The Indiana Publisher

Page 4 September 15, 2011 Newspapers connect us to our communities The Sept. 8 edition of The Garrett Clipper reminds me of what makes newspapers special. The variety of news con- cerning this DeKalb County community is amazing. Like other HSPA-member newspapers, each Clipper is a snapshot of life in that spot of Indiana. In a few minutes of read- ing, I found out that: • The DeKalb County Community Foundation dis- tributed 29 summer grants totaling $66,395, including $7,040 for GED classes for inmates of the county jail. • Ten young adults were arrested at about 4 a.m. Sept. 4 when police checked out a loud party at a state- owned campground east of Mongo. I thought Mongo was just Alex Karras' char- acter in the Mel Brooks movie "Blazin' Saddles." • The Garrett Common Council confirmed a $3 million tax abatement for equipment for E-Collar Technology Inc. but only after questioning E-Collar sales manager Kim West- rick on the permanence of 175 jobs being moved to the Garrett facility from Korea. • Reporter Nichole Hacha- Thomas wrote a feature story on the new 4-H youth educator, Margo Overholt, who grew up involved in 4-H programs in Glenmont, Ohio. And that was just part of the front page. Elsewhere in the paper: • I discovered from a public notice advertisement that the DeKalb County Council proposed budget calls for the collection of more than $10 million is taxes, $3 million more than the current levy. I wonder if anyone attend- ed the Sept. 13 and 14 pub- lic hearings with questions HSPA Hotline These questions came from the Daily Reporter (Greenfield), The Indian- apolis Star and The Shel- by ville News: The Hancock County Board of Zoning Appeals hands out ballots to its members to Q Q vote on questions before them. The ballots are collected and the vote read, but citi- zens aren't told which members voted "yes" or "no." According to the board, the individual votes will be made available upon request the following day. Does this comply with A the Open Door Law? I would argue that it is a secret ballot, which is prohibited under IC 5-14-1.5-3(b). The intent of the Open Door Law is to allow citi- zens the ability to observe the governing bod- ies of public agencies as they make decisions dur- ing a meeting so a citizen can gauge whether indi- vidual members are act- ing in his or her best interests. Requiring citizens to make a second trip to the office of the public agen- cy and file an Access to Public Records Act request Tailgate Continued from Page 1 Donna Gray will present a concurrent session for graphic designers on "How to Make an Ad in 30 Min- utes and Other Helpful Design Hints." Gray is president and creative director of Indian- A to learn how individual members voted during a public meeting doesn't overcome the inherent secrecy of the vote as it takes place. The Indian- apolis Metro- politan Police Department has stopped giving reporters the names of juveniles injured in acci- dents and as the result of violence and even those who are killed. Is there a statute I can throw at them to convince them otherwise? You can point out that victims' names and ages are facts that must be made available to the public under the Access to Public Records Act, IC 5-14-3-5(c). There isn't an exception for juveniles who are acci- dent or crime victims. The only exception is for victims of sex crimes listed at IC 35-42-4. Q We received an email from the county auditor requesting to place an adver- tisement to bid starting Sept. 8 and ending Sept. 21. We double-checked the dates requested via phone and email and informed apolis-based Matchbook Creative ad agency and an assistant professor of adver tising in Ball State's Department of Journal- ism. The afternoon sessions are geared for managers, sales reps and designers. After lunch, Indiana newspaper publishers will share their thoughts on the the office that normally these type of notices are published one time per week during two consecu- tive weeks. They said they want it published on 12 consecu- tive publication days. Our public notice adver- tising formula covers only up to four publication dates. Do you have a formula on how to charge for a 12-consecutive-day run? A It was a good idea to verify the auditor's intent to publish the notice on 12 consecutive days. I have not run across that request before and am not aware of a reason the auditor would chose to do that. To determine what the line rate would be for 12 insertions, take the line rate you charge for one insertion and multiply that amount by 6.5. (The pro- gression is 1.5 times one insertion rate for two insertions, two times the one insertion rate for three insertions, 2.5 times the one insertion rate for four insertions, etc.) Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and gen- eral counsel, with media law questions at skey@ hspa.com or (317) 624- 4427. state of newspaper advertis- ing in Indiana. Following that panel, an idea-sharing round-table will feature a contest for the best idea. First prize is an iPad. The 62nd annual awards gala starts at 4:30 p.m., and the bar will remain open throughout the pre- sentations. Without publishing anything new, the Fayetteville Observer ad package created new, year-long revenue in just one week! Contact Advantage Newspaper Consultants today to learn more about creating NEW annual revenue with your existing core products. Fayetteville Observer's Platinum TV ad package exceeded revenue goal in less than a week! Ask us about our digital editions! 910-323-0349 | info@newspaperconsultants.com | www.newspaperconsultants.com Key Points By Steve Key about the increase? • Culligan took out a 2-column ad to tout a sale on water conditioner salt. • The paper included a column submitted by state Rep. Phyllis Pond (R-New Haven) on state infrastruc- ture issues. The Clipper records the cycle of life as well. In the obituaries sec- tion I learned that another World War II veteran has died. Robert "Bob" Vachon Jr. was a great-grandfather and a teacher up to his retirement in 1986 from Fort Wayne Community Schools. Meanwhile, Alex John Wolfe was born. His par- ents are David Wolfe and Lynda Stoops-Wolfe of Auburn. The Garrett High School girls volleyball team defeat- ed Bluffton High School in an Allen County Athletic Conference match, led by Jordyn Knott's 14 kills. I didn't know Garrett's knick-name was the Railroaders. Also on the sports page in an eighth-page ad, Garrett State Bank named senior Todd Frickey the Athlete of the Week. Frickey broke the Garrett High School record for rushing touchdowns with six in a game against the Barons of DeKalb High School. He also set the career mark for touchdowns in that game. Where else but The Gar- rett Clipper would I find the listing of area church Mail Continued from Page 1 Congress that the Postal Service will be in technical default this month when it fails to make a $5.5 billion payment into a trust fund for future retirees' health benefits. It has already missed one payment of its employer matching funds into a federal retirement system. He has predicted the Postal Service will run out of cash next summer unless Congress allows it to make sweeping changes. Among them are to end Saturday mail delivery, renegotiate labor contracts and close many post offic- es and mail sorting facili- ties. Rush said the changes are already affecting delivery of community newspapers that depend on mail delivery, cit- ing examples of subscribers lost because mail is being trucked to distant cities for processing. She said NNA does not oppose restructuring, pro- vided customer needs are taken into account. Timely newspaper deliv- ery is part of a community's needs as well, she said. She cited examples where NNA parts company with the Postal Service's proposed solutions. "Closing smaller, effi- ciently managed Sectional Center Facilities so larger events, the school lunch menu for the week, police and court news and mar- riage licenses granted? Did I mention that the local American Legion post planned to have karaoke Friday night? Newspapers aren't going to die because the informa- tion they collect and present to their readers is too valu- able. In communities where newspapers have been closed, such as Jasonville, Bicknell and Montpelier, new publications sprang up to take their places. After a few minutes of reading The Clipper, I feel a connection to Garrett. I bet the Garrett Football Parents' "Pigskin Patties" will be mighty tasty at the tailgate before the next home football game. Steve Key is executive director and general counsel for HSPA. metropolitan plants can be stacked up with mail for a 22-hour processing clock may make sense if the sole purpose is to eliminate jobs and run the machines lon- ger, but if it causes dimin- ished service standards and undependable service, this change will be an expense and not a savings," she said. She said NNA was not opposed to the closing of small post offices, but in offices where newspaper mail is entered it is not clear that the Postal Service is taking into account the beneficial revenue from pub- lishers. Instead it appears to be looking only at consumer purchases when deciding which offices produce too little revenue to remain open. NNA also remains opposed to ending Saturday residen- tial mail delivery. "In addition to losing newspaper deliveries, we believe lost First-Class remittance mail will create cash flow disruptions for our newspapers and other small businesses," she said. "We have made it clear that if the Postal Service will not deliver our newspapers on Saturdays, we need the help of Congress to make sure we can do it ourselves." NNA has called on poli- cymakers to permit pub- lishers to use mailboxes on Saturdays if residential delivery is ended.

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