The Indiana Publisher

January 11, 2017 Page 3 Email: info@newspaperconsultants.com | Phone: 910-323-0349 | www.newspaperconsultants.com TV Magazine Ad Sales For 20 years, ANC has worked with newspapers to generate millions in ad revenue. We offer a comprehensive TV magazine ad sales program that will turn your TV magazine into a true revenue center in 10 days or less. No one knows the TV Magazine marketplace like ANC. We are experts at iden fying the right adver sing prospects who target the reader demographic of this weekly insert with its long shelf-life. We will meet with you to create a program that encourages par cipa on of your sales staff and sets the stage for success. This sales event will lead to contracted, annual adver sing revenue! We are the industry's leading TV magazine ad sales consul ng company, genera ng millions in annual ad revenue for newspapers. ANC currently serves over 25 daily newspapers in Indiana and would love to partner with YOUR newspaper! Contact us at 910-323-0349 for more informa on on this money-making sales program! The following questions were submitted by Kankakee Valley Broadcasting, Courier-Times (New Castle), Berne Witness: I've got a messy situation in Starke County and need a little advice to sort it out. The Railroad Township Trustee (an elected official) is attempting to dissolve the San Pierre Fire Department and start her own, for what many claim are politi- cal reasons. She met privately with members of the fire department and (conflicting reports here) one member of the Township Advisory Board on Dec. 15 to announce this decision and is claiming that meeting was not sub- ject to open meeting laws because as the township trustee she can meet with anyone she wants. I contend she still cannot take action outside of the town- ship advisory board to dissolve the fire department, especially during a closed meeting. It is correct that the town- ship trustee is not a "govern- ing body" and can hold meet- ings without falling under the scope of the Open Door Law. This also would apply to a mayor or the sheriff. They are elected officials, but not a governing body – like a city council, county commissioners or township advisory board. I do think the question is whether the trustee can act alone to cancel what- ever arrangement there was between the township and the volunteer fire department or whether such an action can only be taken by the township advisory board. I don't know the answer, but suggest you get a copy of the now-cancelled contract and see who approved it – was it the trustee or the advisory board. It also should include a provision on ending the contractual relationship. If you know when it was signed, you can also check the minutes for the advisory board from then to see whether it was presented to the board for approval or did the trustee act alone in that nego- tiation. Henry County is rework- ing its comprehensive plan. The county commissioners contracted with a private company and the company put together a steering committee. The steering committee is supposed to set the groundwork for a focused commit- tee in 2017. The steering committee has met twice without public notice and plans three more meetings after first of the year. The company says these steering committee meetings aren't subject to ODL, although they acknowledge the focused committee will be. Should the steering committee meetings be open to the public? Very interesting question whose answer may depend upon the contract between the county and this vendor. I'd suggest you start with getting a copy of the contract and see what it requires. I can see an argument for public access if the contract requires the creation of a steering committee. You could say the contractor is acting as an agent of the county commissioners to create this public body. If the com- mittee isn't required under the con- tract, but was created by the vendor to reach another task of the contract– creating goals for the 2017 committee, for example–then I think it's harder to make an argument that a vendor- created committee would be subject to the Open Door Law. So start with the contract. We have knowledge of an arrest that was made in our county but have never received an official arrest report. The individual that was arrested is the son of a local police chief and there seems to be some covering up to keep this arrest from the local media. Looking for any bit of advice/assistance on how to obtain the arrest report. Under the Access to Public Records Act, law enforcement agencies have certain reporting requirements when they make an arrest, when they put someone in jail or when they respond to a call for assistance. Go to I.C. 5-14-1.5-5 in the APRA. I assume you've got a copy of the handbook on Indiana's Access to Public Records Act in your office - if not - go to Public Access Counselor website, where a copy is posted electronically. The section of the law lists what they are required to make available. Familiarize yourself with what's required to be made available and then go to the arresting department and ask for the document(s) that contain the information required under (a) for the arrest and (c) for the call for assistance that resulted in the arrest. A A Q Q HSPA Legal Hotline 1. Find out general informa- tion about the company, history, and industry trends. 2. Identify how digitally savvy the business by their digital footprint (company website, blogs and social media). 3. The "About Us" or "Contact Us" section, may tell you the person you need to reach for your sale. It is better to have a name in mind when you call the company instead of asking for the person blindly. 4. Learn how the company sets up email for its employees through their website. For instance, if they do firstname.lastname@companydomain. com for their email protocol, you can often determine the email address of the person you need to reach. Connecting with people on social media, especially LinkedIN, is about building a relationship first—not sales. The sales opportunity will come even- tually, but it is best to not lead with that. Send your new contact a message online, but don't pitch them too quickly. It's tempting, I know. The initial goal is to build a relation- ship, add value to the partnership and gain their trust. You do that by engag- ing with them when they post some- thing on their page. You send them relevant information you found about their industry. You post information about your industry, showing that you are an expert in your own industry. The goals and tactics of using social media for sales isn't different than tra- ditional sales, but, the platform for the relationship has changed. Pete Van Baalen, general manager for Fort Wayne Newspapers, is a member of the HSPA board of directors and presi- dent of Indiana Newspaper Advertising Executives Association. Q A Social Continued from Page 1 program available to all interested Indiana newspapers while also taking into account geographical limitations due to student circumstances. The Foundation keeps track of how many times a newspaper has applied and whether they were assigned an intern. A newspaper moves up the pri- ority list the more years it applied, but did not receive an intern. This great program gives student journalists a taste of real newspaper work," said Steve Key, executive direc- tor and general counsel for HSPA. "It's not unusual for these interns to get hired by the paper where they served." If an editor has any questions about the Pulliam Internship Program or selection process, contact Shawn Goldsby at sgoldsby@hspa.com or (317) 803-4772. Pulliam Continued from Page 1

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