The Indiana Publisher

Page 4 December 19, 2013 Promote public notices in print N ewspaper publishers know that the publica tion of public notices in newspapers is under attack in Indiana and nationally. The Hoosier State Press Association fought four bills during the 2013 Indiana leg islative session that would have moved all or key public notices from newspapers to government websites. HSPA testified this month against a state Department of Local Government Finance suggestion to replace pub lished notices of budget hear ings with government website postings. Fortunately, none of the four bills became law, and the study committee looking at budget notice publication decided not to take any action on the Department of Local Government Finance pro posal. But that doesn't mean the 2014 General Assembly won't see bills filed that would gut the publication of notices. What can newspapers do to strengthen their position in this fight? The not-so-simple answer: Give more love and attention to public notices. Here are some suggestions: • Treat government agency customers with the same care as the local grocery store or car dealer. Take the time to make sure public notice advertising is free of errors and runs on the proper date. Government opponents of public notice publication love to tell horror stories about how they had to reschedule meetings because a newspaper failed to publish a notice or because the notice contained fundamental errors. Department of Local Government Finance Commissioner Micah Vincent testified that government units have difficulty knowing which newspapers to use for public notices. Newspapers should know which units are required to publish in their newspapers and reach out to those units with information about deadlines and costs to make sure the notices are Key Points By Steve Key printed on time. • Point readers' attention to public notices. If the legislature deems the information in public notices important enough to require publication, there's a good likelihood a story could be created from that notice. If so, when you write the story, refer readers to the actual notice in the newspaper and online. Readers will see not only that notice but others printed on the same page. If notices don't trigger a story, consider a front page plug letting readers know where public notices can be found in that edition. • Don't bury public notices on your websites. It shouldn't take multiple HSPA Hotline The following questions came from the Perry County News (Tell City), Mooresville-Decatur Times, Daily Reporter (Greenfield) and The Courier-Times (New Castle): Q We received an employment ad from St. Meinrad Archabbey seeking male part-time dishwashers. Since it is for a males-only archabbey, is that ok to run? A There has to be a bona fide reason why the archabbey would block female applicants to avoid employment discrimina tion liability. Ask them about it, but let them know you're only trying to protect them from pos sible legal trouble. If they insist that it's appropri ate due to their religious rules, you can run the ad. Remember, if they are wrong, the liability will fall on the arch abbey, not the newspaper run ning the ad. This is different from housing ads, where the newspa per is liable along with the adver tiser in a discriminatory ad. Q A Madison Township board held a meeting where votes were taken on an action and other business was discussed without a paid public notice. The newspaper also did not receive any notice of the meeting by fax, email or telephone. In a previous HSPA Hotline, you said as long as officials fulfilled their public notice advertising obligation that is sufficient in most cases. But the fire chief admitted that because of some sort of time crunch, they didn't run a public notice ad. Two township residents who found out about the meeting said no notice was on the doors of the fire station. Is there anything to be done about this? A Most meetings of township advisory boards fall under Open Door Law requirements. That would include notice given to media that request such notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting and posting at the office of the board or at the location of the meeting. Certain meetings require a paid public notice placed in a local newspaper (notice of a budget hearing, for example). A meeting to discuss board policy with no notice would violate the Open Door Law. Such an action exposes the board to the possibility of litiga tion that could lead to a judge declaring the action taken at that meeting null and void. The board could be ordered to reimburse the plaintiff for reasonable court costs and attorney fees. And, if a judge finds the violation was deliberate, he or she could levy a civil fine of up to $100 against the culprits. Newspapers and citizens should bring this issue to the attention of the trustee and board. If they don't want to comply with the law, a complaint should be lodged with state Public Access Counselor Luke Britt. If this doesn't get them to act properly, a lawsuit would be a last resort. A prior public access counselor opinion is necessary to assure the reimbursement of court costs if someone is forced to file a lawsuit. If a lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff also could ask for an injunction from the judge that the board must follow the statute in the future. If the board still violates the statute, the judge could find them in contempt of court, which can lead to fines or jail time. Q We have a customer that publishes auto auctions as public notices in our newspaper. He is asking us to email him the proof of publication but not Form 99P. Is this OK to do? clicks for a reader to reach the area where you display public notices on the web. Don't make it more difficult for readers to find this infor mation on your site and drive them to a government website for convenience. • Put public notices outside your paywall. If we're arguing for the benefits of publication in newspapers – involvement of independent third party, verifiability of what was pub lished, permanence of the printed record – don't give opponents the argument that the information isn't available online without citizens paying a "fee." • Help promote Indianapublicnotices.com. I've heard the argument that if a citizens misses the print edition with a par ticular public notice, they're out of luck. Not true. HSPA provides a warehouse of statewide public notices at Indianapublicnotices.com. • Stop calling public notice advertising "legals." "Legals" implies something A Form 99P is a payment form of the state board of accounts, so not necessarily what an auto auction dealer would need. I'd comply with his request unless there's a good reason you don't want to do it. Q I have a question about a legal settlement involving some police officers. The case involves three officials with Henry County Community Corrections who sued a county commissioner, the former chief of the New Castle Police Department, a detective with the Indiana State Police, and two detectives with the New Castle Police and the Henry County Sheriff's Department. The case concluded with a confidential settlement between the parties. My question is whether this settlement constitutes a public record that is open to inspection. The insurance company paying the settlement received taxpayer money for premiums. Previous cases might indicate that this settlement is a public record, at least if you look at the precedent established in Knightstown Banner v. Town of Knightstown from December 2005. A state appeals court ruled that a confidential settlement derived from a civil rights case involving the police was open to public inspection because the insurance company received taxpayer funds for premiums. Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, with media law questions at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624-4427. Steve Key is executive director and general counsel for HSPA. Service Continued from Page 1 public notices website, in addition to adding rev enue for HSPA members, Key said. Indiana News Tracker customers will have options as to the extent of media monitoring they receive. They can limit themselves to electronic clippings of Indiana's paid-circulation newspapers that are members of HSPA. Or they can opt for services that include radio, television or social media. Key said services are not limited to Indiana outlets. Customers can customize their coverage to include multiple states, regional coverage or nationwide. With advances in technology, customers won't be receiving paper copy clips through the mail but will have them delivered electronically. "This service, combined with HSPA's Midwest Advertising Placements and GistCloud Indiana news release options, allows corporations, non profits, and advertising and public relations firms to place newspaper advertising, distribute news releases and monitor media's use of that informa tion in an efficient and cost-effective manner," Key said. Besides Tecnavia, other partners in the Indiana News Tracker project include the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and Universal Information Services. The Wisconsin press group will handle client searches for Indiana News Tracker. In addition to its own state's media monitoring service, WNA also operates similar services for press associations in Utah and Oklahoma. Universal Information Services will provide broadcast and social media monitoring for Indiana News Tracker customers. A You did your homework well. If the insurance company was representing the various public agencies you mentioned, then the Knightstown case would apply, and you should be able to get a copy of the settlement(s) approved by the public agencies involved. done to fulfill a technical requirement by lawyers. Why should Hoosiers care about "legals?" Use the correct name, "pub lic notice advertising," which indicates an item of impor tance to readers. We want to stress public notice advertis ing as a tool that Hoosiers can use to keep local and state government accountable. Never forget the account from Bill Masterson, thenpublisher of The Times (Munster). When he sug gested a local school super intendent move publication of the district's notices from a small Lake County weekly newspaper to his large daily, the answer was: "When people see these notices they come to meetings and give us crap. Why would I want more people to see them?" A testimonial on the effec tiveness of publishing public notices, don't you think? 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