The Indiana Publisher

Page 5 April 2022 Dan Carden Times of Northwest Indiana (Munster) A lawsuit challenging Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita's decision to arbi- trarily exclude a Statehouse reporter from a press confer- ence in Rokita's office has been resolved. Court documents filed March 28 show the plaintiff, Abdul- Hakim Shabazz, and Rokita jointly agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with the stipulation that Shabazz is not barred from attending future Rokita press conferences on the same basis as other journalists. The lawsuit, filed in February by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, stemmed from an Oct. 14, 2021, incident where an attorney general's staffer denied Shabazz entry to a Rokita press conference because he was not a "creden- tialed" reporter, despite Shabazz presenting an identification card issued by the Department of Administration indicating Shabazz is recognized by the state of Indiana as a member of the news media. Records show Shabazz has reported on Indiana government and politics since 2004 for a variety of online, print, televi- sion and radio outlets. He's also an attorney and an instructor in government and mass media at the University of Indianapolis and Ivy Tech Community College. "A free press is a cornerstone of our democ- racy," said Indiana ACLU Legal Director Ken Falk. "It acts as both a check against government power and a tool for enabling the public to make informed decisions. This is why it's criti- cal for journalists to have the protections they need to keep the public informed." Rokita spokeswoman Kelly Stevenson said the dismissal will save taxpayer dollars and allow Rokita, a Munster native, "to focus more on protecting Hoosier values from the attacks that are coming on the heels of the General Assembly session that just concluded." "There is no automatic right to attend press events in person just because someone possesses a security badge, especially when the event is accessible to everyone — in real time — with the ability to pose questions," Stevenson said. This isn't the first time Rokita has clashed with Shabazz. In 2018, Rokita briefly withdrew from a Republican U.S. Senate debate after the nonpartisan Indiana Debate Commission selected Shabazz as moderator. The then-congressman claimed Shabazz was insuffi- ciently conservative to moderate a Republican debate. Rokita later lost the GOP Senate pri- mary to now-U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind. Rokita was elected attorney general in 2020. Shabazz Parties jointly agree to dismiss lawsuit claiming attorney general violated journalist's First Amendment rights Rokita Brian Blair The Republic (Columbus) GREENWOOD — Eric Hansen remembers his first assign- ment as a sports writer at The Republic after arriving in town in August of 1983. The Cleveland native and Ohio State graduate was sent with a local Fiero dealer to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to do a story since Fiero was going to be the official pace car of the Indy 500 the following May. When they got there, the car dealer and Hansen each had a chance to drive a lap around IMS. "My editors were like, 'Oh let's let him get his feet wet,'" Hansen said. "They invited car dealers up there, and the guy from Columbus decided to bring me with him. You got to take two laps. One guy would take one, and then we would switch seats, and I got to drive the second lap. I hadn't driven a stick in a few years, and I stalled the car. So 32 cars were in front of me. I passed every one of them, and on Turn 4, I pulled even with the pace car. Coming up to the last turn, I came up to the pace car, and I passed him. I was bound and determined I was going to cross the line first." Nearly four decades and thou- sands of stories later, Hansen is a Hall of Famer. He was inducted on April 10 into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame during its annual banquet at Valle Vista Golf Club in Greenwood. Hansen stayed in Columbus for a little more than three years, work- ing as a sports writer for sports editor Jeff Hittler, than as assistant sports editor for sports editor Eric Wohlford. One of the stories Hansen wrote that first fall he was at The Republic in 1983 was on Columbus East graduate and Notre Dame then-senior quarterback Blair Kiel. "Blair Kiel played for a guy that turned out to be my father-in- law (John Stafford), so I wrote a feature on him," Hansen said. "He and I got to be friends after awhile, and because he had played for John Stafford, and we kind of had that connection. So we stayed in touch after I left Columbus, and he was doing other things." Hansen left Columbus in December 1986 and went to the Hammond Times. After a year- and-a-half there, he embarked on a 33-year career at the South Bend Tribune. At the Tribune, Hansen covered Notre Dame football and served as assistant sports editor. He also was managing editor of Irish Sports See Hansen, page 10 Indiana Sportswriters, Sportscasters Hall of Fame inductee started at The Republic Former Republic and South Bend Tribune assistant sports editor Eric Hansen, who now operates "Inside ND," was inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame. Courtesy photo.

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