The Indiana Publisher

Page 4 November 10, 2016 L ast month, I called out editors on public notice advertising. This month, it's the advertis- ing directors' turn. Too many newspapers for too long have taken public notice advertising for granted. Since the formation of the United States of America, government agen- cies have been tasked with publishing certain types of information so that the public would have the opportunity to react to what was under consider- ation – whether it was impacting tax rates, enforceable ordinances or in later times zoning issues. Your clients (government agencies, attorneys and citizens) are required to publish this important information, and in Indiana the state legislature has capped what a newspaper can charge state and local government for these notices. With the publication required regardless of the service provided by newspapers, I can see where the incentive to give attentive care to pub- lic notice advertising has been lacking. Newspapers can't afford – literally and figuratively - to continue to take that attitude with public notice adver- tising. How many advertising directors have called upon the county auditor or city clerk-treasurer to see what can be done to make the publication of notices easier or more efficient for government officials? What is your newspaper doing to give public notices a greater profile to readers or are you continuing to give them the same treatment you would a garage sale classified ad? How many steps is a reader required to do to find public notices on your website? I understand that the state-mandat- ed formula is a disincentive to either publishing public notices with larger print than the minimum 7-point type or adding art elements would only take up more space with no more revenue, but reader disinterest can lead to legislative change. Would you rather make public notices more read- able or lose the honor of being that independent third party conduit that keeps government units responsive to public comment? A map showing where liquor licenses are being requested; a picture of a fire truck with a bid request, or a small chart highlighting the new fines attached to an ordinance will draw readers into what is now a sea of black ink set in the smallest type allowed by law. Do you have a process that shares public notices with the newsroom so they have the opportunity to write a story based on the advertisement that also points the reader to the page where the notice is published? Do you push public notices to be fea- tured in an index or teaser box on the front page? Are you working with the newsroom to develop a glossary box that can explain frequently found, but arcane, legal terms in public notices so that your readers can understand what the notice is trying to convey? Do you have basic processes in place that let your public notice advertis- ing clients, whether they are govern- ment officials, attorneys or citizens, know that you received the notice and understand when it needs to run and how often? And the process to double- check whether all notices were actu- ally placed in the needed edition? Just last week, I heard from the director of the state Alcohol & Tobacco Commission, because two weekly newspapers failed to publish their county notices on the needed date. This is an agency that already made one legislative attempt to eliminate the publication requirement – leaving public notice to orange yard signs and government agency website posting. If newspapers believe it's role as an independent party with incentive to see that public notice advertising is published in a fashion that reaches the maximum number of citizens in an archivable fashion is valuable, then it's time newspapers quit treating this paid content like an after-thought. Steve Key is executive director and general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association. Key Points Steve Key Advertisers tasked to care for notice ads LIKE THE HOOSIER STATE PRESS ASSOCIATION ON FACEBOOK FOR INDUSTRY NEWS, DEADLINES AND UPDATES. So you think you know Indiana? Layouts provided! Your staff can just place it on the page. Text and photos supplied if you prefer local layouts. Mark Indiana's bicentennial in your newspaper with a free 15-part series from NIE Foundation Download materials at www.HSPA foundation.org window, each week is a separate unit and over- time must be paid even if the two weeks together don't exceed 80 hours, said Steve Key, executive director and general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association The new threshold complicates scheduling if a publisher is trying to avoid increased payroll costs due to overtime payments–particularly for a news- room where breaking stories aren't confined to an 8-to-5 schedule. If one's policy is no overtime and a major story breaks early in the week (such as flood- ing or a tornado), one might have an empty news- room on Friday. Local sports coverage can be another challenge when one wants to minimize overtime payments. One potential way to keep overtime under control is a change in the start of your work week, Key said. If it's hard to gauge weekend hours ahead of time, you have the option of starting your work week on Thursday or Friday, that gives you Monday through Wednesday to adjust a reporter's hours to keep him/her under 40 for the week. The Department of Labor says this is acceptable and you can have different start dates for different departments as long as you're consistent through the year and not constantly changing to avoid pay- ing overtime. If you have someone currently eligible to be sala- ried (there are other criteria necessary for eligibility beyond the salary threshold) who will be close but not quite reach the threshold, the new rule allows you to count nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives and commissions up to 10 percent of the threshold amount. That's up to $4,547.60 that could be added to the base yearly wages. Caveat: this extra money must be paid out on at least a quarterly basis. There is a newspaper exception if the publisher's print products have a circulation under 4,000, but Key reminds you that the circulation cap must include all of your newspapers, whether paid or free TMC products. Key urges publishers not to ignore the change in the overtime rule when December rolls around. "You don't want to create an opportunity for a dis- gruntled or fired employee to file a lawsuit against you for non-compliance with this federal require- ment." Overtime Continued from Page 1

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