The Indiana Publisher

The Indiana Publisher Published alternate Thursdays Volume 78, Issue 2 • January 17, 2013 Don't miss it Annual Meetings & Government Conference When: Thursday & Friday, Feb. 7-8 Where: Hyatt Regency Indian polis, 1 S. a Capitol Ave. Highlights: Top speakers; discussions; and reception, tour and dinner at Lucas Oil Stadium. Registration: Visit www.HSPAfoundation.org/ annualmeetings Hotel reservations: Please call the Hyatt at (888) 421-1442 Auction items: To donate items for auction at the event – think items that hold significance in your community such as local restaur nt a certificates, hotel stays, event tickets, etc. – please send them to HSPA, 41 E. Washngton i St., Suite 301, Indian apolis, IN 46204. 2013 INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Access handbooks available Does your staff have the updated Handbook on Indiana's Public Access Laws for covering local and state government this year? The 64-page booklet lists the Open Door Law and Access to Public Records Act. It also includes explanaions of the t two public access statutes, information on the Indiana public access counselor and a sample letter for making records requests. The booklet includes changes made in 2012 by the state legislature, including the provision for civil fines that can be levied by a judge who finds that violations of public access laws were deliberate. To request the handbook, contact Shawn Goldsby at sgoldsby@ hspa.com or (317) 803-4772. HSPA keeps several measures on watch list Legislation could affect public notices, voluminous records requests W ith several bills still to examine, HSPA Executive Director and General Counsel Steve Key said opportunities and dangers have presented themselves in the first group of proposed legislation released by the Indiana General Assembly. Prospects exist for greater transparency for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. On the eve of his inauguration, Gov. Mike Pence spoke in favor of open government, as reported by The Indianapolis Star. "As Abraham Lincoln said, 'Give the people the facts, and the republic will be saved,'" Pence told reporters. "People have a right to know." State Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, authored S.B. 162, which would make the Indiana Economic Development Corp. more open for public scrutiny. State Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, filed S.B. 325, which would impact redevelopment commissions and authorities. His bill specifically places those entities under the state's Open Door Law and Access to Public Records Act. Whether this movement toward sunshine grows to include local economic development corporations, which spend taxpayer dollars without any oversight, remains to be seen. State Rep. Bill Friend, R-Macy, will author a bill – H.B. 1175 – initiated by Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, which Mike Delph Luke Kenley See Legislation, Page 4 HSPA opposes attacks on public notices Marketing opportunities: Do you know of a business that might be interested in marketing itself to newspaper executives at the Annual Meeting? Tell them about the vendor prospectus available to download at www. HSPAfoundation.org/ annualmeetings. On the public notice advertis ing front in the Indiana General Assembly, one legislator has asked for HSPA's opinion on a proposal to move procurement notices from newspapers to government websites. Steve Key, executive director and general counsel for HSPA, made it clear the association would oppose the concept and has offered to meet with the legislator to explain why. Meanwhile, State Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, has filed S.B. 458, which would effectively eliminate public notice advertising by allowing government units to replace it with Internet postings. HSPA also is working to verify whether the Indiana Department of Insurance is moving to eliminate a requirement for out-of-state insurance companies to publish statements of their financial condition in Indiana newspapers. State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Hammond, has introduced H.B. 1143, which would give towns an option to avoid the publication of ordinances in newspapers. Information: Shawn Goldsby, (317) 803-4772 Journalism Job Fair When: Saturday, Feb. 2 Where: Franklin College Registration: Sign up at www.HSPAfoundation.org/ jobfair Registration deadline: Jan. 18, 2013 Cost: $50 for editors; free for students; lunch included (payment may follow) Information: Shawn Goldsby, (317) 803-4772 Six picked for Journalism Hall of Fame T he Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame has selected six people to be inducted during a ceremony on April 27. Those to be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the ceremony at Indiana University are: • The late Joe Aaron, a longtime reporter and columnist for the Evansville Courier. Aaron joined the Courier in 1955 after working for newspapers in New Mexico, Montana and Virginia. He began writing a five-days-a-week column for the Courier in 1957, continuing until he died of a heart attack in 1986 at age 57. • Melissa Farlow, a native of Paoli, Ind., who has been an award-winning photojournalist and a pioneer and mentor for women in the field. Farlow graduated from Indiana University in 1973. Her work chronicling riots over court-ordered school desegregation helped the Courier-Journal win the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. She later worked for the Pittsburgh Press before becoming a photographer for National Geographic. • The late Jerry Lyst, who was The Indianapolis Star's editorial page editor for nearly half of his 45 years with the newspaper. Lyst grew up in Indianapolis and joined The Star as a police reporter in 1955 after attending Indiana University. He won numerous awards for his work as a Statehouse reporter, financial reporter and columnist and business editor before overseeing the opinion pages. He died in 2009. • The late Lowell Mel lett, an Elwood native who was a newspaper executive in Washington before becoming a top aide to President Franklin Roosevelt. The start of Mellett's journalism career included being sent by The Muncie Star as a 16-year-old to cover the 1900 Democratic National Convention. He worked at several newspapers around the country and overseas during World War I before becoming editor of Collier's Weekly and later editor of See Hall, Page 2

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