The Indiana Publisher

April 2020 Page 3 basic information on preparedness and number of cases." "Even going into April, government transparency remains an ongoing issue across the state. Local government entities continue to struggle with how to properly give notice of emergency meetings or use a process allowing the public to "observe and record" as required by the Open Door Law, even under the governor's order. All of the questions in this month's Legal Hotline are connected to the pandemic. Key has had conversations with Public Access Counselor Luke Britt, Indiana Homeland Security Department general counsel Jonathan Witham, the governor's Press Secretary Rachel Hoffmeyer and the local office of the federal Small Business Administration in the past few weeks. HSPA has served as a conduit of information helpful to Indiana newspapers. The information has ranged from information about the Payroll Protection Program launched by Congress, to ideas among Indiana newspapers and other national entities on how to engage and serve Hoosier readers and help local businesses impacted by the Coronavirus. HSPA has been posting these ideas on its website –www.hspa.com. Meanwhile, HSPA's Pam Lego and Shawn Goldsby continue to process advertising placements and quotes for potential advertising. Attempting to bring some revenue to our members during the crisis. The Foundation successfully placed nine journalism students with Indiana newspapers under the Eugene S. Pulliam Internship program for this summer. It appears they'll have an internship like none any previous Pulliam interns have experienced due to the virus. The Foundation Board did decide to postpone all events with future dates to be determined. The Advertising Gala and its Advertising Contest will be rescheduled. The same goes for the Better Newspaper Contest and Awards Luncheon. And the Reporters' Workshop that had been scheduled for this month also will be rescheduled. Key urges the HSPA-member newspaper staffs to continue to set aside for future judging excellent advertising and newsroom work for recognition, albeit at a later date. COVID-19 Continued from Page 1 Staff report The Times of Northwest Indiana MUNSTER — Times Executive Editor Marc Chase is taking on a larger role in the parent company that owns The Times of Northwest Indiana and nwi.com. On Friday, Chase was named Midwestern regional editor for Lee Enterprises, an Iowa-based corporation that owns The Times and more than 80 local newspapers and online media companies nationwide. In his new role, Chase will have responsibility over the editorial staffing and content at the 14 individual media companies Lee Enterprises owns and operates in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He will remain executive editor of The Times, and Northwest Indiana will continue to be his home base. "I'm thrilled with the new opportunity to share ideas and lead successes throughout the Midwest in providing relevant, crucial information to readers," said Chase, who has been The Times' executive editor for more than two years and has worked as a journalist for Lee Enterprises for nearly 22 years, 17 of which have been in Northwest Indiana. "Northwest Indiana is my home, from a residency and professional standpoint. It's where I'm raising my four children, and it's where I met and married my wife. "But I'm excited to share the successes for driving print readership, growing website traffic and increasing the relevance of local news to other markets within Lee and the Midwest. "Serving our readers is everything, and I'm honored to be able to serve a larger Midwest- ern audience." Under Chase's leadership, The Times has grown its website traffic by millions of users and page views in the past two years, leading Lee Enterprises in percentage growth and placing it on the leader board for overall website traffic. "Marc has led our news product to a new level of relevance and excellence in Northwest Indiana," said Times Publisher Chris White, who also is a group publisher over the publications included in Chase's new Midwest regional editing role. "I've worked with Marc for seven years now, and he cares deeply about providing the best informa- tion and context, and as quickly as possible, for the readers he serves. "We look forward to him making already strong publica- tions and online news services even better." Chase lives in Winfield with his wife, Tammy, a nurse practitioner, his four children, twins Nolan and Connor, 17; Isabella, 7; and Aidan, 5. His children attend Crown Point public schools. He is an award-winning journalist of more than two decades with a long background in public safety and investigative reporting as well as editing and editorial writing. Chase also has written a regular column for The Times for nearly a decade. "The best part about this new role is I get to stay right here in the Region," Chase said. "We will be a flagship for other markets, and I can't think of a better flagship." Chase Times NWI's Marc Chase named Midwestern regional editor for Lee Enterprises Any staff updates at your paper? Launching an interesting project? Tell us about it. Email your news items to news@hspa.com. The Foundation Board did decide to postpone all events with future dates to be determined.

• Cover