksters, these two werewildly successful. As self-proclaimedjournalists, they are an embarrassmentand festering examples of what’sundermining our profession.”


From The State Journal-Register,Springfield — “Sixteen IllinoisDepartment of Transportation work-ers fired seven years ago for politicalreasons settled their lawsuit againsttheir former supervisors over theweekend … for an undisclosedamount.” Attorney Carl Draperreportedly said his clients could notreveal the amount of money theyreceived under a confidentialityagreement.“He said the settlement didn’t

run afoul of the state’s Freedom ofInformation Act, and settlementdetails can be disclosed through thatavenue.”

From the Rosemont Journal — Asettlement between the city of DesPlaines and former firefighter (andcurrent alderman) Jim Brookmanwas released with amount of moneyawarded redacted. “In earlyFebruary, lawyer Don Craven, whorepresents the Illinois PressAssociation, said, ‘There’s no suchthing as a secret agreement with apublic body.” [On April 15, theAttorney General’s office issued a bind-ing opinion that the agreement must bereleased by the city.]

From the Telegraph, Dixon —“Rock Falls Township High SchoolDistrict is keeping secret the docu-ments on the offense that led to theouster of wrestling coach A.J. Buser. “In response, a watchdog group

says state law requires the district torelease those records.”

From the Daily Gazette, Sterling— A FOIA request by Sauk ValleyNewspapers was denied on the basisthat the records were preliminary.“’What more finality could come

out of this?’ [IPA GovernmentRelations Director Josh] Sharp said.‘He was terminated. He has left theschool district. Whatever way toslice it, it’s a final outcome.’”

From a guest column by DavidGiuliani in the Daily Gazette,Sterling — “After the meetingreopened, the [school] board votedunanimously on a deal for [A.J.]Buser to resign. … There were sever-al copies of the agreement in theroom after the meeting. But when Iasked [Superintendent Jane]Eichman if I could read one, shepointed me to the district’s attorney,who told me I would have to file arecords request the next day, eventhough she readily admitted it was apublic document.“Huh? It was right there. Why is

this hardball?“I submitted the formal request the

next morning, and the district prompt-ly released the agreement. I’m sureEichman and company wanted tohave as little bad publicity as possibleabout the Buser departure. But the dis-trict’s insistence on a records requestbought it a 2-day story.”

City seeks to protect porn watchers’ privacyA sampling of access issues from around the state

Reporters still fighting for settlement detailsdespite change in FOIA that outlawed secrecy


HyperLocal,

Statehouse news

provided for the public

good — at no cost

to newspapers

We are the LARGEST Statehouse bureau in Illinois with more reporters covering more comunities than any other media outlet!More than 40 daily newspapers, 14 television stations and over 100 radio stations use FREE Illinois Statehouse News Reports.

We are a journalism non-profit organization commited to promoting government transparency and accountability.

To receive our daily news feeds, contactScott Reeder, Managing Editor at [email protected] or by phone at 217-528-9607

Illinois Statehouse Newswww.illinoisstatehousenews.com

ERIC PETERMANN of The Journal-Standard in Freeport says: “Statehouse News has been a greatsource for local coverage in Springfield. They do a terrific job of communicating with us through daily e-mails, and occasionaltelephone calls. They have helped The Journal-Standard present readers with the latest news and information on both on-going issues at the Capitol, and the role of local legislators in shaping policy.”

DENNIS GRUBAUGH of The Telegraph in Alton says: “Statehouse News has been a vital resource toour newspaper, like extra reporters in the newsroom. The addition of Statehouse services comes at a time when our man-power needs are at an all-time high. The quality of the work is outstanding and the reliability and cooperative nature of theteam is exceptional.”

GERALD TAYLOR of The Dispatch in Moline says: “Losing our group bureau in Springfield was traumaticfor all of us. That’s been especially true in our highly competitive market at a time when Springfield is attracting heavy public

interest because of the escalating budget and political debates. Illinois Statehouse News has been generatingconsistently professional stories since its inception. We’ve used most of them, and we’ve been particularlygrateful for the ISN staff’s willingness to respond to our requests for special items or fact checks.”

DAVID BAUER of The Journal-Courier in Jacksonville says: “Statehouse News hasproven itself to be a valuable and trustworthy fountain of information about the happenings in state govern-ment. With its help, we are able to keep our readers informed about what is going on and what it means tothem.”

LONNIE CAIN of The Times in Ottawa says: “Our mission at The Times is local, local, andmore local. In fact, we've cut back on our national AP service. What happens in Springfield, however, is stillimportant to us, especially when we can localize the impact. Kudos to ISN staff for working with us to localizestories relevant to our readers. It's a real bonus when we see our lawmakers quoted in their stories. And youhave to love the price!”

‘It’s like having your own Statehouse reporter on staff ’


Legislative ReceptionIllinois Press Association’s

March 8, 2011, Springfield

SEN. GARY FORBY (R) chats with Watseka Publisher Don Hurd and Chicago DefenderPresident Michael House.

GENERAL MANAGER KEN Munjoy (L) and Publisher Len Robert Small (C) chat withPublisher John Newby of The Times, Ottawa.

PUBLISHER DICK JOHNSON (L) of The Pantagraph,Bloomington with IPA Attorney Don Craven.

PUBLISHER JOHN BARRON of the Chicago Sun-Timesspeaks with Rep. Angelo “Skip” Saviano.

REP. KAY HATCHER discusses legislation with IPA Executive Director Dennis DeRossett (L) and GovernmentRelations Director Josh Sharp.


REP. DAVID REIS with IPA GovernmentRelations Director Josh Sharp.

REP. MARLOW COLVIN (R) poses withPublisher Bill Garth of Citizen Newspapers.

PUBLISHER BRUCE SAGAN of the Hyde Park Herald discusses issues with Rep. Camille Lilly (L) and Publisher Nicole Trottie (C) ofthe West Suburban Journal in Forest Park. In the background are Sen. Kyle McCarter and IPA’s Assistant Director of GovernmentRelations, Jordan Powell.

PUBLISHER MARY JO NOONAN (L) of Des Plaines Valley Newspauses a moment during a chat with Publisher Mary Denson ofWindy City Word.

IPA’S JORDAN POWELL (L) speaks with Sen. Sam McCann.Behind them is Publisher John Barron of the Chicago Sun-Times.

IPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dennis DeRossett (L) talks to Rep. Roger Eddy (C) and Rep. Brandon Phelps dur-ing the Legislative Reception held in March at the Sangamo Club, Springfield.


Plan now to join us at the annualconvention of the Illinois PressAssociation, June 8-10 at the CrownePlaza Hotel and Conference Center inSpringfield.Why should you attend? As your

state press association, our goal is tocreate a dynamic and educational pro-gram that will pay tangible dividendsfor your investment. We think we’vedone that, and invite you to check outthe program specifics on pages 9 – 15in this edition of Illinois PressLines.While the program is indeed the

hallmark of the convention, we’verestructured the rates to make yourattendance an unbeatable deal. In fact,

if you bring three or more people fromyour organization, registration for thecomplete convention is only $132 perperson and includes both advertisingand editorial awards luncheons, theopening reception, and the Presidents’Reception. To make it even moreaffordable, this year we’re offering areduced rate option at an adjoininghotel.The rates are great, no doubt about

it, but consider these benefits of con-vention participation:• Now, more than ever, a chance to

show support for the newspaperindustry you love, your state pressassociation, and your colleagues; to bea part of the annual gathering that cel-ebrates the mission that is communityjournalism in Illinois.

• Be energized, inspired andencouraged from cutting-edge,keynote addresses from industry prosand outside-the-box thinkers whobelieve in the power of local newspa-pers.• Hear current research results

(compiled in March 2011) for Illinoisnewspaper industry trends, commis-sioned by the IPA and presented byNewton Marketing & Research ofOklahoma City.• Take home new ideas and solu-

tions from multiple breakout sessions

for both editorial and advertising par-ticipants.• Enjoy networking with industry

colleagues.• Take advantage of opportunities

for assistance in solving specific prob-lems at your newspaper.• Study examples of some of the

best writing, editing, photojournalism,design and advertising work createdin 2010. Celebrate the award winnersduring the advertising and editorialawards luncheons.� Visit exhibitors and vendors with

products designed to improve yourpublications. • Relax, have some fun, and learn!Again this year, in collaboration

with our friends at the IllinoisAssociated Press Editors Association(IAPEA), the annual IAPEA AwardsDinner will be held on Thursdayevening at the Crowne Plaza. Thisconvenient arrangement allowsIAPEA members the opportunity toattend the AP Awards Dinner while atthe same time enjoying the IPAConvention program. We are gratefulto the IAPEA board members for theircontributions to this collaborativeeffort.The IPA 2011 Convention is a great

opportunity you can't afford to miss.Please join us!

FOUNDATION REPORT

Barry LocherDirector, Foundation & Member [email protected]

Reasons to attend the IPA ConventionJune 8-10 in Springfield


Here’s what the first registrants are saying:

EDITORIAL:

Susy Schultz, managing editor, The Daily Journal, Kankakee

ADVERTISING:

Neil Shannon, advertising director, The Daily Journal, Kankakee

Join us —

JUNE 8–10, 2011Crowne Plaza HotelSpringfield, Illinois


• We’re unveiling NEW RESEARCH this year that will help you sell and help preserve publicnotices!

• We’ve scoured the country for the TOP SPEAKERS to bring you a MORE DYNAMIC, MOREWORTHWHILE convention! And it’s a FANTASTIC VALUE!

• Come learn why newspapers are STILL NUMBER 1 and how to convey that to your community!

HIGHLIGHT


HIGHLIGHT

• We’ll have a LIVE AUCTION at the Presidents’ Reception on Thursday evening.

• Great DOOR PRIZES throughout the event!

• We’ll still hold the ever-popular DESSERT AUCTION, too! Come support theFoundation and its journalism education efforts!

sScan the QR codes with your Smart Phone for a special message!


HIGHLIGHT

• New this year — PRESIDENTS’ RECEPTION with VIP guests and live auction!

• OPENING RECEPTION for early arrivals, ad managers and exhibitors!

• IPA/IPF Social — A CELEBRATION OF HONORS including our Fourth Estate & ACORN members featuring food & fun!


CONTEST JUDGING in Madison, Wis. More than 5,000 entries were submitted to the annual editorial and advertising contests.

The IPA again welcomes the IllinoisAssociated PressEditors Association toour annual convention.IAPEA awards will bepresented on Thursdayevening.


HIGHLIGHT

Come celebrate the winners in this year’s Editorial & Advertising contests. You’ll see the bestwork Illinois newspapers did in 2010 — some of it is probably yours!

We won’t spoil the fun — but there may be A FEW SURPRISES this year! Come see for your-self!


HIGHLIGHT• Restructured rates make it more affordable to BRING MULTIPLE PEOPLE from your office!

• CHOICE OF TWO HOTELS next door to each other means you can save money withoutmissing out on any of the programming!

• REGISTER AND PAY ONLINE this year at www.illinoispress.org/Convention


Lance

Lynne Lance ofPleasant Plains hasjoined the staff of theIllinois Press Associationas administrative assis-tant. She succeeds JoAnnDavis, who retired at theend of last year.

Lance is a graduate ofthe University ofAlabama and formerlyworked for PleasantPlains schools.

Lance joinsIPA staffFrom the Chicago Tribune

Supporters of cameras in the Supreme Court,including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), say thatopening the court to cameras would teach thenation an important civics lesson.

"Unfortunately, a lot of people think this is allabout Judge Judy, and that is not how justice ishanded down in America," Durbin said, refer-ring to the television judge. "This is an institu-tion, one of the most important in our govern-ment, a government that prides itself on beingopen and accessible. Eliminating the mystery ofthese proceedings will help people understandwhat justice really means."

Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor whosupports cameras at the high court, agreed, not-

ing that only the "privileged few" get to witnessthe justices in court.

"Unfortunately, only the most naive idealistbelieves that the general public reads the court'sopinions," said Tribe, whose first argumentbefore the Supreme Court in 1980 establishedthat the Constitution guarantees the public'sright to attend criminal trials.

The move to allow cameras comes after ChiefJustice John Roberts Jr. said in his confirmationhearings that he would be willing to consider tel-evising Supreme Court sessions.

[Durbin co-sponsored a bill to allow cameras infederal courtrooms, which passed out of the SenateJudiciary Committee on a vote of 12 – 6.]

Durbin supports cameras in the courtroom

Actor Dennis Franz has joinedthe Illinois Press Association’s pro-motional “Leaders Are NewspaperReaders” campaign. His image willappear on newspaper and newspa-per website ads touting the benefitsof newspaper readership.

Born in Maywood, Franz is agraduate of Proviso East HighSchool and Southern IllinoisUniversity at Carbondale. He is aVietnam veteran and has starred inmore than 35 television and filmproductions. He won four EmmyAwards for his portrayal of Det.Andy Sipowicz on NYPD Blue.

“The one thing I look forward to

each morning is reading the newspa-per,” Franz said. “the time spent withmy local newspaper and a cup of cof-fee stimulates me, informs me, enter-tains me, challenges me and gets myday off to just the right start.”

Other famous Illinoisans participat-ing in the campaign are AndreIguodala, guard for the Philadelphia76ers; Bruce Weber, head coach for theUniversity of Illinois men’s basketballteam; Capt. Scott D. Altman, a retiredNASA astronaut; Glenn Poshard, pres-ident of Southern Illinois University atCarbondale; John McDonough, presi-dent of the Chicago Blackhawks; RayLaHood, U.S. Secretary of

Transportation; and Maj. L. TammyDuckworth, an Iraq War veteran andassistant secretary of the U.S.Department of Veterans Affairs.

“There are two things that all ofthese Illinoisans have in common,”said Dennis DeRossett, executivedirector of the Illinois PressAssociation. “They are all leaders,and they are all newspaper readers.That’s not an accident. Leadersdepend on the reliable, comprehen-sive and diverse information thatnewspapers provide.”

The ads are downloadable fromthe IPA’s website at www.illinois-press.org.


Actor Dennis Franz lends name,image to IPA’s promotional campaign


(AT RIGHT) ILLINOIS PRESS FOUNDATION Director Barry Locher presents an iPad to Cameron Lind as part of the “Poetry for the President” presentation April 8at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. The poetry contest

was in honor of Illinois-born President Ronald Reagan’s centennial birthday. The IPF awarded iPads to the top winners at the state level.

‘Poetry for the President’

Jeremy L.Halbreich wasnamed chairmanof the companythat owns theChicago Sun-Times. He suc-ceeds the lateJames Tyree (Seepage 23).

•••Brent Easton, publisher of The

Randolph County Herald Tribune inChester and the Steeleville Ledger,was promoted to publisher of TheBenton EveningNews and theC h r i s t o p h e rProgress. He suc-ceeds the lateD a n n yMalkovich (seeFeb. 2011 IllinoisPressLines).

•••Bill Lair has retired as managing

editor of the Times-Courier inCharleston andthe JournalGazette inMattoon. Helogged more than40 years in thedaily newspaperbusiness; most ofwhich was spentin Coles County.

•••Mary Lou Fulton was named to the

board of directors of Shaw Media inDixon. The “self-described media opti-mist” works for The CaliforniaEndowment, which supports healthjournalism at public, commercial andnonprofit media outlets.

•••Fred Foutz and William R. Hertter

were elected to the Anderson-HannaNational Circulation Hall of Fame byLEARNing More Circulation Idea

Service, a newspaper trade publicationwith a history of helping circulationprofessionals for more than 50 years.Foutz is former circulation managerfor the Journal Star in Peoria and cur-rently vice president for circulation forGateHouse Media Inc. Hertter is aretired circulation director for ThePantagraph in Bloomington.

•••James Munch has joined the

Rockford Register Star as controller.He previously worked with agricul-tural publications.

•••Mary Kruger is now administrative

assistant at the Piatt County Journal-Republican in Monticello. She previ-ously worked at the Rantoul Press.Brad Shaner has joined the staff as amarketing consultant. The Robinsonnative previously played professionalfootball in Finland.

•••Marilyn Bryant has joined the staff

of the Norris City Banner. She holds adegree in visual communication.

•••GateHouse Media announced

three executive appointments inMarch. Greg Baumer is now publisherand advertising director of TheCourier in Lincoln and the LoganCounty Shopper. Greg Pacelli wasnamed director of digital media for theWestern Division of GateHouse; hebegan his career at The State Journal-Register in Springfield. David Ruizwas named director of advertising andmarketing for Suburban LifePublications; he previously was presi-dent of sales for Media MarketingPartners in suburban Chicago.

•••The Decatur Herald & Review has

added Mark Roberts as a staff photog-rapher. He previously was a free-lancephotographer in New York.

•••Veteran reporter John Pulliam has

returned to The Register-Mail inGalesburg as a general assignmentreporter. He had worked for the news-paper for 18 years previously but leftlast October for an online publicationin California. He succeeds Jane Huh,who now works for the NorthwestHerald in Crystal Lake.

•••Terry Bibo has stepped down as a

columnist for the Journal Star inPeoria. Paul Gordon has left his postas business editor at the newspaper.Clare Howard has also stepped down;all three moves were part of a volun-tary buy-out. Steve Tarter was namedbusiness editor; he joined the newspa-per in 1998.

•••Chris Britt, editorial cartoonist for

The State Journal-Register inSpringfield, was featured on anepisode of “Illinois Stories” airing onpublic television.

•••The Chicago Headline Club – the

largest local chapter of the Society ofProfessional Journalists in the country– announced the winners of its 2010Lifetime Achievement Awards.Veteran Chicago journalists RogerEbert, Richard C. Longworth andElizabeth Brackettwill be honored fortheir extraordinary work in Chicagojournalism at the 34th annual PeterLisagor Awards for ExemplaryJournalism banquet on Friday, May 6.

•••The Kankakee County Corn

Growers Association presented a spe-cial award for meritorious service toRobert Themer, senior editor at TheDaily Journal, Kankakee.

•••Travis Bean has joined the staff of

The News-Gazette in Champaign as astaff writer in the magazine division.

•••


PULITIZER PRIZE-WINNING artist Dick Locher of Naperville has retired after draw-ing the Dick Tracy cartoon for 32 years. The strip, created by Chester Gould, is nowdrawn by Joe Staton and written by Mike Curtis. The strip is distributed by TribuneMedia Services. Photo: Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune.

Halbreich succeeds the late James Tyree at Sun-Times;Easton follows the late Danny Malkovich in Benton

PEOPLE NEWS —

Halbreich

Easton

Lair

Learning new tricks in InDesignUsing scripts to speed up workflow


By Kevin SlimpWhen a newspaper or group con-

tacts me to ask about training, theyusually have something specific inmind. The client might be a publica-tion moving to the InCopy/InDesignworkflow. Quite often, there’s a prob-lem with print quality. No matterwhat the reason for my visit, it’salmost a certainty that I will be askedto give some advanced InDesigntraining while on site.When I first started using InDesign,

then known as “K2,” over 11 yearsago, one of the first things I noticedwas how easy it was to learn the insand outs of the application. It becameapparent pretty quickly that there’snot a lot of “advanced” to InDesign.There are just tools that users haven’thad the time to learn.To this day, I get a kick out of see-

ing longtime InDesign users smilewhen they learn how to create text invarious shapes or to fill a letter of thealphabet with small text instead of acolor. With that in mind, let me sharean InDesign process that will save addesigners serious minutes whenthey’re laying out realty or auto ads. This task is accomplished using an

InDesign script. Scripts are little pro-grams that allow users to accomplishtasks that would otherwise take muchlonger. Photoshop veterans are used

to using actions to get similar results.There are scripts to automate the

creation of calendars in InDesign. Oneof my favorite scripts from the earlydays of InDesign was called “PieGraph.” It allowed the user to create acircle, enter a series of values, then sitback and have a snack while InDesigncreated a beautiful pie chart. Thewhole process took no more than afew seconds.During a recent session of the

Institute of Newspaper Technology, Iasked a class of advanced InDesignstudents if anyone had a time-savingtip to share with the rest of the group.Emily, from Salem, Indiana, was quickto respond with a lesson on the “MakeGrid” script in InDesign. Let me tellyou how it works.The goal of Make Grid is to create

an area filled with frames to be filledwith items. In our business, the bestexample might be the realty add thatcontains 15 to 30 house photos.Without Make Grid, most designerswould probably create one frame,then duplicate it throughout the pageusing guidelines or the “step andrepeat” tool in InDesign. Make Gridspeeds the process up significantlyand guarantees that your spacing isaccurate throughout the area. Here’show it works:1. Create a frame (a rectangle) that

fills the area where you want yourphotos to appear on the page. Ifyou’re designing an auto ad with 15cars, draw a frame (using your rectan-gle tool) where you want the 15 carslocated on the page.2. Select the frame with your selec-

tion tool (black arrow) and go toObject>Fitting>Frame FittingOptions. Set Fitting to “Fill FrameProportionately” and select the mid-dle dot in the “Align From” option inthe Frame Fitting Options window.

Click OK to exit that window.3. Next, go to the Scripts panel. In

the most recent version of InDesign, itis found by selecting Window>Utilities>Scripts. In some earlier ver-

sions, you found this script by select-ing Windows> Scripting> Scripts. Youmay have to look through the optionsunder the Windows menu to find“Scripts,” but it will be there.

GUTTER SIZES are in points when youuse the Make Grid tool. Remember that oneinch equals 72 points.

THE MAKE GRID tool fills the designate area with frames that are ready to be filled withphotos.

4. Beginning with InDesign CS3,users will find scripts already builtinto the Scripts menu. To find them,look under Applications> Sample>Javascript in the Scripts panel. Prior toCS3, InDesign didn’t supply anyscripts to go in the panel. Users can

download scripts at no cost fromAdobe.com> Downloads> Exchanges.Click on the InDesign option to selectfrom hundreds of scripts and plug-ins.

5. Double-click on the script “MakeGrid.”

6. A window will appear on thescreen, prompting the user to input thedesired number of rows and columns,along with the space between them.After entering the number of columns,rows and gutters, click OK.

7. You should see the area filled

with frames, ready to be filled withpictures of houses, cars or whatever.Go to File>Place and select the photosthat you want to use. Click on eachframe individually to fill it with one ofthe corresponding photos.

That’s it. You’ve now accomplisheda task in a matter of seconds thatwould have taken several minuteswithout the use of the Make Gridscript.

If you’re not already using scripts inInDesign, you are about to find outjust how valuable they can be. A fewother good ones to try in InDesigninclude “Split Story,” which allows theuser to break jumps into separate sto-ries, no longer linked together; “ImageCatalog,” which creates a visual cata-log of all the images in a designatedfolder; and “Sort Paragraph,” whichalphabetizes a list of items.

So what are you waiting for?

Kevin Slimp is a newspaper technologyexpert in Tennessee. He can be reached [email protected].

Where’s Kevin? Upcoming training sessions:

• Forth Worth, Texas (Apr 28-29)• Marksville, La. (Apr 30)• St. Pete, Fla. (May 6-7)• Niagara Falls, Ontario (May 13)


THE MAKE GRID script is a powerfultool in InDesign.

BY SETTING the initial frame to fill pro-portionately, all subsequent frames will befilled the same way.

THE COMPLETED AREA of the InDesign page, created using the Make Grid script.

Several readers wrote to theirlocal newspapers recently toexpress appreciation for their carri-ers. Libby Westfall wrote to ThePantagraph to praise her carrier,Ron Snyder. After being unable todeliver the newspaper for two daysdue to snow, he and a friendplowed out her drive. “He knowsI’m elderly,” she said. “There aregood people in this world and I amproud to say Ron is appreciated.”

At the Alton Telegraph, GailHaney of Edwardsville wrote tothank her delivery person, LindaCoyle. “She is the best carrier that Ihave had,” Haney wrote. “I knowthat when Linda is delivering thepaper that it will be in my driveway

and I don’t have to go looking for itor it will not be wet, in the street, or,in a puddle of water …”

At the Centralia Sentinel, SandyTinsley of Dix offered praise for thelate Larry Lyberger. “When we didnot get our paper on Saturday, Ithought something must really bewrong. Sorry to say, something wasreally wrong.” She noted that evenher dog would miss him because ofthe treats he would toss out alongthe route.

General manager Dan Nicholsestimated that Lyberger had driven900,000 miles for the Sentinel anddelivered more than 2.5 millionpapers.

Praise for carriers


Illinois Petroleum MarketersAssociation/ Illinois Association of

Convenience StoresContact us when you need

the latest information on thepetroleum marketing and

convenience store industry.phone: 217.544.4609

fax: 217.789.0222

Illinois Press AssociationGovernment Relations

Legal & Legislative

Josh SharpDirector

[email protected]

www.illinoispress.org217-241-1300

We’re experts in our field. When you havequestions about our industry, we’re justa phone call away. Please give us a call.

To advertise on this page, please contact Mike Fleschat 217-241-1700 or [email protected]

Phyllis BensonPhyllis Benson, 53, Round Lake,

died of cancer March 5. She was aneditorial assistant for the ChicagoTribune for nearly 15 years in itsSchaumburg bureau.

Max CrotserFreddie “Max” Crotser, 71,

Maryville, Tenn., died of cancer inMarch. He began his career in news-papers with Gannett Co. inDanville.

Dave DreierDave Dreier, 64, Aurora, died Jan.

21. He was the founding publisherof the Fox Valley Sentinel in BoulderHill. It later merged with theOswego Ledger under the owner-ship of Record Newspapers,Yorkville.

Montford JenkinsMontford Jenkins, 86, Danville,

died Feb. 13. He once worked in thedistribution department of theCommercial-News in Danville.

Thelma KnightThelma Deane Knight, 89,

Phoenix, died Feb. 9. She once wrotefor the Moline Dispatch.

James LuebbersJames Dale Luebbers, 76,

Collinsville, died Feb. 20. He was adistributor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the CollinsvilleHerald for many years.

Clarence PetersenClarence Petersen, 78, Arlington

Heights, died Feb. 15. He developedan interest in writing at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana andjoined the City News Bureau inChicago in the 1950s. He thenworked as a writer, columnist andeditor for the Chicago Tribune for38 years.

Paul RiordanPaul J. Riordan, 94, McHenry,

died Feb. 8. He was an advertisingexecutive with the Chicago Tribunefor four decades.

Dean SchaferRonald “Dean” Schafer, 77,

Sterling, died March 3. He began hisjournalism career as a reporter inMorris, then as city editor in Lincolnand then as managing editor for theSterling Gazette for 24 years.

Norma SeagerNorma Lee Seager, 82, Quincy,

died March 15. She once worked atThe Quincy Herald-Whig.

Rev. Larry ShultzThe Rev. Larry R. Shultz, 69,

Donovan, died March 30. Beforeentering the ministry, he worked asa photojournalist for the MetamoraDaily Herald for 28 years.

John SmetanaJohn Smetana, 67, Reno, Nev.,

died March 29. He began work atthe Urbana Courier in the 1950s andwas its editor at the time the news-paper folded.

Teresa StephensTeresa Lynn Stephens, 43,

Vandalia, died March 17. She wasemployed at the Hillsboro Journalfor more than 19 years.

Elmer ToedteElmer Toedte, 97, Nashville, died

Feb. 7. He was a distributor ofMetro-East newspapers for manyyears in East St. Louis.

Garfield WillisGarfield Arthur Willis, 92,

Shelbyville, died March 19. Hedelivered newspapers for manyyears for the Decatur Herald andthe Daily Union in Shelbyville.


Jerry A. Mahlandt, former pub-lisher and editor of the BreeseJournal, died Jan. 29 in his home inTrenton. He was 83.Mr. Mahlandt’s father, Erwin J.

Mahlandt, purchased the newspa-per in 1925, two years before Jerrywas born. Jerry’s sons, Steve Mahlandt and

Dave Mahlandt, took over the busi-ness in 1994, when Mr. Mahlandtretired. In 2006, a fourth generationdescendant, Josh Mahlandt, joinedthe newspaper as a full-timeemployee.

The newspa-per started outas an 8-page,one-color publi-cation and nowprints full colorwith a circula-tion of morethan 6,000. The company hasexpanded into a full-service pub-lishing plant with more than 125employees and prints hundreds ofpublications.

Mahlandt was second-generationnewspaperman at Breese Journal

Mahlandt

Industry Deaths

James Tyree, Chicago’s home-town financier who led an invest-ment group to rescue the ChicagoSun-Times and dozens of suburbannewspapers from bankruptcy in2009, died Wednesday. He was 53.Mr. Tyree, chairman and CEO of

Mesirow Financial and chairman ofSun-Times Media, had fought stom-ach cancer for several months.Mr. Tyree grew up in a lower-mid-dle-class family on the city’s SouthSide, the youngest of seven chil-dren. He attended city schools andgraduated with bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees from Illinois StateUniversity. He rose to become oneof Chicago’s most respected busi-ness leaders and beloved citizens.He was well known as a generousphilanthropist, reportedly givingmore than $500,000 each year to

charities andd i a b e t e sresearch, a dis-ease that hadplagued him for25 years.P r e s i d e n t

Barack Obamasaid at Tyree’spassing, “Jimwas a quintessential Chicagoan, aSouth Side kid from humble rootswho worked his way to the topbut never left the city behind. Hewas beloved for what he gaveback to the city that gave him somuch — from his work with non-profit organizations, to his serviceon the board of the University ofChicago Medical Center, to hisrole in giving the Sun-Times anew lease on life.”

Credited with savingChicago Sun-Times

Tyree

April 2011 Illinois PressLines

Documents

Transcript of April 2011 Illinois PressLines