The Indiana Publisher

Page 4 September 26, 2013 Following social media guidelines? F or newspapers, legal rules of the road for social media remain under construction. Start with these guidelines as you implement policies for your staff. • If you are writing a news story and find something pertinent on a Facebook page, you can use the information or photo without violating any copyright law. It will fall under the "fair use" defense because the use isn't for a commercial purpose. • That defense evaporates if you're using the information/photo to promote the newspaper or as part of an advertisement. Copyright infringement and the rights of publicity could rear their heads and create an unwanted liability for the newspaper. • If you do use information from someone's Facebook page, properly attribute the source. Make clear that the information, which might be defamatory, is the view of the person who controls the Facebook page, not the view of the newspaper. Another recent question concerned Twitter and "ownership" of followers. Key Points By Steve Key For example, a popular reporter on his own initiative creates a Twitter account to share his views on the mayor and city council. His insights on city government build a faithful following for his Twitter handle (@ citybeatDave). Dave then decides to accept another job in his home state of Iowa. Are there any legal pitfalls for the newspaper to reach out to Dave's Twitter account followers? • The newspaper can send a tweet to Dave's followers wishing him well in Iowa and encouraging his followers who are interested in city government to start following Dave's replacement on Twitter. • If you are trying to create a Twitter presence for your newspaper, consider having your reporters, editors, etc., operate under more generic handles that would survive if you shuffled newsroom assignments or have a change in personnel. • Whether the newspaper initiates the Twitter accounts for employees or the employees create the account, the newspaper must realize that libel can still be an issue. For example, your sports reporter, Bill, is covering Friday's football game. During halftime's lull in the action, Bill tweets the rumor that the married local football coach is sleeping with the unmarried cheerleading coach. It doesn't matter whether the Twitter account is considered Bill's personal account or a newspaper account. Since the tweet occurred while Bill was working within the scope of his employment, the newspaper can expect to defend itself if the coach files a libel lawsuit. The moral of the story: Publishers need to give some thought to social media use by employees and implement policies that benefit the newspaper and deter legal liabilities. Steve Key is executive director and general counsel for HSPA. 10 Best Practices for Social Media 1. Traditional ethics rules still apply online. 2. Assume everything you write online will become public. 3. Use social media to engage with readers, but professionally. 4. Break news on your website, not on Twitter. 5. Beware of perceptions. 6. Independently authenticate anything found on a social networking site. 7. Always identify yourself as a journalist. 8. Social networks are tools not toys. 9. Be transparent and admit when you're wrong online. 10. Keep internal deliberations confidential. SOURCE: American Society of Newspaper Editors HSPA Hotline The following questions came from the Daily Journal (Franklin), The Herald-Times (Bloomington) and The News-Banner (Bluffton): Q I am looking for the Open Door Law definition of a committee to determine if a specific group – two board of aviation commissioners and a mayor, granted the authority to hire and fire employees by the local board of aviation commissioners – fits and therefore must give notice of its meetings. The board says the trio is not a committee. A In the Open Door Law, you'll find the definition of a "governing body" at IC 5-141.5-2(b). The definition includes a committee appointed by the governing body (in this case, the board of aviation commissioners) or its presiding officer to take official action on public business. (Hiring and firing public employees would be public business.) If a majority of this committee gathers to take official action upon public business, then you have a meeting as defined at IC 5-14-1.5-2(c). Public notice of such a meeting must be given. (See IC 5-14-1.5-5.) Not calling a committee a committee doesn't change its status under the law. As Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Q We are going to start a new opt-in product. We need to build a database of people who don't currently subscribe who agree to allow us to deliver this to their homes. Can we call anyone that we Is this adequate infor mation for an executive session notice? "The South ern Wells Community Schools Board of Trustees will meet in Executive Session at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining as permitted by IC 5-141.5-6.1." under IC 5-14-1.5-5(a). I would also argue that board members need to be more specific on the code citation for the executive session. In this case, it should be IC 5-141.5-6.1(b)(2)(A). That takes the citizen to the exact language being cited by the school board to authorize its closed-door session. The statute requires that the notice state the subject matter with "specific reference to the enumerated instance or instances for which executive sessions may be held." (See IC 5-14-1.56.1(d).) With the more general citation, citizens would have to search the statute to determine whether the reason given is a valid exception under the law. I think it's a good faith effort. They left out the location, which is required along with date and time Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, with media law questions at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624-4427. want since this is a free product? A Your calls do not fit under the definition of "solicitation" under the state's Do Not Call law because the product is free and you're just asking if they want to be on a mailing list. You can call whom you like. Q A Herald Continued from Page 1 out of good story ideas. But the stories kept coming. That's because we tell stories about people and their lives. Even if the surface topic is about some political issue, we tell it through people's lives." Ideas are mandatory. Likewise with planning. Monthly group meetings ensure both. We have our annual features, such as the recap of the 4-H fair, and quickhit stories, like a gathering of Santa Clauses in Spencer County, that are covered, shot and published in days. Usually, more time is required. We are accustomed to operating on daily deadlines, so thinking in advance requires us to veer from our customary path. Some of the stories discussed in this month's meeting won't be published until March. The Saturday feature often brings a dual sense of ownership. Many times, writers and photographers work on stories they thought of themselves. THE HERALD (JASPER) Herald staff photographer Rachel Mummey, left, advocated for a photograph during an editing session with Managing Editor Justin Rumbach, center, and Chief Photographer Dave Weatherwax on Aug. 8. The story might be about the life of a professional triathlete, but we want to tag along when he drives his school bus route. We might watch you eat dinner. Fix your hair. Call your grandmother. The deeper the foundation, the better the story. It's something we explain to potential subjects before they agree to let us be a fly on their living room wall for weeks at a time. "I tell people up front that we want to be able to follow them around for everything, even for what seems to be the most insignificant things to them," said Candy Neal, a reporter and author of 90 Saturday features. "Most people get that. But there is some resistance at times, in the form of people asking, 'Why do you need that?' I've found that if you assure them that your being there will help the story, they cooperate." The Saturday feature creates a sense of burden, like a major homework project you are confident you can finish but worried won't earn an A. Usually we take too many notes, stockpiling too many details. We decipher what to leave in, what to take out. Writers, photographers and editors meet in small groups several weeks before a story's publication to ensure the idea remains on track. Stories and captions, usually turned over for editing on the Wednesday of the week they are to be published, bounce from writer to editor and back. "Some of the most pressure I feel comes from having the photographer read the story," said Brendan Perkins, The Herald's sports editor. "They're along for the same ride and seeing the same things. If they give the nod of approval, that's always a huge relief, because I'm always worried a photographer will read a story and think, 'What the hell was he seeing the whole time? That's not the same story that I saw.'" Photos are essential to the Saturday feature. It's within reason for photographers to take 1,000 photos for a story. With prints of photos strewn over a conference table, Dave Weatherwax, the chief photographer, and Justin Rumbach, the managing editor and former chief photographer, make cuts. They, with the photographer of a given story, pare a string of pictures to a dozen or so. We are given an expandable leash to spend time and money to get what we need. We have traveled to Louisiana, Tennessee, Michigan and plenty of places beyond. Our readers have stories. We are here to tell them. "Through the Saturday feature, we can offer readers something few if any small newspapers do on a regular basis: In-depth stories about local people, topics and issues told in words and pictures. The Saturday feature is all about storytelling – stories that over time paint a picture of our community," John Rumbach said. "I think everybody here at The Herald takes pride in it. I'm sure it will evolve because of the new tools and platforms available to journalists. But its soul, and the key to its success, will always be storytelling." Every week has a Saturday. We hope to keep pace. To read this story in full, visit www.hspa.com.

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