The Indiana Publisher

Indiana The Public notice debate H continues Office of Air Quality moves notifications from print to online SPA's Steve Key outlined the elements of effective public notice before the state Environmental Quality Service Council on Oct. 3. The HSPA executive director and general counsel spoke about the need for public notices to be distributed by an independent third party, be in a form that can be archived, be accessible to the general public, and be verifiable as to accuracy. Key said publication of notices in newspapers meets that criteria while listing them on the Internet falls short. Volume 77, Issue 21 • October 11, 2012 Publisher Published alternate Thursdays ADVERTISING CONFERENCE & AWARDS GALA The Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Office of Air Quality recently moved to list federally required public notices on its website instead of in newspapers. Key used Ohio County's Rising Sun Recorder as an example to compare IDEM's website reach to that of public notices in a newspaper. He chose the Recorder because it's the largest weekly newspaper that serves the least-populated county in Indiana. Taking the best total from the IDEM public notices webpage – 129 unique visitors in a week – and the worst-case scenario for newspapers – 32.7 percent of the Recorder's circulation according to an American Opinion Research survey about who reads public notices, which is 366 readers – newspapers beat the website in visibility to Ohio County's population by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. That margin only increases in more populated counties while the number of unique visitors to the website remains static. See NOTICE, Page 4 Updated access handbook available free for members T he updated Handbook on Indiana's Public Access Laws is now available free to HSPA-member newspapers. The 64-page booklet lists the Open Door Law and Access to Public Records Act. It also includes explanations of the two public access statutes, information on the Indiana Public Access Counselor and a sample letter for making records requests. The new booklet includes changes made this year by the state legislature, including the provision for civil fines that can be levied by a judge who finds that violations of public access laws were deliberate. The fine for a first offense is up to $100, and a repeat offender can be fined up to $500. The HSPA Foundation approved a $2,000 grant to help pay for printing of the 64-page booklet. The copy is written and edited cooperatively by Public Access Counselor Joe Hoage; Matt Light and Anne O'Connor, both deputy attorney generals in the office of Attorney General Greg Zoeller; and HSPA executive director and general counsel Steve Key. The Foundation will not charge members for copies of the handbook. The printing was done by EP Graphics, which also produces the Berne Tri-Weekly News in northeast Indiana. The HSPA Foundation, Public Access Counselor's office, Attorney General's office and Indiana Coalition for Open Government will have hundreds of copies available for distribution. If your newsroom would like copies of the new handbook, contact Shawn Goldsby at sgoldsby@hspa.com or (317) 803- 4772 to request them. INAEA and HSPA Foundation hosted its 63rd annual Advertising Conference and Awards Gala on Sept. 28 in Indianapolis. Above: Honorees include, from left, Jenna Clossin of The Republic (Columbus) for Best Creative Advertising Designer; Mary Wendzonka of The Truth (Elkhart) for the People's Choice Award; and staffers of The Star Press (Muncie), including Amy Leffingwell, Greg Moon, Betsy Meyer, Mark Sheridan and Mary Vannatta. The Star Press won Salesperson of the Year and Best of Show awards. Below: Advertising staffs enjoyed the '80s theme of the Awards Gala, including music from the era, inflatable microphones and retro sunglasses. Above: Trainer Tim Smith presented sessions for advertising managers and sales representatives during the conference. His antics were a favorite with attend- ees. For more photos and a full list of winners visit HSPAFoundation.org. To request copies of the updated Handbook on Indiana's Public Access Laws, contact Shawn Goldsby at sgoldsby@ hspa.com or (317) 803-4772.

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