Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/115209
The Indiana Publisher Published alternate Thursdays Volume 78, Issue 6 • March 14, 2013 Papers asked to add code to notices 2013 INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Help HSPA update public notice site T he Hoosier State Press Association requests that publishers start coding public notice advertising as part of an upgrade to HSPA website indianapublicnotices.com. The association designed Protect the website to public collect in one notices place all public notices from Who: Indiana member newspa- newspaper publishers pers. It serves What: HSPA residents in a requests that variety of ways, member papers print a code – from those tryhspaxlp – ing to find a with every public recently pubnotice. lished notice impacting their When: Please neighborhood to start doing this now. a construction firm president Where: The looking for govcode should go ernment projects at the end of to submit bids each public notice. on throughout the state. Why: The code The originally will allow soft designed public ware to copy the notices website public notice collected notices from a PDF for posting online. for about 75 of the state's more than 160 newspapers. That number wasn't adequate to the HSPA Board of Directors, so the board decided to change the information-collection process to increase the participation level. HSPA is now at the start of the transition to a website operated by Tecnavia Press Inc. The HSPA Board of Directors requests that member HSPA: Records fee would not hinder public access Newspaper association agrees to bill that caps fee for those who want records Law would let citizens request electronic public data H .B. 1175, dealing with voluminous records requests and citizen access to electronic records, sailed through the Indiana Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee with a vote of 9-0 March 12. The Hoosier State Press Association Bill Friend worked with Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, on the principles embodied in the bill. The HSPA Freedom of Information Committee chaired by Bill Nangle, executive editor of The Times (Munster) vetted Travis Holdman those principles, and HSPA also drew on advice from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. State Rep. Bill Friend, R-Macy, authored the bill, which passed out of the House with a 72-27 vote. The opposition focused on the search fee as a new "tax," according to Friend. State Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, sponsors the bill. It now goes before the full Senate, where it is eligible for second-reading amendments. Holdman did offer an amendment suggested by the state Department of Administration to clarify the computer processing time exception, which HSPA believes was an improvement to the bill. The committee accepted the amendment. The voluminous records request language sets up a threshold of two hours of search time before the public agency can charge a fee for labor involved in fulfilling a records request. See Access, Page 4 Amicus briefs support members Foundation answers call for help in court T he Hoosier State Press Association Foundation Board of Directors approved support for the third and fourth amicus briefs requested in February – an unusually high amount. Some years, the Foundation has no requests for amicus help. The two most recently approved briefs involve HSPA member papers the Huntington Herald-Press, the Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) and The Indianapolis Star. Both the Herald-Press and Journal Gazette asked the Foundation to file a brief in Anderson v. Huntington County Board of Commissioners. The question that the Indiana Supreme Court would answer is what "reasonable particularity" means when interpreting the state's Access to Public Records Act. The Indiana Court of Appeals decision in Anderson conflicts with another appellate panel's decision on the meaning of the phrase in the public access law. The Hoosier State Press Association and HSPA Foundation prefers the interpretation given in Jent v. Fort Wayne Police Department. Jim Dimos of Frost Brown Todd in Indianapolis will draft the friend of the court brief asking the Indiana Supreme Court to transfer jurisdiction of the Anderson case to the state high court. The Star requested amicus support for an appeal of a trial court ruling ordering the See Amicus, Page 4 See Notices, Page 2 Scholarship winners speak up for student press T hey live in different parts of the state, yet share many similar experiences. Both student journalists appeared before their local school boards – one to ensure the future of a student press, the other to fight proposed restrictions on student media. Both have their work published monthly in their professional community newspapers. Both spread their love of journalism by speaking about it to younger students – one to middle school students, the other to fifth-graders. Hannah Alani Micheala Sosby And both students recently learned they won a Hoosier State Press Association Foundation scholarship for high school seniors planning to major in print journalism. Hannah Alani, a senior at Bloomington High School South, won the small school division (less than 2,000 enrollment). Micheala Sosby, a senior at Chesterton High School, won the large school division (more than 2,000 enrollment). Both will receive $1,500 scholarships from the Foundation. They may use the funds for books, tuition, fees, housing or any other legitimate expense related to their college education. The recipients were announced at the Indiana High School Press Associ ation's First Amendment Symposium at the Statehouse March 6. "It is so encouraging and energizing to read these students' portfolios in IHSPA's Student Journalist of the Year competition," said Karen T. Braeckel, director of the HSPA Foundation. "The talent, passion and hard work shown in their work holds great promise for the future of our industry." Sosby also won the Indiana High School Press Association's Student Journalist of the Year award, while Alani was runner-up. Sosby will represent Indiana in the Journalism Education Association's National Student Journalist of the Year competition. The winner receives a $3,000 scholarship, while the runners-up (usually six) earn $1,000. Braeckel said part of the HSPA Foundation's mission – along with defending the principles of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – is to enhance the ability of Indiana newspapers to fully educate and inform the public. "Awarding scholarships to talented Indiana students interested in print journalism helps us fulfill our mission," she said.