The Indiana Publisher

It's no longer funny. I admit I've jokingly referred to myself as a representative of the enemy of the American people. Donald Trump's assertion about the news media was so ridiculous – what could you do but laugh. But the non-stop onslaught on the institutions that make our democracy run is a corrosive acid that needs to be neutralized before the damage becomes dangerous and permanent. For example, it took action by the Radio Television Digital News Association to have Walmart remove from sale a black T-shirt with the simple message: Rope. Tree. Journalist. SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. The shirt first gained notice when a Reuters photographer took a photo of a man wearing it at an event for Trump supporters prior to the November election. This was months before Trump's declaration that the New York Times and CNN were "the enemy of the American people." RTDNA pointed out to Walmart that according to U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, nearly three dozen journalists have been physically assaulted this year in the United States and 48 journalists had been killed in other countries in 2017. While affirming Walmart's right to sell the T-shirt as an expression protected by the First Amendment, RTDNA executive director Dan Shelley wrote: "It is our belief that at the least, T-shirts or any other item bearing such words simply inflame the passion of those who either don't like, or don't under- stand, the news media. At worst, they openly encourage violence targeting journalists." Reporting the news in our country shouldn't be a dangerous profession. It's an elemental piece of American's ability to know what actions elected officials and government agencies are taking or contemplating that impact all of our lives, whether it's a local school budget impacting property taxes or Congressional action that impacts health care. You can be unhappy with the news reported. You even have a legitimate beef if newspapers let reporter's or editor's biases leak into the story because good journalism is fair and accurate reporting. But to discount journalists altogether is a huge mistake. It's newspaper journalists who cover local government, state govern- ment and federal government depending upon the newspaper. I saw a statistic a few years ago that said 85% of the news items on the Internet originated with newspapers. If newspapers are erased from the equation, who will fill that void. The most well-intentioned citizen can't routinely attend the meetings of his/her school board, township board, city or town council, county council, county commissioners. There's also the courts in each county. And at the state level, there's the General Assembly, Indiana Court of Appeals, Indiana Supreme Court, and numerous executive branch commissions and boards. And we haven't even talked about federal government centered in Washington, D.C. Frankly, most Indiana news- papers can't cover everything, so Hoosiers should have a news strategy that fills in gaps at the state and national level that their local newspaper can't include in their coverage. Without newspapers fulfilling the role of watchdog of democracy, elected officials could publicly say one thing while their actions say another. It's an invitation for corruption, cronyism and incom- petence. It's time to tell elected officials who want to cry "fake news" when a story is published, posted or broadcast that they don't like to get over themselves – answer reporter's questions and turn over public records responsive to citizen and reporter's requests. Don't blame the messenger if the facts aren't what you want them to be. Get involved to help change those bad facts. Page 4 Key Points Steve Key Attacks on journalism, democratic institutions are corrosive December 2017 News in brief Employee Sought Entry Level Press Operator – Fort Wayne Newspapers, one of the larg- est publishing concerns in northeastern Indiana, pub- lishes two daily newspapers, The News-Sentinel and The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne Magazine and offers com- mercial printing. Our company is looking for a highly motivated and ener- getic individual for an entry level Press Operator position. The individual selected will be a valued team member to our daily print operations in our state of the art facility. You will be trained to focus on timely performance, quality printing, press equipment maintenance, clean-up and other duties. Requires flexi- bility including night, week- end, and holiday shifts. The candidate must have good eyesight including prop- er color vision. Must be mechanically in- clined, detail oriented, meticu- lous and self-motivated. Able to troubleshoot and resolve problems. Ability to work well with others and thrive as part of a team. Effectively and re- spectfully communicate, both verbally and in written form. High school diploma or equiv- alent. Comfortable working with computers. Persons interested in a re- warding career, competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package in an envi- ronment that encourages per- sonal and professional growth may email a cover letter and resume to mberkshire@fort- wayne.com, mail or fax to: Human Resources, Fort Wayne Newspapers, 600 West Main St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802, 260-461-8517. Community Editor/ General Reporter – The Perry County News, a twice- weekly newspaper publishing on Monday and Thursday with over 5,050 circulation, has an immediate opening for an energetic Community Reporter/Page Designer. We are looking for someone who likes to write on a variety of subjects and can find a story anywhere. We are located in Perry County, Indiana, on the shores of the Ohio River. The Community Reporter/ Page Designer's duties will include reporting, writing, pho- tography and page design of local news in coordination with the Editor. The newspaper offers a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k) and paid time off ben- efits. The Perry County News can also be found online at perrycountynews.com. Post member and employ- ee notices at hspa.com/jobs. Direct questions about post- ing jobs to news@hspa.com. A resolution recently referred to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee pro- poses a new honor for famed World War II correspondent and Hoosier native Ernie Pyle. Senate Resolution 345, introduced Nov. 30 and co-sponsored by Indiana senators Todd Young and Joe Donnelly, would desig- nate Aug. 3, 2018 — what would be Pyle's 118th birthday — as National Ernie Pyle Day. "Ernie Pyle's renowned career reporting throughout Indiana and World War II demonstrates the work ethic of Hoosiers and the dedica- tion of Americans in com- memorating our soldiers," Young said in a written statement. "By designating National Ernie Pyle Day, his important contributions to our state and nation will be honored." — The Indianapolis Star Hoosier Media Group LLC has started publishing The Hamilton News. "We are very happy that HMG will now be serving the wonderful Hamilton community," said the corpo- ration's Publisher, CEO and founder Don Hurd. "The Hamilton News has a long tradition of great local news. HMG plans to continue that news tradition and to take it to another level." Hurd is a 38 year publish- ing veteran. He has a BS from Ball State University in telecommunications, mar- keting and journalism. Hurd has been the recipient of over 70 national and state advertising promotions and design awards. He also was a 16 year Hoosier State Press Association Board member, and served as the HSPA As- sociation President and Vice President. The HMG staff has over 100 years of combined newspaper experience. It also owns and operates The Benton Review in Fowler, News & Review in Monon, Francesville Tribune and the Lowell Tribune. "This company is dedicat- ed to the communities it serves," said HMG part own- er and Managing Editor Clayton Doty. "We will work hard in Hamilton to provide a trustworthy newspaper, where you will always rec- ognize the names and faces on its pages," he said. — The Hamilton News Today, more than 1,100 newspapers in small and medium-sized communities across the United States signed a letter calling on Commerce Secretary Wil- bur Ross to heavily scruti- nize the anti-dumping and countervailing duty peti- tions filed in September by Longview, WA-based paper mill, North Pacific Paper Company (NORPAC). NORPAC's petition asks for steep import duties in excess of 50 percent on im- ports of uncoated ground- wood paper from Canada. Such duties, if implement- ed, could result in steep in- creases in the cost of news- print, which would cause widespread harm to local newspapers. The NORPAC petitions are based on incorrect assess- ments of a changing market and appear to be driven by the short-term investment strategies of the mill's hedge fund owners, One Rock Cap- ital Partners. "This attempt by a Wall Street hedge fund to utilize the trade laws for a short- term return is inconsistent with the views of the broad- er U.S. paper industry, and is being pursued without any consideration for the signifi- cant negative impacts on news publishers serving readers in thousands of small U.S. cities and towns," stated News Media Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern. Chavern added, "The re- cent declines in the news- print market have nothing at all to do with trade issues, and everything to do with a decade-long trend of readers shifting to digital plat- forms." — News Media Alliance KPC Media Group Inc. announces the appointment of Daniel Tollefson to the position of vice president of sales overseeing advertising sales across all KPC's media platforms. With a 20-year career in newspaper publishing m a n a g e - ment hav- ing worked in circula- tion, ad- v e r t i s i n g sales and as publish- er, Tollefson most recently served as president and publisher for GateHouse Media Inc. "We are thrilled to have Dan lead our talented sales staff," said Randy Mitchell, CEO, and publisher of KPC Media Group Inc. HMG takes ownership of Hamilton News, stresses commitment to local coverage Proposed newsprint tariffs threaten small-town newspapers Karickhoff also has agreed to include in his bill language that makes it clear under the Access to Public Records Act that Hoosiers could obtain electronic records in that for- mat rather than having gov- ernment officials choose to force them to accept paper copies. The concept has been approved by both the Indiana Senate and House of Repre- sentatives three times, but never became law – once dy- ing in a legislative confer- ence committee and twice falling victim to a governor's veto due to search fee lan- guage that it was tied to in recent legislative sessions. Discipline records Sen. Mike Delph, R-Car- mel, asked HSPA to help draft language to clarify what information should be available when a public employee's discipline re- sults it his/her suspension, demotion or termination. "Factual basis" had one meaning for legislators when it was inserted into the Access to Public Records Act in 2003, Key said, but has been reinterpreted by several attor- neys since, including a Public Access Counselor, in a fash- ion that limits what's made available. Sen. Delph's bill will re- store the amount of informa- tion that would be disclosed to the public upon request and would require an agency to document the reason for the discipline and event that was deemed to violate poli- cy, procedure or rule. Bob Segall, reporter for WTHR, had approached Delph with the concern that some agencies were failing to document disciplinary actions to avoid having a record responsive to an APRA request. Student press freedom Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Al- bany, will file again his New Voices legislation that will guarantee freedom of expres- sion to Indiana high school and collegiate journalists. His bill this year was passed by the House but died on the Senate floor without a vote. The language would roll back the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hazel- wood, which allows admin- istrative censorship for "pedagogical" reasons, to the previous Tinker decision, that only allowed interven- tion if the story had a sub- stantial likelihood of dis- rupting the school. The bill even gives school districts immunity from le- gal actions brought due to what would be published by student publications. Despite the immunity, Rep. Clere's bill was opposed by the or- ganizations that represent school superintendents, prin- cipals, and school boards. School officials now have the ability to muzzle stu- dents who want to address a controversial subject or criti- cize school policies ore lead- ership and those officials don't want to part with that power to censor, Key said. Nationally, the New Voices effort has been en- dorsed by the American Bar Association, which represents lawyers. The 2018 General As- sembly begins its work on January 3. Preview Continued from Page 1 Sens. Young, Donnelly sponsor resolution honoring Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle KCP Media Group appoints Daniel Tollefson as VP of Sales Tollefson

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