Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/61652
Page 4 April 12, 2012 Core coverage remains our bread and butter A accordingly, one constant remains – the importance of credibility. The reputation of a news- paper can't be compromised if it wants to compete in the digital age. Pew Research Center's s many newspapers work to stabilize rev- enue and reduce costs ing to Nielsen Online. Newspapers, network news and cable news channels account for 17 of the top 25 news sites. Pew also found that adults State of the Media 2012 reports that most digital traffic comes to news sites through their home pages, not through search engines or social media. "Reputation remains para- turn to newspapers, whether print or online, for topics of local news more than any source. According to Pew, newspa- Points By Steve Key Key mount: of the 25 most popular U.S. news sites, two-thirds are run by traditional news organizations," according to the report. Those sites recorded 342 million average unique visi- tors monthly in 2011, accord- pers are the top sources for news on community events, crime, taxes, local govern- ment, arts and culture, social services, zoning and develop- ment. Newspapers are tied with maintain an adequate staff level to provide coverage. A vacuum invites competition to fill a need. Similarly, newspapers don't the Internet as the top source for news on housing, schools and jobs. Newspapers are tied with TV as the top source for local political news. To maintain that dominant position, a newspaper must HSPA Hotline From the Boonville Standard, Indianapolis Business Journal, South Bend Tribune and The Corydon Democrat: Q A move the date forward by four days. A citizen has filed a com- Town Council gave us notice of a meet- ing, which we pub- lished, it decided to After the Boonville pany so that it would have an advantage over the other com- panies during the negotiating process. I don't think revealing the plaint with the public access counselor alleging a violation of the Open Door Law after arriving at the meeting loca- tion four days after the council had gathered. The newspaper did get notice of the change in date but not in time to publish it. Was there a violation? prevent a governing body from changing its meeting date, whether forward or backward, as long as proper notice was given. If the new notice was posted to the timing of the second notice. There's nothing to It will come down names of those who submit- ted proposals would have that impact on the fairness of the process. But I think the city has interpreted "contents" as everything, including the names of those who submitted proposals. If correct on that reading, the meeting. Town officials said they posted notice of the meetings (executive session fol- lowed by public session), but did not notify us as they were "emergency" meetings. Does a meeting to accept the resignation of the town mar- shal, who was under investiga- tion, constitute an emergency meeting? What legal recourse, if any, do we have? the city is correct in that revealing the "contents" would put them in liability of vio- lating the Access to Public Records Act. A quick check with Public Access Counselor Joe Hoage and the original PAC, Anne Mullin O'Connor, confirmed that the general interpretation of the statute fits the city's position. Hoage remarked that revealing the name of a bidder prior to the deadline for filing could impact competitors' bids or lead to fewer bids. and given to media outlets 48 hours in advance of the new meeting time, the town council fulfilled its obligation. There isn't a requirement that notice under the Open Door Law be published or broadcast, only that it be given. Reminder: The 48-hours rule doesn't include either weekends or holidays. Q A the redevelopment of a half of block of Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis. The city is citing IC 5-22-9- run into a roadblock in getting the names of those who submit- ted proposals for 4 as the basis for not giving any information. Should we be able to get the names of the bidders? that can be read in two ways. I believe the legislative I've looked at the statute and think it's one, unfortunate- ly, with language intent was to prevent someone from giving the contents of the proposals to a competing com- The newspaper has timony about the actions of a police officer. Can this be done behind closed doors? body to discuss behind closed doors allegations about mis- conduct. Unfortunately, they can even come to a consensus as to the level of punishment in that executive session. But the final action (a vote on the disciplinary action) must take place at an open meeting. If the discipline reaches the Q A Q Door Law at IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(6) allows a governing Yes. The Open safety for the city of Mishawaka plans to hold an executive session to hear tes- The board of threatened injury to person or property or actual or threat- ened disruption of the govern- ment activity" of the town council, so I don't think it was an emergency unless there's more to the situation than they're sharing. But even if it was an "emer- A of the town marshal doesn't reach the level of "actual or The resignation want to leave a void when it comes to how readers want to access local news. According to Pew, consum- ers with computers, tablets and/or smartphones use dif- ferent devices for news at dif- ferent times of the day. During early weekday mornings, data show that news sites receive spikes in traffic from smartphones, tablets and computers as consumers turn to all three to check the headlines. Later in the day, traffic is higher on computers as people use office desktops and laptops. Between 9 p.m. and mid- night, tablets see a more sig- nificant spike. The assumption is that people favor their tablet while they relax in the living room or bedroom before going to sleep. The importance of this data will increase as the sales of tablets and smartphones continues to grow – and grow they will. Apple alone reported sales ning a pilot project with The Indianapolis Recorder and The Corydon Democrat to test a mobile app that may be economical and user-friendly enough for small newspapers to use. But the key remains having That's why HSPA is run- enough reporters to cover the news of a community. I still shudder when I recall a publisher of a county-wide newspaper telling me he had to cut staff to the point where the paper was no longer cov- ering the courts. Courts are part of the crime beat, where newspapers remain No. 1. As an industry, let's main- of 25 million iPads world- wide in 2011, and the use of smartphones has nearly doubled since 2009, according to Nielsen. tain our local news preemi- nence. tor and general counsel for HSPA. REUTERS Continued from Page 1 partnership, contact Key at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624- 4427. Trial services provided to or (646) 223-4351. For questions about the HSPA members include: Reuters America Wire provides U.S. newspapers and websites with top inter- national, domestic, regional, political, business and general news. To receive Reuters America news plan- ning schedules by email, contact Metzger at Melissa.Metzger@ thomsonreuters.com. gency meeting," the Open Door Law requires the govern- ing body to give the media the same notice it gave its members of the meeting, so The Corydon Democrat should have been notified even if it was less than 48 hours in advance of the meeting. You can point them to IC 5-14-1.5.5(d). As to legal recourse, you can Sports offers custom U.S. sports with text and photos. In partnership with content providers, Reuters delivers breaking news, features and game coverage of the major leagues, college football and basketball and internation- al events. For more infor- mation on the custom ele- ments of Reuters America Sports, contact Metzger at Melissa.Metzger@ thomsonreuters.com. Reuters America tell them about the error quiet- ly, write about it in a story or editorial or get an opinion from the public access counselor. If you don't feel satisfied after exhausting those options you can take them to court and ask a judge to issue an injunction ordering them not to violate the law in the future. Or the lawsuit could ask level of termination, demotion or suspension, citizens have the right to inspect and/or copy records from the officer's personnel file that outline the discipline taken and the fac- tual basis for the discipline. One of our town councils had a spe- cial meeting last week. The council did not notify us of that their acceptance of the resignation be declared null and void, meaning they would have to continue paying the marshal until they act cor- rectly. I'm not sure a lawsuit is the way to go at this point unless this is part of a long line of violations and it appears less drastic measures would be meaningless. Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, with media law ques- tions at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624-4427. Fayetteville Observer's Platinum TV ad package exceeded revenue goal in less than a week! ADVERTISING Continued from Page 1 for the digital version of the advertising contest," said Karen T. Braeckel, HSPA Foundation director. "Our members say it is much easier to submit entries now than in the old format. We hope more newspapers par- ticipate this year to reward ing movies, television, fash- ion, celebrities, the arts, music and awards show coverage. ment & Lifestyle Wire offers the latest news and developments in media and entertainment includ- Reuters Enter tain Service delivers up to 1,500 images daily, produced by a global staff and stringer net- work. All images are taken, edited and captioned accord- ing to Reuters' strict edito- rial principals. Reuters News Pictures Service includes print- ready and customizable graphics. Reuters News Graphics ican Business Report is Reuters' core text business news service with cover- age of global business and finance to worldwide media organizations. Filed around the clock from a regional desk in New York, the wire covers economic, corporate and market news. Reuters North Amer tered in Indiana are covered in a Midwest Regional Report. Companies headquar- must receive all electroni- cally submitted and mail-in entries by 5 p.m. Friday, June 8. The contest period covers ads designed from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012. More information on the employees for their out- standing work." The HSPA Foundation conference will follow this summer. Steve Key is executive direc- Without publishing anything new, the Fayetteville Observer ad package created new, year-long revenue in just one week! 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