The Indiana Publisher

August 2017

Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher

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Public access law training helps editor tackle big story for small paper Newsies win award: Local newspaper wins Independence Day award. Page 3 Public Access win: Reporters may still rely on accident reports. Page 4 Hey, can they do that? Steve Key answers your legal questions. Page 3 Innovation: New ideas breathe life into our industry. Page 2 INSIDE Publisher The Indiana Volume 82, Issue 8 • August 2017 Published on second Thursday monthly T he 2017 Hoosier State Press Asso- ciation (HSPA) Annual conference features a speaker lineup packed with legends. Bill Caskey headlines the Thursday morn- ing advertising managers session. Bill is a sales development leader and experimenter. His philosophies and strategies have fueled explosive growth in sales and profits for his clients. Bill is author of Same Game New Rules. He is the creator of The 2X Group, a mastermind learning group for high achiev- ers as well as the co-host of The Advanced Selling Podcast with Bryan Neale, a Top 30 Business Podcast on iTunes. During the Friday morning keynote, News Media Alliance CEO, David Chavern, will share thoughts on trust and credibility with newspapers today and tomorrow. Chavern has built a career spanning 30 years in executive strategic and operational roles, and most recently completed a decade-long tenure at the United States Chamber of Commerce. From 2014 to 2015, he served as the President of the Center for Advanced Technology & Innovation at the Chamber. From 2007 through 2014, Chavern was the Chamber's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations and long-term planning for the 500-person advocacy orga- nization. Chavern helped to grow total revenues by 60 percent and successfully guided the organization through intense scrutiny from both the media and activists. He also man- aged revenue growth and expense reductions, and ended the 2013 fiscal year with the best financial per- formance in the Chamber's 100-year history. The grand finale of the conference is a message from Rep. Lee Hamilton. For more than 40 years, Hamilton has been an important voice on international relations and American national security. From 1965 to 1999 he served Indiana in the U.S. House, where his chairmanships included the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Legendary lineup at September event Chavern Caskey A s a small-town newspaper editor, when the big stories happen, you spring into action. There are 100-plus lakes in Steuben County. There are all sorts of coverage issues when your population triples or quadruples on weekends and holidays in the summer. On July 15, we had a crazy boating accident where a wake boat made a sharp turn at a high rate of speed and something caused the boat to throw all 10 occupants into the water. One person's arm was nearly taken off. Another person sustained a fractured skull. Five people in total were injured. The story made all of the national net- work news programs because of the spec- tacular video of the incident. As of this writing, the accident has been our lead story for five days straight. The fifth day it was the lead because we finally received the names of all of the people involved in the accident from the DNR. We originally requested the information 40 hours after the accident occurred. There have been recent changes to boating while intoxicated laws. The Legislature's Lakes Management Work Group was borne out of Steuben County lake issues in the 1990s. Much like the sheriff's department or the city police or the town marshals, you get to know the cops, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers assigned to the county. The DNR is a different animal. The agency does not publish a daily log. They are not used to doing the reporting that the state police or the sheriff's department does on a daily basis. The DNR didn't want to release the names because the investigation wasn't complete. I don't think they were used to the provision of the Indiana Access to Public Records Act that says this informa- tion has to be made available within 24 hours of a crime or accident. They stonewalled us. I needed information right away so I could make a formal request to the DNR's top law enforcement official in Indianapolis. With the help of HSPA Executive Director and General Counsel Steve Key, I was able to put together a request that included a copy of the pertinent section of the law to send to the DNR. The DNR still didn't want to comply. Luckily, Steve and Luke Britt, Indiana State Public Access Counselor, were able to lend a hand. Thanks to the laws of the state, our readers will have the information they want to read. See Conference, Page 4 By Mike Marturello The Herald Republican An unmanned speedboat spins out of control in a Stuben County lake. Photo: The Herald Republican Pulliam Trust establishes $1,000 environmental journalism award T he Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust's interest in the environment has sparked an annual award to be given to Indiana journalists for outstanding reporting on environmental issues beginning in 2018. The Nina Mason Pulliam Environmental Award was created through a grant by the Trust to the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation and will be presented at the annual HSPA Newsroom Seminar where Indiana newspaper journalists are honored through the Better Newspaper Contest every December. "The health of the environment touches us all and this award will encourage journalists to examine what is happening to our state's water, air and ground," said HSPA Founda- tion president Nancy Grossman, who publishes The Salem Leader and The Salem Democrat. "The Hoosier State Press Association Foundation is excited to launch this award with the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust." The winning entry will be recognized at the Better Newspaper Contest Awards Luncheon and receive a prize of $1,000. The reporter or reporting team who authors the winning article also will be registered for the national Society of Environmental Journal- ists conference and receive travel assistance to that event the following year. Stories written between July 1 of this year and June 30 of 2018 and published in an HSPA-member newspaper, will be eligible See Award, Page 4

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