Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/583002
Publisher The Indiana Volume 80, Issue 10 • October 8, 2015 Published on second Thursday monthly HSPA: Forget body cams if public can't see Annual Conference in Pictures: September event brought publishers, execu- tives, advertising personnel to Indianapolis. Page 4-5 Foundation Front: Let your staff take advantage of Newsroom Seminar training. Page 3 Key Points: Steve Key reminds law enforcement that headshots of police officers aren't confidential records. Page 8 Hey, can they do that? Steve Key answers your legal questions. Page 7 INSIDE T he state legislature's Interim Committee on Government will receive a recommendation Oct. 15 from a group of its members on legislation concerning the public's access to police body camera video. This follows six hours of testimony during two committee meetings from privacy advocates, law enforcement officials, citizens and the Hoosier State Press Association. HSPA Executive Director and General Counsel Steve Key provided the committee with recommendations on what a preliminary draft should contain. Committee chairman Sen. Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville; vice chairman Rep. John Price, R-Greenwood; Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis; Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis; and possibly Rep. Kevin Mahan, R-Hartford City, a former Blackford County sheriff; will comprise the work group tasked with boiling down the testimony into a leg- islative proposal. Key's note to the committee echoed a comment made by Taylor at the Sept. 29 committee hearing: If the public can't access the video, you might as well not have the body cam- eras. Under current law, the video falls under the "investigatory records" pro- vision of the Access to Public Records Act, which means it can be kept confi- dential at the discretion of the public agency. Key testified that HSPA experi- ence shows if the video exonerates an officer's actions, it will be released. Otherwise, departments lean on the investigatory records exception to avoid disclosure. That's been the case with cruiser cam footage in Fort Wayne and body Video currently classified as 'investigatory record' See Cams, Page 8 Public notice promotion Indiana publishers recently received copies of a series of ads developed by The Elkhart Truth promoting the value of public notice advertising. Newspapers are asked to consider running the ads to help educate the public on the value of public notices. The ads are part of an ongoing campaign from the HSPA Board of Directors promotional committee, chaired by HSPA board president Chris White, publisher of The Times (Munster). What: Workshops on writing, photography and digital tools, followed by the awards luncheon When: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 Where: Indianapolis Marriott North Cost: $69 if registered by Nov. 13 (payment may follow); registra- tion fee increases after that date. Registration: www.HSPAfoundation.org Information: (317) 803-4772 or sgoldsby@hspa.com NEWSROOM SEMINAR The Best Job on Earth David LaBelle, an inter- nationally known photog- rapher, teacher, author and speaker, reminds pho- togs that while times have changed and jobs have shifted or disappeared, the ability to observe, record and share with a camera is still an incredible gift. Says LaBelle: Few professions allow each of us the oppor- tunity to become "bridges and angels." Big Picture Lessons Three award-winning, vet- eran photographers lead an interactive critique of photos that placed in this year's Better Newspaper Contest. A photog favorite! Three Chords and the Truth Nancy Comiskey, veteran journalist and lecturer at Indiana University, returns by popular demand. In this session, she reminds jour- nalists that like songwrit- ers, they have limited time and space to share a story. A good ballad has a lot in common with a compelling news story. Advance Your Digital Presence Kayla Castille, direc- tor of digital content for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., shares her experiences working with both large and small news- papers to increase a digital footprint and make use of technology at hand. Watchdog Journalism Mark Horvit, executive director of Investigative Reporters & Editors and associate profes- sor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, will lead two sessions on inves- tigative reporting. For the Record(s) Luke Britt, Indiana public access coun- selor, and Steve Key, Hoosier State Press Association executive director and general counsel, give all of the updates on Indiana's Open Door Law and Access to Public Records Act. Insider instruction Dec. 5 event brings veteran journalists/teachers Newsroom Seminar & Awards Luncheon