The Indiana Publisher

Newsroom Seminar Dec. 7, 2013 u Indianapolis u The Indiana & Awards Luncheon Great train ing! u Ne wspaper R EG IS T ER awards! AT HSPAf o u n d at io n.o r g/ev e nt s Publisher Published alternate Thursdays Volume 78, Issue 22 • October 24, 2013 HSPA adds new board members Additions bring experience with dailies, nondailies T he HSPA board of directors approved two new members at a meeting Oct. 10 in Nashville. Newspaper veterans Dave Eldridge, publisher and regional manager of Landmark Communi cations properties, Dave Eldridge and Terry R. Ward, chief operating officer for KPC Media Group, bring experience with both smalland largeTerry Ward circulation newspapers. Their perspectives will be valuable as HSPA works to advocate for both small weeklies and large metros, said Robyn McCloskey, HSPA president and publisher for the Pharos-Tribune (Logansport) and Kokomo Tribune. Eldridge manages four Landmark properties in southwest Indiana, The Perry County News (Tell City), Tell City Web Press, The Spencer County Journal Democrat (Rockport) and The Mount Vernon Democrat. He also has charge of another Landmark property, The Vandalia Leader Union, and their printing plant in south central Illinois. He previously served as publisher of the daily Winchester (Ky.) Sun, and the Jessamine Journal, a weekly in Nicholasville, Ky., both owned by Schurz Communications of South Bend. Prior to that, he was a general manager for Landmark in north‐central Kentucky and held circulation management positions for Media News, Gannett, Dear Publications and Tatman Communications. He currently serves as a member of the operating committee of Landmark Community Newspapers Inc. See Board, Page 3 Get great training at Newsroom Seminar Sign up by Nov. 15 for reduced rates T he Newsroom Seminar offers a new feature this year: one-on-one writing and photo coaching. Journalists can get outside advice on their work during 15-minute, private reporting/ writing or photography sessions with editors from the Newsroom Seminar Committee. The committee includes award-winning newspaper veterans who have done their time in the trenches and are pleased to offer their expertise, said Karen T. Braeckel, HSPA Foundation director. The annual Newsroom Seminar and Better Newspaper Contest Awards Luncheon returns to the Indianapolis Marriott North on Saturday, Dec. 7. The HSPA Foundation mailed the list of Better Newspaper Contest winners and Newsroom Seminar registration information to member newsrooms. If you did not receive your packet, please call Shawn Goldsby at (317) 8034772. To register online or download a brochure, go to www.HSPAfoundation.org/events. The annual day of educational sessions sponsored by HSPA Foundation begins at 9:20 a.m. The event concludes with lunch and the See Seminar, Page 4 Public access outlook for 2014 Newsroom Seminar & Awards Luncheon What: Workshops on writing, photography and more, plus the awards luncheon When: Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013 Where: Indianapolis Marriott North Cost: $65 if registered by Nov. 15 (payment may follow); registration fee increases after that date Registration: Go to www.HSPA foundation.org/ events to register online, or return the form newsrooms received by mail. Seminar schedule and speaker information: Download a brochure at www. HSPAfoundation. org/events or request one by sending an email to Shawn Goldsby at sgoldsby@ hspa.com. Information: (317) 803-4772 or sgoldsby@ hspa.com HSPA in talks with lawmakers over records fee T he policy director for Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma said a public access bill is likely for the 2014 state legislative session. Steve Key, HSPA's execu tive director and gen eral counsel, is Brian Bosma working with Tyler Campbell, policy director for Bosma, R-Indianapolis, on the poten tial bill. In the 2013 Indiana General Assembly, state Rep. Bill Friend, R-Macy, introduced H.B. 1175 at the behest of Bosma. The House approved the bill 72-27, but it died in the Senate. Controversy erupted over an amendment added by state Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, the bill's sponsor. H.B. 1175 contained two main components as it left the House. The language created a search fee for voluminous records requests, an item sought by Bosma to address concerns raised by state and local government units over the burden of responding to records requests that take hours to process. The second provision, added at the request of HSPA, would have allowed a records request er to designate whether a record existing in electronic for mat should be made available in electronic or print format. Currently, public agencies control whether a record is provided as a print or electron ic document. HSPA's language exempted county recorder offices from this provision. The associa tion recognizes that recorders' budgets rely on a statutory $1 copying fee to fund efforts to maintain the official docu ments filed with the office. "While HSPA certainly wouldn't seek the creation of a search fee, we worked with See Access, Page 2

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