The Indiana Publisher

T he Fort Wayne News- Sentinel announced its intent to move primarily to a digital product in the coming months. The News-Sentinel will now sharpen its focus on more timely, topical and in-depth cover- age of the region's news without the constraints of the afternoon print cycle. The News-Sentinel remains committed to providing its readers with the type of robust coverage of topics most important to the re- gion, and providing its advertisers the ability to reach even more peo- ple within their marketing area. While this move means discontin- uing the afternoon print edition, subscribers will be offered News- Sentinel content in print within the morning edition of The Journal Gazette, in addition to a more ro- bust and focused digital presence. The News-Sentinel editorial coverage will be shared with a larger print audience within the morning edition of The Journal Gazette, the widely preferred time for most readers. The News-Senti- nel newsroom will direct and de- sign the content, opinion and com- mentary within these specially designated pages. The combina- tion of these pages delivered in the morning and the 24 hours-a-day online platform provide ideal, complementary vehicles to drive conversations on issues impacting the Fort Wayne community. "Tracing our roots back more than 180 years, we are proud to re- main a key part of the Fort Wayne community by bringing our readers the news they care about and an in- dependent voice to the issues that impact them," said Mike Christ- man, president and CEO of Fort Wayne Newspapers and publisher of The News-Sentinel. "The News- Sentinel will now have the ability to reach a wider range of audiences in Fort Wayne, while focusing ex- clusively on creating great, engag- ing content. The move will better I ndiana's Department of Environment Management intends to stop using news- papers to publish notice of air permits – replacing it with post- ing on its website. IDEM is seeking comments on this rule change, which would be allowed by federal EPA rules, with a deadline for comments of Oct. 6. Comments can be submitted to Keelyn Walsh, Office of Legal Counsel, IDEM, at kwalsh@idem. in.gov. "IDEM's justification for the change clearly shows no under- standing of the concept behind pub- lic notice advertising and is an open attack on the effectiveness of news- paper publication of public notices," said Steve Key, executive director and general counsel of the Hoosier State Press Association. The state agency's notice states, "IDEM has relied on local news- papers to provide public notice for permit and other agency actions. However, as the publishing industry continues to adapt to changes in media formats, smaller newspapers are going out of business while oth- ers are being bought by larger cor- porations, making printed newspa- per advertisements less effective in providing widespread public notice of permit actions." The notice goes on to say that the recent purchases of 10 Indiana newspapers by an out-of-state com- pany has led to publication delays, which causes agency permit issu- ance delays that negatively impact local companies and businesses. Key said if poor service is the issue, HSPA can assist IDEM in addressing the issue with the news- paper group in question, but he believes that argument belies the real reason for this proposed change I n my office at home is a picture of Abraham Lincoln and a motiva- tional quote. The quote details how big a failure Abe was, especially early in life. Any historian can tell you about the failures Lincoln suffered in business, in politics, with his love life and his marriage. And yet he remained persistent in the face of those failures. The rest, as they say is history. The ability to be persistent in the face of failure is what separates the great from the average (or worse) in business. If you took an honest, hard look in the mirror or your own sales organization you might find some opportunities for improve- ment. For the longest time, media sales reps relied on relationships to manage their territories. This style, still in use and still successful to a point, required very little actually selling. As the media landscape has changed, the need to be an aggres- sive selling sales department has grown. Media companies, especially newspapers have struggled with this change. Prospecting for new business and having to resell existing business requires a different skill set than someone relying on existing relationships to maintain Hey, can they do that? Steve Key answers your legal questions. Page 3 News briefs SPJ chief to head Indiana State Bar Association. Page 4 Key Points Public has right to know officer identities. Page 4 In memoriam David Ray and Jim Karczewski Page 2 INSIDE Publisher The Indiana Volume 82, Issue 9 • September 2017 Published on second Thursday monthly Urban Media Project reporters Tony and Jeffrey interview Indy Eleven soccer player Marco Franco at a team practice in July. The Indianapolis UMP was started in 2012 by journalist-turned-educator Donna Griffin, a teacher at Arsenal Tech High School. Griffin launched the program to expose young people to media and empower them to tell stories. This summer, the UMP purchased iPads, a GoPro camera and other items with a grant from the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation. For more information on the UMP, visit its Facebook page, facebook.com/urbanmediaprojectindy. With advertising sales, persistence separates great from average See Persistence, Page 3 Staff report Fort Wayne News-Sentinel IDEM attacks public notice ads By Pete VanBaalen Fort Wayne Newspapers VanBaalen See Digital, Page 4 Agency to stop using newspapers to publish notice of air permits Fort Wayne News-Sentinel moves to all-digital this fall New owners take over Lowell Tribune Staff report Lowell Tribune S ince 1961 the Pilcher fami- ly has owned and operated the Lowell Tribune news- paper. Beginning with this issue, the Pilchers' journalistic service to Lowell has come to an end. Pilcher Publications has sold the Lowell Tribune to Hoosier Media Group, LLC. Hoosier Media Group already owns and operates weekly publi- cations in Benton, White and Pu- laski counties and is dedicated to providing local news to its readers. "We are very happy and excited to add the Lowell Tribune to our group of newspapers," said Hoo- sier Media Group founder and CEO Don Hurd. Hurd is a 38 year publishing vet- eran. He has a BS from Ball State University in telecommunications, marketing and journalism. Hurd has been the recipient of over 70 national and state advertising pro- motions and design awards. He also was a 16 year Hoosier State Press Association Board member, and served as the HSPA Associa- tion President and Vice President. The Hoosier Media Group staff has over 100 years of combined local community newspaper experience. "We look forward to working with the residents of Lowell and Ce- dar Lake to provide them with an all-local community newspaper they can be proud of to call their own," said Hurd."We are fortunate to have a Lowell native and Hoosier Media Group part owner, Clayton Doty, overseeing the news opera- tions of the Lowell Tribune." Doty has been working in newsrooms in Indiana for 18 years. He has earned numerous Hoosier State Press Association awards for his writing and pho- tography along the way. "I am a proud Lowell High School graduate," said Doty. "I am excited to take part in continu- ing a newspaper tradition in my hometown which has been in place since 1885." According to Doty, local news- papers like the Lowell Tribune are successful when they focus on the people in the community. "We will work hard to provide a trustworthy newspaper, where you will always recognize the names and faces on its pages," said Doty. "Hoosier Media Group understands commu- nity news and we are really look- ing forward to getting started." Pilcher Publications sells newspaper to Hoosier Media Group See Public notice, Page 4 " ... We are proud to remain a key part of the Fort Wayne community by bringing our readers the news they care about and an independent voice to the issues that impact them." Mike Christman, president and CEO of Fort Wayne Newspapers and publisher of The News-Sentinel "We are very happy and excited to add the Lowell Tribune to our group of newspapers." Don Hurd, Hoosier Media Group founder and CEO

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