PublisherThe Indiana

Volume 76, Issue 22 • October 27, 2011 Published alternate Thursdays

Register now to recruit at job fair

Public notice seminar Nov. 10

Get answers to your ques-tions on public notice adver-tising – a vital component of government transparency – at a seminar Nov. 10 in Indianapolis.

Stephen Key, executive director and general counsel of the Hoosier State Press Association, will lead the ses-sion from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Nov. 10 at The Indianapolis Star’s Pulliam Production Center.

Public notice advertising is an obscure slice of a news-paper because the rules can change from year to year by the action of a state legisla-ture that doesn’t always fully understand the intricacies of the system, Key said.

“HSPA’s seminar will focus on how Indiana’s law on public notices effects the rates news-papers can charge state and local government units or pri-vate individuals,” he said.

Key will answer public

Sunshine, Service award nominations due Nov. 18

See Seminar, Page 3

See Notice, Page 4See Job, Page 2

Check out these speakers

The Hoosier State Press Association invites newspa-per professionals to submit nominations for the Frank O’Bannon Sunshine Award and Distinguished Service Award.

The honors will be pre-sented during the Annual Meetings and Government Conference on Feb. 16-17 in Indianapolis.

The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, Nov. 18.

Send your nominee’s name, biographical information, address and phone number, along with a letter explaining why you believe the nominee should receive a Sunshine or Distinguished Service award, to Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, at skey@hspa.com or 41 E. Washington St., Suite 301,

Indianapolis, IN 46204. Written rationales should

not exceed 500 words. Include

any supporting documenta-tion or evidence supporting your nomination.

Frank O’Bannon Sunshine Award

This award is presented to an individual, group or organization that has dem-onstrated outstanding efforts to protect and enhance the concepts of open government in Indiana.

While not limited to public officials, HSPA hopes to rec-ognize worthy elected officials or public employees through this award.

The award is named after the late Indiana governor who was an advocate of the peo-ple’s right to know throughout his political career.

Nominees may be:• Citizens who worked to

ensure the Open Door Law or Access to Public Records Act are followed in their community.

• Local or state officials who remained true to the phi-losophy of openness despite pressure to act in secret.

Nomination guidelines:• An individual or an entire

neighborhood organization, city or town council, or state agency may be nominated.

• The actions warrant-ing recognition may have occurred in 2011, or the nomi-nation may recognize years of work that exemplify open gov-ernment and public participa-tion in the process.

Distinguished Service Award

The board of directors of the Hoosier State Press Associ-ation presents its Distin guished Service Award to an individu-al who has contributed in one

Registration is open for the Newsroom Seminar and Better

Newspaper Awards Lunch-eon on Dec. 3.

The annual day of edu-cational sessions and award presentations will be at the Indianapolis Marriott North, a new location.

Sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. The day concludes with lunch and award starting at 12:30 p.m.

Registration information has been mailed to news-rooms. Staff members also can sign up online at hspafoundation.org.

Veteran journalist Tom French, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, will present two sessions.

One will cover ways to generate great story ideas. The other will high-light writing the story on deadline. Attendees can listen in on both sessions or choose just one.

“Tom is an outstanding storyteller as evidenced by his Pulitzer Prize and an excellent teacher as well,” said Karen T. Braeckel, HSPA Founda-tion director. “He brings a wealth of information on the ideas and skills need-ed in today’s newsrooms.”

Former Indiana first lady Judy O’Bannon, right, presents a Frank O’Bannon Sunshine Award to Montgomery County resident Deanna Durrett during the 2011 Annual Meetings and Government Conference. Nominations for the 2012 Sunshine Award and Distinguished Service Award are due Nov. 18.

Don’t miss lowest rate for

NewsroomSeminar

Newsroom Seminar statsWhen: 8:30 a.m. Dec. 3Where: Indianapolis Marriott North (a new location)Registration deadline: Nov. 11 for early-bird rates; Nov. 23 for regular rates (payment may follow)Information: hspafoundation.org; sgoldsby@hspa.com

Jim Brown

Joe Hoage

John Krull

John Russell

Kristy Deer

Danese Kenon

Matt Kryger

John Strauss

Tom French

Stephen Key

Charlie Reed

Lesley Weidenbener

Get early-bird price through Nov. 11

Q&A on public notice advertisingWhen: 10 a.m.- noon Thursday, Nov. 10Where: The Indianapolis Star’s Pulliam Production Center, 8278 Georgetown Road, IndianapolisCost: $20 for one employee; $10 for each additional employee at the same newspaperRegistration deadline: Monday, Nov. 7 (payment may follow). Re -turn the form papers received, or visit hspa.com to download one.Information: (317) 803-4772 or sgoldsby@hspa.com

Job and Career FairWhen: Saturday, Feb. 4Where: Ball State UniversityEditor registration deadline: Nov. 4 for early-bird rate and inclusion in official list of newspapers sent to colleges. (Editors may still attend if they register after Nov. 4.)Cost: $25 per paper if registered by Nov. 4; $50 after Nov. 4 (payment may follow for both deadlines)How to register: Return the emailed form that editors received; request a resend by contacting sgoldsby@hspa.com; or download the form at hspafoundation.orgInformation: (317) 803-4772 or sgoldsby@hspa.com

Editors can save $25 if they register for an upcoming job fair by Nov. 4.

The 2012 APME & HSPA Foundation Job and Career Fair will be Saturday, Feb. 4 at Ball State University.

Editors are asked to register their newspapers as soon as possible so student interview schedules can be set.

Editors at all HSPA-member papers received registration information by email. If you missed yours, please email Shawn Goldsby at sgoldsby@hspa.com for a resend, or download a form to fax at hspafoundation.org.

For editors who are hiring or looking for interns, the job fair offers a great opportunity to find new talent, said Karen T. Braeckel, HSPA Foundation director.

“But we hope you will reg-ister for the event even if you don’t have positions or

See Award, Page 4

Page 2 October 27, 2011

Member notices

Presentation editor/lead photog-rapher – The Princeton Daily Clarion, a family-owned five-day morning edition in southwestern Indiana, seeks flexible journalist for the go-to slot on the production side of our print news cycle. Our next presentation editor/lead pho-tographer will be a motivated multi-tasker with solid copy editing, page design and visual journalism skills. Submit work samples and resume to andrea@pdclarion.com. (1)

Reporter – The News-Examiner, a six-day newspaper in Connersville, Ind., is seeking an enthusiastic, well-rounded general assignment reporter. Primary coverage includes but is not limited to gov-ernment, breaking news and edu-cation. Basic photography and computer skills are a must. Typing

skills, meeting deadlines and a valid driver’s license also are a must. Email resumes to Bob Hansen, editor, at bhansen@ newsexaminer.com. Application deadline is Nov. 1. (1)

Reporter – The Decatur Daily Democrat is seeking an enthusias-tic and hard-working general assignment reporter for Adams County. Responsibilities will include writing news and feature stories and coverage of assigned beats. You must possess strong writing and photography skills and have some pagination experience using InDesign. Send resume and writing samples to Ron Storey at publisher@ decaturdailydemocrat.com. (1)

Reporter – Newspaper group in northwest Indiana has an opening for a full-time general assignment reporter. Responsibilities will include writing news and feature

stories as well as pagination. A qualified candidate will possess strong writing skills and photogra-phy skills. Some pagination experi-ence using InDesign would be a plus. Knowledge of AP style is a must. To apply, send resume and clips to rblankenship@rensselaer-republican.com. (2)

Reporter – The Commercial Review (Portland, Ind.), an award-winning daily newspaper in north-east Indiana, is seeking its next star reporter. Areas of focus will include coverage of city govern-ment and the cops/crime beat, but responsibilities will vary. Send resume and clips to managing edi-tor Mike Snyder at cr.news@ comcast.net. (2)

Send notices to mtuley@hspa.com. Postings will be listed as space permits in print and in full at hspa.com.

Project preserves newspapers in searchable digital database

HSPA staffSteve Key, executive director and general counsel

skey@hspa.com • (317) 624-4427

Karen T. Braeckel, HSPA Foundation directorkbraeckel@hspa.com • (317) 624-4426

Pamela Lego, MAP advertising directorplego@hspa.com • (812) 350-7711

Milissa Tuley, communications specialistmtuley@hspa.com • (317) 624-4430

Yvonne Yeadon, office manageryyeadon@hspa.com • (317) 624-4433

Shawn Goldsby, advertising coordinatorsgoldsby@hspa.com • (317) 803-4772

The Indiana Publisher is published bi-weekly by Hoosier State Press Association,

41 E. Washington St., Suite 301, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, (317) 803-4772. ISSN 0019-6711 USPS 058-730.

Periodicals-class postage paid at Indianapolis, Ind., and at additional mailing office.

Postmaster: Send address changes to 41 E. Washington St., Suite 301, Indianapolis, IN, 46204,

(317) 803-4772, Fax (317) 624-4428. Website: www.hspa.com

Subscriptions $25 per year. Ad rates furnished upon request.

HSPA calendarOct. 27 Website metering webinar, noon (EDT)

Nov. 10 Public notice advertising training with Steve Key, 10 a.m.-noon, The Indianapolis Star’s Pulliam Production Center

Dec. 3 Newsroom Seminar & Awards Luncheon, Indianapolis Marriott North (NEW LOCATION)

Dec. 9 HSPA board meeting, Indianapolis

Feb. 4 APME-HSPA Foundation Job Fair, Ball State University

Feb. 16-17 Annual Meetings & Government Conference, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown

Feb. 17 HSPA Foundation board meeting, following Annual Meetings & Government Conference, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown

Feb. 24 Pulliam internship application deadline for newspapers and students

March 1 Pulliam intern selection committee meeting

Spring Circulation Conference, time and place TBA

Employees sought

HSPA Board of DirectorsHSPA Officers

President: Tim Timmons, The Paper of Montgomery County (Crawfordsville), The Times (Noblesville)Vice President: Greg Morris, IBJ Corp.

Secretary: Robyn McCloskey, Pharos-Tribune (Logansport), Kokomo Tribune

Treasurer: Jon O’Bannon, The Corydon Democrat

HSPA Board Members

Randy List, Rust CommunicationsBill Masterson Jr., The Times of Northwest Indiana (Munster)

Tina West, The Courier-Times (New Castle)

Dailies

NondailiesJohn Haley, Pulaski County Journal (Winamac)

Don Hurd, Benton Review (Fowler)Kathy Tretter, Dubois-Spencer County Publishing Co. Inc.

Shannon Williams, Indianapolis Recorder

HSPA Foundation Board of DirectorsHSPA Foundation Officers

President: Henry Bird, The Herald Bulletin (Anderson)Vice President: John Rumbach, The Herald (Jasper)

Secretary: Pat Lanman, Vevay Newspapers Inc.Treasurer: Jeff Rogers, Home News Enterprises

HSPA Foundation Board of DirectorsLinda Chandler, Ripley PublishingCurt Jacobs, The Madison Courier

Barbara King, North Vernon Plain Dealer & SunKevin Lashbrook, Community Media Group

Mayer Maloney, Hoosier Times Inc.Jack Pate, Evansville Courier & PressNeal Ronquist, Paxton Media Group

Gary Suisman, Journal and Courier (Lafayette)

The Hoosier State Press Association is part of an advi-sory committee determining which historic Indiana news-papers will be preserved digi-tally through a federal grant.

The project, administered by the Indiana State Library, is funded through a $293,157 gift from the National Endow-ment for the Humanities as part of its National Digital Newspaper Program.

The two-year grant will dig-itize state newspapers pub-lished between 1836 and 1922, said Jim Corridan, dep-uty director of the library.

The Library of Congress will make the searchable database available for free through the Chronicling America website – chroniclingamerica.loc.gov – beginning in mid 2012.

Digitizing newspapers is im portant for preserving Indiana’s rich history of jour-nalism, said Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel.

“Newspapers have been called the first draft of histo-ry,” he said. “To understand how later events impact our perception of the past, we must preserve that first draft.

“Making these old newspa-pers word-searchable will enable anyone to find what was written about a particu-lar event or person or enjoy an entire issue of a 19th cen-tury newspaper just as it appeared to the Hoosier who purchased a copy the day it rolled off the press.”

Other groups involved with the advisory committee in -clude the Indiana Commission on Public Records, the In -diana Historical Bureau, the Indiana State Museum, Ball

State University, the Indiana Historical Society, IU School of Journalism and IUPUI.

In all, 28 states have insti-tutions participating in the national digitization endeav-or, Corridan said.

The program is a long-term effort to develop a web-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers, he said.

“The biggest challenge so far has been determining which newspapers to include in the project,” he said. “It’s estimat-ed that Indiana has had over 8,000 newspaper titles between 1804 and 1980.”

State library officials and advisory committee members decided to focus on three areas of Indiana history to guide them in selecting papers to digitize: industrialization, race and immigration.

News papers that heavily covered those topics will have priority.

“During the period in state history included in the proj-ect, Indiana’s newspapers kept Hoosiers connected to the national headlines regard-ing wars, economic depres-

sions and political events,” Corridan said. “The same issues that divided the nation during the Civil War, for example, divided Indiana, and the controversy raged in the pages of the daily papers.”

Making newspapers freely available and searchable will provide documentation to his-torians, students and re -searchers about Indiana’s place in the development of the United States, he said.

“One of the by-products of the project should be a better understanding of the role newspapers have played in Indiana and the resource they provide in detailing the daily lives of its citizens,” he said.

The state library is creating a list of Indiana newspapers, including which are available in original format, on micro-film and in digital format.

HSPA members can share how they are preserving papers or making archives available by contacting Connie Rendfeld, digital ini-tiatives librarian, at crendfeld@library.in.gov.

The Indiana State Library will digitize historic state newspapers through a fed-eral grant. The searchable database will be available in mid 2012.

internships open right now,” she said. “The fair is an excel -lent way to establish contact with students and tell them about your newspaper.”

The early-bird registration rate of $25 per newspaper applies through Nov. 4. After that date, the rate returns to the regular $50.

Please note that editors who register after Nov. 4 may

attend the job fair, but their newspaper’s name will not be on the official list sent to col-leges and universities.

Newspapers do not need to send a check to meet the early-bird deadline; an invoice will be sent later.

The job fair begins with a continental breakfast for editors followed by morning interview sessions starting at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided at noon, and afternoon inter-views run from 1-4 p.m. Each interview lasts 15 minutes.

A block of rooms has been reserved for editors at the Ball State University Hotel in the student center, where the job fair will be held.

Please reserve your room before Jan. 20, when the hotel will release the block. Call (765) 285-1555 for res-ervations, and ask for the Associated Press Managing Editors room block.

For more information con-tact HSPA Foundation at (317) 803-4772 or sgoldsby@hspa.com.

JobContinued from Page 1

October 27, 2011 Page 3

News in brief

Send promotions, announcements, staff changes and other corporate news to mtuley@hspa.com.

Two papers shorten print schedules

Traffic to newspaper websites increases 20 percent in year Newspaper objects to policy

Sentinel makes staff changes

The Connersville News-Examiner expressed opposi-tion to proposed changes in school policy regarding ac -cess to students at an Oct. 11 Fayette County School Corp. board meeting.

News-Examiner Editor Bob Hansen and General Manager Kelly Pierce voiced concerns over a policy requiring parents to sign permission slips allowing their children to talk to the media, except for extracurricular activi-ties or when the newspa-per has been invited to do a story by the school.

Under the old policy, parents could request that their children not be in -cluded in news articles by sending a note to the school within two weeks of registration. It also

allowed for potentially controversial instances in which parents would be asked before a child could be interviewed.

Pierce said the News-Examiner hopes to have the school board act as a mediator between the newspaper and corpora-tion administrators, who have been in ongoing dis-cussions about the policy for more than a month.

She pointed out that positive stories about the schools are frequently fea-tured in the newspaper, but that could be limited by the new policy.

School board members expressed hope of finding a solution with the news-paper, they said.

– Connersville News-Examiner

Series earns award for KPCKPC Media Group Inc.

received a first-place explanatory reporting award for the series “Trustees pile up poor relief cash” at the recent Inland Press Association annual conference.

The KPC stories and editorials, researched over several months, appeared in The News Sun, The Star and The Herald Republican newspapers on June 5 and June 12.

The editorial team

included Dave Kurtz, Matt Getts and Grace Housholder.

The articles focused on surpluses in poor-relief accounts held by town-ship trustees in Noble, LaGrange, DeKalb and Steuben counties.

The stories revealed that there was a combined surplus of $1.56 million. Many townships had reserves that would last 10 years or more without collecting more taxes.

The Rochester Sentinel publisher Sarah O. Wilson has an -nounced two news-room leader ship changes.

Editor W.S. Wil -son moved to the executive editor position, and News Editor Christina Seiler became

managing editor.W.S. Wilson, who

joined The Sentinel in 1982, will continue to direct overall news cover-age and edit the editorial pages.

He will spend more time writing and reporting.

Seiler, who has been with The Sentinel since 1997, will be in charge of day-to-day news opera-tions and continue report-ing.

Two HSPA member news-papers will reduce their print products by one day.

The Washington Times-Herald began publishing five days a week instead of six on Oct. 17. The Goshen News will adjust its print cycle from seven to six days a week starting Nov. 15.

Both newspapers are owned by CNHI Media.

The Times-Herald dis-continued its Monday print edition as it continues to expand its news coverage on electronic platforms, includ-ing washtimesherald.com, an e-edition and the newspaper’s

Facebook page, Publisher Ron Smith said.

“As many of our read-ers are aware, local news is posted daily on our website,” Smith said. “Collectively across all platforms, the Times-Herald’s audience is larger than ever.”

The Times-Herald’s history with the community goes back more than 140 years.

The Goshen News will dis-continue its Tuesday print edition.

Print publication will be on a Wednesday-through-Monday basis, said Publisher Jim Kroemer. The paper will continue its news coverage and advertising offerings at goshennews.com, in The

Goshen News e-edition and through the newspaper’s Facebook page and Twitter feeds, he said.

Normal business hours at The News will continue on Tuesdays.

Local news is posted on the paper’s website as it’s break-ing, and that practice will continue, including Tuesdays, Kroemer said.

“As reading habits change and evolve, we at The Goshen News are finding new ways to make sure this community, which has counted on us for nearly 175 years, continues to receive the high-quality news coverage and advertis-ing it expects and deserves,” Kroemer said.

Newspaper publishers attracted 20 percent more total visits by adults 18 and older to their websites in September, compared to the same month one year ago, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

The analysis, performed by comScore Inc. for the asso-ciation, also indicates strong performance in other key engagement categories.

In a year-over-year compar-ison for newspaper websites, average daily visits were up 21 percent; total pages viewed were up 10 percent; total minutes spent were up 11 percent; and unique visitors were up 9 percent.

An increase in newspaper web traffic isn’t surprising, said Steve Key, HSPA execu-tive director and general counsel.

“As people try to navigate a digital universe where searches for information may be skewed by search optimi-zation metrics, it’s natural

that they seek out a reliable, trusted source for what they need – newspapers,” he said.

This is the first time the Newspaper Association of America has been able to pro-vide an annual comparison since it began tracking Web

audiences in September 2010.“This strong audience

growth coincided with the introduction of pay walls at many newspaper companies,” said Caroline Little, NAA president and CEO. “Clearly, consumers place high value upon the content that news-papers create – and they are seeking out newspaper web-sites to get it.

The findings also indicate that in the third quarter newspaper websites attracted an average monthly audience of 110.4 million unique visi-tors 18 and older, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of all adult Internet users.

As publishers continue to invest in their websites, they are also reaching key audi-ences, including:

• Three in four adults (74 percent) in households earn-ing more than $100,000.

• 58 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds.

• 62 percent of Internet users with children at home.

SAVE THE DATES!Newsroom Seminar • Dec. 3, 2011

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Annual Meetings • Feb. 16-17, 2012

Washington Times-Herald and The Goshen News staff reports

Editors, get out the vote messageTina West, pub lisher of

The Cour ier-Times (New Albany) and a member of the HSPA board of direc-tors, shared the house ad at right encouraging readers in the New Castle area to vote.

The ad points out that “American Idol” draws 122 million votes weekly and “Dancing With the Stars” also attracts a large number of voters.

Papers may download the ad at hspa.com by clicking on the “Vote” but-ton on the homepage and pub lish it with their logos.

Or let it spark your creative staffs to de sign your own voting message

as a way newspapers can promote the importance of civic responsibility.

Sarah O. Wilson

The Newspaper Association of Amer-ica reports that unique visitors on newspaper websites are up 9 percent from a year ago.

A session on covering the Statehouse will be presented by John Krull, who directs the Franklin College Pulliam School of Journalism and the Franklin College Statehouse Bureau, and Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, the program’s assistant bureau chief.

John Strauss, a journalism instructor at Ball State University, will teach a ses-sion on using social media and blogs for breaking news and special events.

In a seminar dubbed Jour-nalists as Government Watch-dogs, the two winners of the 2011 Ray Moscowitz Award for journalistic achieve ment in lifting veils of secrecy will dis-

cuss their work that garnered them the award. The winners are Kristy Deer of the Daily Reporter (Green field) and John Russell of The Indian-apolis Star.

Stephen Key, executive director and general council of HSPA, and Joe Hoage, Indiana’s public access coun-selor, will present a session on access to information.

The track for visual journal-ism will feature photography and video sessions.

Matt Kryger, photojournalist at The Indianapolis Star, and Charlie Riedel, an Associated Press photographer, will dis-cuss shooting spot news in their session.

Kryger covered the deadly stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair in July, a topic that’s sure to come up during

the session, Braeckel said.“Matt has a unique perspec-

tive on the disaster as one of the photographers there who had to balance his time between taking photos and sending them to the news-room for web coverage,” she said.

Jim Brown, executive asso-ciate dean emeritus and pro-fessor emeritus, IU School of Journalism – Indianapolis, will lead a video seminar for beginners on the basics of shooting technique and how to make a video efficiently.

Another video session, led by Indianapolis Star multi-media journalist Danese Kenon, will go beyond the basics and explore advanced storytelling with video.

For more information visit hspafoundation.org.

SeminarContinued from Page 1

Unfortunately, persis-tence and a lawyer are required for a citizen

to obtain records from a local government unit.

Ross Martinie Eiler of Bloomington requested cop-ies of inmate grievance forms from the Monroe County sher-iff’s department in the sum-mer of 2010.

Eiler told then Indiana Pub-lic Access Counselor Andrew Kossack that his initial requests to Jail Com mander Bill Wilson were ignored.

Eiler said he later submit-ted the request in person using the sheriff’s public information request form.

Eiler said when he remind-ed the sheriff’s office staff that a response is required within 24 hours of the request, the comment was met with chuck-les and dismissal.

He told the public access counselor that when he returned the next day, the sheriff’s department response was, “It will probably take a very long time, if you are able to see them at all.”

There was no definitive denial or projected date of production of the requested documents, just the cryptic comment.

Eiler received a written denial dated Aug. 13, 2010,

which he said he received Aug. 21, 2010.

Questioning whether the denial was proper under Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, Eiler asked the public access counselor’s office for an opinion.

Kossack issued one on Sept. 16, 2010.

He pointed out that the statute the sheriff quoted as a basis for denying copies of the inmate grievances, IC 5-14-3-5(b), was a part of the Access to Public Records Act that requires information about people who are incarcerated to be released.

The public access counselor concluded that Sheriff James Kennedy should either release the records requested or cite a valid statute permitting the records to be kept confiden-tial; otherwise, the sheriff was in violation of the Access to Public Records Act.

His opinion also notes Eiler’s claim that his volunteer sta-tus at the jail was terminated the day after he filed his com-plaint with Kossack’s office.

Eiler brought the problem before the Monroe County commissioners on Dec. 17, 2010.

The commissioners asked the county’s legal department to look into the issue, and

county attorney Jeff Cockerill reported his findings in May 2011.

Cockerill wrote: “My im -pres sion was that the sheriff’s concern was the labor require-ment associated with the request.”

Cockerill talked to Eiler, who agreed to limit his request to 10 inmate griev-ances to make the records search less burdensome for the sheriff’s office.

“Later I followed up with the sheriff,” Cockerill wrote. “He stated: ‘His request was and is denied. He has received all the information required by the APRA.’”

Agreement about the law between the public access counselor and the Monroe County legal department didn’t sway Kennedy.

But the denials didn’t deter Eiler. He hired media law attorney Dan Byron of Bingham McHale to help him gain access to the records.

On Sept. 28, 2011, Byron

sent a letter to Howard Williams, a South Bend attor-ney representing Kennedy. Byron, like Kossack, pointed out that the sheriff’s use of IC 5-14-3-5(b) was misguided.

“The statute doesn’t limit access but mandates access to certain information,” Byron wrote.

Byron also disputed the sheriff’s contention that the request should name specific inmates.

“It would defeat the pur-pose of APRA (and is highly illogical) for the public to be required to know the iden-tity of the person arrested or detained,” Byron wrote.

The letter also dismissed the sheriff’s claim that the records were required to be kept confidential under the federal Health Insurance Por-tability and Accountability Act.

The sheriff is not a medical provider, health care clearing-house or health plan admin-istrator, so the department records don’t fall under the scope of HIPAA.

Jail security was another gambit of the sheriff discount-ed by Bryon.

The letter’s conclusion: Turn over the records or face a civil lawsuit under the Access to Public Records Act.

The sheriff’s attorney

responded on Oct. 11, at least 14 months since Eiler’s initial request.

“Please be advised that I have spoken with the Monroe County sheriff. He is sending materials requested by Mr. Martinie Eiler to me. I will review the materials and then forward them on to you,” the attorney wrote.

The clock’s still running, but it appears Eiler’s determi-nation may yet be rewarded.

For more than a year to pass without the release of records as required by law to an Indiana citizen is unrea-sonable, particularly in light of the agreement between the county’s legal office and the public access counselor that the records should be made available.

The sheriff apparently was prepared to ignore the law until Eiler made it clear he was going to pursue his right to the documents through the courts.

The threat of a civil fine the sheriff would have to pay out of his own wallet, if found to have deliberately violated public access laws, might have prevented the ordeal for Eiler.

Steve Key is executive director and general counsel for HSPA.

Page 4 October 27, 2011

Key Points

By Steve Key

Records request met with delays at every turn

These questions came from The Indianapolis Star, the North Vernon Sun and North Vernon Plain Dealer, The Herald (Jasper) and Community Media Group:

Is this meeting notice adequate? Relevant portion: “The board is meet-ing pursuant to IC

5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)-(5) and is meeting only in executive ses-sion.”

I thought executive session notices had to state the pur-pose of the meeting.

The code citations give you the subject matters that allow a closed meeting.

The notice complies with the Open Door Law.

Do you have any guidance on cover-ing a grand jury? I know everything is secret, so what can

we report?

First off, you won’t get any records concerning the grand jury until

it’s done. Then you can only get the report with its listing of indictments, if any.

You can’t attend the grand jury proceedings and shouldn’t expect any com-ments from the circuit court judge and prosecutor.

If you have someone hang-ing around outside the court-room, the reporter can talk to any witnesses that enter or leave the grand jury proceed-ings.

A witness can talk about what they said but shouldn’t comment on what anyone else in the room said.

In other words, there’s not

a lot of information available from a grand jury.

If you do have information about the grand jury proceed-ings, you can print it if you’re comfortable with it being true.

If someone is leaking infor-mation to you and you print it, worst-case scenario would be the prosecutor delivering a subpoena to you for records to determine who conducted the leak.

Reporter’s privilege laws prohibit a court from compel-ling you to testify about a source of news. (It doesn’t have to be a confidential source.)

So whether the prosecutor would even make the attempt depends on how angry he or she might be.

We have a retail client wish-ing to promote a sales event. They do not have a liquor

license. Are they at odds with state law if they promote “Stop by for complimentary wine and cheese?”

According to the Excise Police District that includes Dubois

County, your client will need a temporary beer/wine per-mit. The party in question can access the form on the website of the excise police.

He or she would fill out the information, get it signed by the police chief or sheriff depending on whether the event is in the city limits or outside, provide a floor plan for the event showing placement of the bar, and submit it to the state excise police.

Upon approval the client will get a certificate to post behind the bar.

I was told the process takes

two to three weeks once the information is submitted to the state.

I recommend giving your client a heads-up to make sure he or she is complying with the law before moving forward with the wine and cheese offer.

When deter-mining what the newspaper should charge for a public notice advertise-

ment, do you count the two lines of the header?

Yes, the header counts. Usually the header is composed of two lines that

are a little larger point size than the body type of the public notice advertisement.

Because it is a different point size, the line rate for those two lines will be different.

You should note that the state Board of Accounts claim form for payment of public notices breaks out the head-er, acknowledging that it will have a different line rate.

Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, with media law ques-tions at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624-4427.

HSPA Hotline

910-323-0349 | info@newspaperconsultants.com | www.newspaperconsultants.com

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Ask usabout our

digital editions!

notice questions including: • With a state-mandated

price cap, what can I charge for public notices?

• Which public notices fall outside the state-set rate structure?

• Why should I communi-cate with the news depart-ment about public notices?

• When does a publication of a notice need notarization?

Cost is $20 for one employ-ee and $10 for each addi-tional employee at the same newspaper.

The registration deadline is Monday, Nov. 7; payment may follow. Registration information was sent to mem-ber newspapers. To download a form, visit hspa.com.

Everyone should bring the questions they have about public notice ads, Key said.

“Over time some news-papers lose the person who knew everything about public notices, and that may lead to practices that are contrary to the law or cost revenue,” he said. “This seminar will fill that information gap.”

For more information, call (317) 803-4772 or email sgoldsby@hspa.com.

or more of the following ways:• Made a significant impact

on the newspaper industry in Indiana through service to HSPA in one or more of the following areas – committee work, board membership, lob-bying efforts or legal action.

• Performed outstanding service to the newspaper industry in general.

• Demonstrated service in the local community that reflected positively on its newspaper.

Nominees must be:• A present or former

employee of an HSPA-member newspaper or affili-ated with journalism through a university, college or news-paper association; and

• An exemplary profes-sional who brings credit to the newspaper industry. Length of service is a major qualifying criterion but not exclusively so.

Nomination guidelines:• Nominations may come

from HSPA-member newspa-per publishers, editors or other employees, including members of the board of directors.

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