4
Indiana journalists learned how to spruce up narrative writing and add video to their web packages during the 2010 Newsroom Seminar. Sessions on multimedia newsgathering offered tips on videos, tweets and writing for the Web. Writing and public access workshops hit on jour- nalism fundamentals. The 44th annual HSPA Foundation event returned to the Indiana Convention Center Dec. 4, followed by the Better Newspaper Contest awards luncheon. Seminar speakers included a Pulitzer prize-winning writer and the 2010 Better Newspaper Contest Photo of the Year winner. The sessions featured tracks on reporting and writing, legal matters, and photojournalism and multimedia. IUPUI students video- taped all of the sessions and will make them available to HSPA Foundation for future training. The seminar committee set out to help journalists use new technologies and brush up on the core of what news- papers do, said Bob Zaltsberg, Herald-Times (Bloomington) editor and Newsroom Semi- nar and Better Newspaper Contest rules committee chairman. “The sessions by Phillip B. Wilson on using Twit- ter in sports writing and Publisher The Indiana Volume 75, Issue 25 • December 9, 2010 Published alternate Thursdays Serving their readers with hyper- local coverage is the focus for HSPA Foundation’s 2010 Blue Ribbon news- papers. The Indianapolis Star and the Brown County Democrat (Nashville) won the coveted awards during the Newsroom Seminar and Better News- paper Contest awards luncheon Dec. 4. A community emphasis will continue to be the backbone of both papers, their editors said. The Blue Ribbons were among nearly 560 examples of journalistic excellence honored during the 44th an- nual event at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The Story of the Year award went to Dann Denny of the Herald-Times (Bloomington) for his series Easing the Journey. Justin Rumbach of The Herald (Jas- per) received the Photo of the Year honor for his multiple picture group Anderson. In the General Excellence category, awards are given to papers in each of the six circulation divisions based on a point system from awards received. General Excellence first-place win- ners are: Division 1: Hendricks County Flyer (Avon) Division 2: Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Division 3: The Evening News (Jeffer- sonville) Division 4: Daily Journal (Franklin) Division 5: The Herald-Times (Bloom- ington) Division 6: The Indianapolis Star. And the Blue Ribbons go to ... BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST QUICK HITS The Indianapolis Star and Brown County Democrat Postal service news: The National Newspaper Association supports a bill designed to mend the U.S. Postal Service's financial woes. Page 3 Ad rates: Publish- ers and ad directors, send your 2011 ad- vertising rate infor- mation to HSPA. Page 3 Legal hotline: A Blooming- ton blogger wants to know about limitations on the Open Door Law that allow school boards to meet in private. Page 4 Key Points: HSPA exec- utive director and general counsel Stephen Key calls for less secrecy from the feds and local govern- ment officials. Page 4 Speakers focus on basics, emerging media Blue Ribbon daily: The Indianapolis Star Blue Ribbon non- daily: Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Story of the year: Easing the Journey by Dann Denny, The Herald-Times (Bloom- ington) Photo of the year: Anderson, a multiple picture group by Justin Rumbach, The Herald (Jasper) James W. Brown Innovation Award: Staff, The Indianapolis Star General excellence first-place winners Division 1: Hendricks County Flyer (Avon) Division 2: Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Division 3: The Eve- ning News (Jefferson- ville) Division 4: Daily Jour- nal (Franklin) Division 5: The Herald-Times (Bloom- ington) Division 6: The India- napolis Star DON'T FORGET Next year's Better Newspaper Contest entries will be submit- ted online with pdf tearsheets. More information about the change designed for better efficiency will be provided in the coming year. See Speakers, Page 2 See Blue, Page 4 Newsroom Seminar speaker Tom French led two sessions on narra- tive writing. The Pulitzer Prize winner’s session were well attended, with people standing in the back of the room. INSIDE The India- napolis Star won the daily Blue Ribbon award. Ste- phen Key, HSPA execu- tive director and general counsel, left, congratu- lates Star Publisher and Presi- dent Michael G. Kane on the honor. The Indianapolis Star photo The Better Newspaper Contest nondaily Blue Ribbon award went to the Brown County Democrat (Nashville). Editor Sara Clifford, cen- ter, accepted the award on behalf of the paper. She is pictured with reporter- photogra- phers Megan O’Bryan, left, and Tom Lotshaw.

Volume 75, Issue 25 • December 9, 2010 Published alternate … · 2020-03-09 · resume and writing samples to Nancy Sible at nancys@ kpcnews.net. (2) Circulation director — The

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    0

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Volume 75, Issue 25 • December 9, 2010 Published alternate … · 2020-03-09 · resume and writing samples to Nancy Sible at nancys@ kpcnews.net. (2) Circulation director — The

Indiana journalists learned how to spruce up narrative writing and add video to their web packages during the 2010 Newsroom Seminar.

Sessions on multimedia newsgathering offered tips on videos, tweets and writing for the Web. Writing and public access workshops hit on jour-nalism fundamentals.

The 44th annual HSPA Foundation event returned to the Indiana Convention Center Dec. 4, followed by the Better Newspaper Contest awards luncheon.

Seminar speakers included a Pulitzer prize-winning writer and the 2010 Better

Newspaper Contest Photo of the Year winner. The sessions featured tracks on reporting

and writing, legal matters, and photojournalism and multimedia.

IUPUI students video-taped all of the sessions and will make them available to HSPA Foundation for future training.

The seminar committee set out to help journalists use new technologies and brush up on the core of what news-papers do, said Bob Zaltsberg, Herald-Times (Bloomington) editor and Newsroom Semi-nar and Better Newspaper Contest rules committee chairman.

“The sessions by Phillip B. Wilson on using Twit-ter in sports writing and

PublisherThe Indiana

Volume 75, Issue 25 • December 9, 2010 Published alternate Thursdays

Serving their readers with hyper-local coverage is the focus for HSPA Foundation’s 2010 Blue Ribbon news-papers.

The Indianapolis Star and the Brown County Democrat (Nashville) won the coveted awards during the Newsroom Seminar and Better News-paper Contest awards luncheon Dec. 4.

A community emphasis will continue to be the backbone of both papers, their editors said.

The Blue Ribbons were among nearly 560 examples of journalistic excellence honored during the 44th an-nual event at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

The Story of the Year award went to Dann Denny of the Herald-Times (Bloomington) for his series Easing the Journey.

Justin Rumbach of The Herald (Jas -per) received the Photo of the Year honor for his multiple picture group Anderson.

In the General Excellence category, awards are given to papers in each of the six circulation divisions based on a point system from awards received.

General Excellence first-place win-ners are:

Division 1: Hendricks County Flyer (Avon)

Division 2: Brown County Democrat (Nashville)

Division 3: The Evening News (Jeffer-sonville)

Division 4: Daily Journal (Franklin)Division 5: The Herald-Times (Bloom-

ington)Division 6: The Indianapolis Star.

And the Blue Ribbons go to ... BETTER

NEWSPAPER CONTEST

QUICK HITS

The Indianapolis Star and Brown County Democrat

Postal service news: The National Newspaper Association supports a bill designed to mend the U.S. Postal Service's financial woes. Page 3

Ad rates: Publish-ers and ad directors, send your 2011 ad-vertising rate infor-mation to HSPA. Page 3

Legal hotline: A Blooming-ton blogger wants to know about limitations on the Open Door Law that allow school boards to meet in private. Page 4

Key Points: HSPA exec-utive director and general counsel Stephen Key calls for less secrecy from the feds and local govern-ment officials. Page 4

Speakers focus on basics, emerging media

Blue Ribbon daily: The Indianapolis Star

Blue Ribbon non-daily: Brown County Democrat (Nashville)

Story of the year: Easing the Journey by Dann Denny, The Herald-Times (Bloom-ington)

Photo of the year: Anderson, a multiple picture group by Justin Rumbach, The Herald (Jasper)

James W. Brown Innovation Award: Staff, The Indianapolis Star

General excellence first-place winners Division 1: Hendricks County Flyer (Avon)

Division 2: Brown County Democrat (Nashville)

Division 3: The Eve-ning News (Jefferson-ville)

Division 4: Daily Jour-nal (Franklin)

Division 5: The Herald-Times (Bloom-ington)

Division 6: The India-napolis Star

DON'T FORGET

Next year's Better News paper Contest entries will be submit-ted online with pdf tearsheets. More information about the change designed for better efficiency will be provided in the coming year.

See Speakers, Page 2

See Blue, Page 4

Newsroom Seminar speaker Tom French led two sessions on narra-tive writing. The Pulitzer Prize winner’s session were well attended, with people standing in the back of the room.

INSIDE

The India-napolis Star won the daily Blue Ribbon award. Ste-phen Key, HSPA execu-tive director and general counsel, left, congratu-lates Star Publisher and Presi-dent Michael G. Kane on the honor.

The Indianapolis Star photo

The Better Newspaper Contest nondaily Blue Ribbon award went to the Brown County Demo crat (Nashville). Editor Sara Clifford, cen-ter, accepted the award on behalf of the paper. She is pictured with reporter-photogra-phers Megan O’Bryan, left, and Tom Lotshaw.

Page 2: Volume 75, Issue 25 • December 9, 2010 Published alternate … · 2020-03-09 · resume and writing samples to Nancy Sible at nancys@ kpcnews.net. (2) Circulation director — The

Employees sought

Page 2 December 9, 2010

2011 Calendar

HSPA Board of Directors

HSPA OfficersPresident: Don Hurd, Kankakee Valley Publishing

Vice President: Tim Timmons, The Paper of Montgomery County ( Crawfordsville), The Times (Noblesville)

Secretary: Greg Morris, IBJ CorporationTreasurer: Jim Kroemer, Goshen News

HSPA Board Members

Randy List, Rust CommunicationsJack D. Pate, Evansville Courier & Press

Robyn McCloskey, Pharos-Tribune (Logansport), Kokomo TribuneTina West, The Courier-Times (New Castle)

Dailies

NondailiesRobert Allman, All Printing & Publishing Inc.

John Haley, Pulaski County Journal (Winamac)Jon O’Bannon, The Corydon Democrat

Kathy Tretter, Dubois-Spencer Co. Publishing Co. Inc.

HSPA Foundation Board of Directors

HSPA Foundation OfficersPresident: Mayer Maloney, Hoosier Times Inc.

Vice President: Henry Bird, The Herald Bulletin (Anderson)Secretary: John Rumbach, The Herald (Jasper)Treasurer: Jeff Rogers, Home News Enterprises

HSPA Foundation Board of DirectorsLinda Chandler, Ripley PublishingCurt Jacobs, The Madison Courier

Barbara King, North Vernon Plain Dealer & SunPat Lanman, Vevay Newspapers Inc.

Kevin Lashbrook, Landmark Community Newspapers

HSPA staffStephen Key, executive director and general counsel

[email protected] • (317) 624-4427

Karen T. Braeckel, HSPA Foundation [email protected] • (317) 624-4426

Yvonne Yeadon, office [email protected] • (317) 624-4433

Pamela Lego, MAP advertising [email protected] • (812) 350-7711

Shawn Goldsby, ICAN and ICAN Plus [email protected] • (317) 803-4772

Milissa Tuley, communications [email protected] • (317) 624-4430

The Indiana Publisher is published bi-weekly by Hoosier State Press Association,

41 E. Washington St., Suite 301, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, (317) 803-4772. ISSN 0019-6711 USPS 058-730.

Periodicals-class postage paid at Indianapolis, Ind., and at additional mailing office.

Postmaster: Send address changes to: 41 E. Washington St., Suite 301, Indianapolis, IN, 46204,

(317) 803-4772, Fax (317) 624-4428. Website: www.hspa.com

Subscriptions $25 per year. Ad rates furnished upon request.

Member notices

Editor — The Republic, in Co-lumbus, Ind., is looking for an edi-tor to direct our news operations. After a distinguished career, our current editor is retiring. We are looking for a positive role model who leads by example. The Republic has a long tradition of creating award-winning content and for creating a welcoming en-vironment for talented journalists. While we certainly understand and embrace the importance of being a truly diverse media com-pany, we recognize that our future lies in delivering quality content to our audience in print. The ideal candidate will help us tell better stories, understand quality design and improve on our role as a community watchdog. The Republic has a daily circula-tion of 22,000. It is the flagship newspaper of its parent company,

Home News Enterprises, which has been owned by the same family for 130 years. Columbus is known internationally as a mu-seum of modern architecture. Qualified candidates must pos-sess a four-year college degree and a minimum of four years of newsroom management experi-ence. We will provide excellent compensation and benefits including health, vision, dental, 401(k) with match and profit sharing. E-mail résumé and cover letter to [email protected]. EOE (1)

Print and online journalist — Immediate opening for a print and online journalist at the Fort Wayne operations of KPC Media Group, a family-owned company serving northeast Indiana. The ideal candidate will have strong reporting and writing skills along with a thorough understanding of online journalism. Ability to take

photos and videos is a plus. Responsibilities will include producing content for the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, Times Community Publications and associated websites. Send resume and writing samples to Nancy Sible at nancys@ kpcnews.net. (2)

Circulation director — The six-day Times in Frankfort, Ind., seeks an enthusiastic circulation pro — a customer-service cru-sader who can recruit, train and retain customer-focused carriers and employees. Excellent orga-nizational, communication and problem-solving skills essential. Must be a proactive planner with the business know-how and cre-ativity to achieve circulation goals. Bachelor’s degree preferred. E-mail cover letter and resume to publisher Sharon Bardonner at [email protected]. EOE (2)

Jan. 29 APME/HSPA Foundation Job Fair, IUPUI campus, Indianapolis

Feb. 2-3 HSPA/HSPA Foundation annual meetings, Indianapolis Marriott

SpeakersContinued from Page 1

The HSPA Foundation learned Monday an award-winning photo submitted in the 2010 Better Newspaper Contest did not fall within the designated time period.

The Rules Committee re-scinded the first-place finish for Best General News Photo in Division 6, given to Gregg Gearhart of The Times (Munster) for “Funeral,” and awarded it to Scott M. Bort of the Post-Tribune (Merrill-ville) for “Hawks,” formerly the second-place photo in the category.

The Indianapolis Star’s Matt Detrich photo “Respect” will move from third to sec-ond place in the division.

When it was brought to HSPA Foundation’s atten-tion that the photo did not run between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, director Karen T. Braeckel immedi-ately contacted The Times.

“They checked their re-cords and realized the error,”

Braeckel said. “They apolo-gized and said they would return the award.”

The Times Managing Edi-tor Paul Mullaney said, “The Times regrets the uninten-tional error made by our newsroom contest commit-tee, and we agree the entry should be dismissed.”

Braeckel said the Founda-tion and Rules Committee will review procedures to try to prevent this type error from occurring in future contests.

The change does not affect the standings in the General Excellence awards for Divi-sion 6.

First-place award goes to Post-Tribune

Christopher Smith and John Strauss on using video to tell stories certainly covered new technologies,” he said. “J. Bruce Baumann showed us what ‘can be’ with his new Web publication.

“As for fundamentals, the legal sessions are always good and well attended, and I heard nothing but praise for Tom French on his two ses-sions on narrative writing,” Zaltsberg said. “He had great tips about storytelling for people working in newsrooms of all sizes.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer French led ses-sions on narrative writing on deadline. Currently the Riley Endowed Chair in Journal-ism at Indiana University, he covered practical techniques on improving interviewing and storytelling.

Rounding out the re port ing

and writing workshops were two presentations with a multimedia focus.

Wilson, sports reporter and twitter jockey at The India-napolis Star, presented tech-niques for using tweets and texts to increase readership.

Strauss, a former multime-dia editor at The Star, offered a video survival course.

Sessions on public access to information featured three experts: Stephen Key, HSPA executive director and general council; Andrew J. Kossack, Indiana public access counselor; and Kath-ryn Dolan, public informa-tion officer for the Indiana Supreme Court.

Journalists learned about building an audience for multimedia storytelling with Smith, photo editor at the Tulsa World and former photographer at The Times of Northwest Indiana (Mun-ster).

Justin Rumbach, man aging

editor at The Herald (Jasper) and the 2010 Better Newspa-per Contest Photo of the Year winner, highlighted ways to give photos prominence in print media.

Baumann, editor of the online publication Posey Magazine, led a session on Web storytelling.

After retiring as editor of the Evansville Courier & Press, Baumann has picked up his cameras again to docu-ment life in Posey County, Ind., where he lives on a small farm.

The seminars and luncheon are avenues for mixing work and play for members, said HSPA Foundation director Karen T. Braeckel.

“By combining the News-room Seminar with the Better Newspaper Contest awards luncheon, we hope to give Indiana journalists excellent training while also providing an opportunity for camara-derie during the sessions and lunch.”

Post-Tribune (Merrillville) photographer Scott M. Bort's photo “Hawks” received first place in the general news category in Division 6 of the 2010 Better Newspaper Contest. The category's original first-place photo was disqualified because it wasn't taken during the des-ignated contest period.

Page 3: Volume 75, Issue 25 • December 9, 2010 Published alternate … · 2020-03-09 · resume and writing samples to Nancy Sible at nancys@ kpcnews.net. (2) Circulation director — The

Better Newspaper Contest highlightsDecember 9, 2010 Page 3

News in brief

Send your ad rate information

Send promotions, announcements, staff changes and other corporate news to

[email protected].

Gag order request deniedGOSHEN — A judge

denied an attorney’s request Monday to issue a gag order in his client’s murder case, a decision supported by The Elkhart Truth.

The requested gag order would be an uncon-stitutional prior restraint on the First Amendment rights of the media, Elkhart Circuit Judge Terry Shewmaker wrote in his eight-page ruling.

A gag order would also violate the Indiana Con-stitution and the rules of court established by the Indiana Supreme Court, Shewmaker wrote.

Attorney Carl Epstein of Indianapolis made the request, claiming that coverage of the murder case against Bruce A. White Jr. would jeop-

ardize his chance for a fair trial. White, 30, of South Bend, is accused of participating in the drug-related shooting death of Alphonso James on July 25 on Elkhart’s south side.

Shewmaker wrote that Epstein did not prove that media articles have impacted his client’s right to receive a fair and impartial trial.

Shewmaker also point-ed out that in White’s file, which is required by law to be public, is a filing by Epstein that contains a detailed chro-nology of the facts in the case.

White faces up to 65 years in prison if he’s convicted.

— Justin Leighty, The Elkhart Truth

HSPA needs member newspapers’ 2011 adver-tising rate information and media kits.

Publishers have re-ceived a mailing request-ing the information, a tool that will help HSPA’s Midwest Adver-tising Placements better represent papers with advertising agencies in the coming year.

MAP advertising direc-tor Pamela Lego already is working with agencies

to place 2011 business. Publishers and ad

directors are asked to send their rate informa-tion and media kits as soon as possible so MAP can offer clients accurate quotes.

The information can be submitted to HSPA by fax or mail.

If your paper didn’t re-ceive a mailing requesting the information, contact Lego at [email protected] or (812) 350-7711.

A new art service & sales resource

tailored to the newspaper industry

with flexible pricing options.

Sign up today for a free account and you’ll receive

a collection of 25 complimentary art pieces!Offer expires December 31, 2010

creativeoutlet.com800.245.9278 | [email protected]

Dann Denny of the Herald-Times (Bloomington) won the Story of the Year award for his series Easing the Journey. Judges said of Denny’s work: “Easing the Journey was the clear winner this year, with powerful writing that showed the compassion of hospice in a heartbreaking situation. It was deeply moving without ever be-coming maudlin. It was a story that was painful to report but equally painful to read.”

Justin Rumbach of The Herald (Jasper)

received the Photo of the Year honor for his multiple picture group

Anderson. Judges said of Rumbach’s

photos: “Each photo-graph is technically

sound storytelling and compositionally beau-tiful. Very nice story.”

The James M. Brown Innovation Award went to The India-napolis Star. Brown, executive associate dean emeritus of the Indiana University School of Journal-ism-Indianapolis, left, presented the award to Mike Fender, The Star's photo editor.

Herald-Times (Bloomington) photo

The Herald (Jasper) photo

NNA supports postal billThe National Newspa-

per Association is sup-porting a bill introduced by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to help the U.S. Postal Service’s financial position.

The ranking member of the Senate Homeland Se-curity and Governmental Affairs Committee, Col-lins said the U.S. Postal Service Improvements Act of 2010 would help it achieve financial stability and future cost savings without undermining customer service.

“This bill would not propose an end to Sat-urday delivery,” said National Newspaper As-sociation postal chairman Max Heath.

Collins’ news release said the bill would fix

the overpayment by the Postal Service to the Civil Service Retirement System, estimated to be $50 billion, as well as the $3 billion it has overpaid into the Federal Employees Retirement System.

The Office of Personnel Management would be directed to correct the for-mula for calculating the pension fund oblidations.

“The bill would set in motion a process that would definitely and equi-tably correct the actuarial errors and overcome the administrative roadblocks that have burdened the Postal Service and its cus-tomers with unfairly high pension-related costs,” said James Cregan of the Affordable Mail Alliance.

Page 4: Volume 75, Issue 25 • December 9, 2010 Published alternate … · 2020-03-09 · resume and writing samples to Nancy Sible at nancys@ kpcnews.net. (2) Circulation director — The

While the impact of Wikileaks’ dissemination of 250,000 diplomatic cables is yet to be determined, one fact emerges: The materials labeled as secret by the U.S. government has exploded.

According to the U.S. In-formation Security Oversight Office, American secrets ex-panded from 105,163 in 1996 to 183,224 in 2009 – that’s 75 percent in 13 years.

Massimo Calabresi in a December Time magazine article reports the documents created involving those secrets have increased by more than 10 times during the same time period – from 5,685,462 to 54,651,765.

Meanwhile, the number of government officials with access to these secrets has

also exploded. The Pentagon alone gave clearances to see secret documents to 630,000 people in 2008, according to the Government Account-ability Office.

Calabresi wrote that a 1997 congressional report of a committee chaired by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-New York, found that two million government officials and another million civilian contractors had the power to declare records “top secret.”

With that many people deciding what is top secret – information whose dis-closure would likely “cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security” – is it no wonder that classified documents would include information that Libyan

leader Muammar Gaddafi surrounds himself with four blonde Ukranian nurses?

The tendency to expand government secrecy isn’t lim-ited to national government officials.

Indiana’s Open Door Law lists 12 subject areas that governing bodies have the discretion to discuss behind closed doors, and the Access to Public Records Act lists 23 subjects that public agencies have the discretion to ap-ply the tag “confidential” to

documents concerning those subjects.

“Discretion” usually is an unseen word to public offi-cials who read these statutes.

I often have reporters tell me that a public official has denied a request because law requires it to be kept secret when in fact it’s at the dis-cretion of the public agency whether or not the document is released.

The problem with runaway secrecy is that it erodes the confidence of the public in the credibility of those of-ficials who routinely hide be-hind the public access law’s discretionary provisions.

In his Time article con-cerning Wikileaks, Calabresi appropriately quotes the late Supreme Court Jus-

tice Potter Stewart: “When everything is classified, then nothing is classified. … [T]he system becomes one to be disregarded by the cynical or the careless, and to be manipulated by those intent on self-protection or self-promotion.”

Justice Stewart’s quotes are from his opinion in the Pentagon papers case of 1971, when documents de-tailing the U.S. government’s actions concerning Vietnam were leaked. They ring true today.

Government secrecy should be limited.

Stephen Key is executive di-rector and general counsel of HSPA. Contact him at [email protected] or (317) 624-4427.

Page 4 December 9, 2010

A

A

HSPA Hotline

Q

Key Points

By Stephen Key

Too many secrets don’t benefit Americans

The following questions came from: The Elletts-ville Journal, Perry County News (Tell City) and a Bloomington blogger.

Do newspapers have the right to access financial records of nonprofit organiza-tions?

Also, can nonprofit groups hold meet-ings in government-owned buildings?

Yes, government units can give permis-sion to nonprofit organizations to hold meetings in a government-owned build-ing, and that doesn’t mean the organiza-

tion has to open its meeting up to anyone (as a governing body would have to do under the Open Door Law).

Nonprofits normally are not subject to the state’s Access to Public Records Act because they are not public agencies. There are some exceptions that can crop up if the nonprofit is being subsidized by taxpayer money.

Exceptions aside, nonprofits’ financial records are private and not subject to a public records act request. But federal law requires nonprofits to keep copies of their IRS tax forms (Form 990s) on site and available for inspection to the public.

These six- to eight-page forms can contain some interesting information about how much money goes to programming and how much to administra-tion. I always recommend taking a look at those documents if you have questions about a nonprofit.

We have a customer wanting to put “No children allowed” in her yard sale adver-tisement.

To me it feels unacceptable, and I thought I would ask the expert.

Yard sales don’t fall under the Fair Hous-ing Act, so if she doesn’t want children on her property that’s her choice, although it may be awkward for her to enforce.

What are the limitations on the Open Door Law provision that allows school boards to hold an executive session “with an outside consultant about the perfor-mance of the role of the members as public

officials?” A local school district wants to use this provision to discuss how it will proceed with a search for a new superintendent.

The purpose of this language is to allow school districts to provide board develop-ment opportunities to its members – often individuals who have no prior board

experience – in a setting where they can ask what some might call dumb questions without the risk of public embarrassment.

The exception is for training only. The school board in question should not make any decisions as to how it may conduct the search during the executive session. The public should have the op-portunity to hear the debate over the process and determine how much public input the school board is encouraging or limiting.

Competition in the HSPA Foundation’s Better Newspaper Contest is stiff, said Director Karen T. Braeckel.

“All winners – regardless of place – should take pride in their awards, as they represent the best in Indiana journal-ism,” she said. “Each category is judged by peers in another state, and they can be ruthless evaluators.”

In the photo categories, for example, a panel of three judges selects winners. HSPA Foun-dation also requires panels of judges to select the Photo and Story of the Year and the Blue Ribbon awards.

The Star’s Blue Ribbon win marks the third time the paper has received the honor. The Democrat has won the award five times.

Blue Ribbon judges examine newspapers’ depth of cover-age, quality of reporting and copy editing, news judgment and other aspects to choose one daily and one nondaily winner, regardless of circulation size.

Judges said of The Star: “With great resources come great expectations. You all exceeded those. Layouts are clean, and the reporting is artful and thorough. The emphasis on localized sec-tions is the right step to take today in the industry and at your paper. Job well-done all around.”

The Star set the course for its coverage more than a year ago to make even more of a differ-ence in the community, said Michael G. Kane, president and publisher. In that effort, the pa-per has developed a community leadership series (Our Children, Our City), compelling editori-als and aggressive government watchdog enterprise, he said.

“We structured, planned and pursued these passions on behalf of central Indiana, and I think we’ve made great impact,” Kane said. “I’m proud of our work, and it will only magnify in the year ahead. These aren’t special projects; this is part of our core mission and commit-

ment to our readers.” The Star’s Better Newspaper

Contest entries reflected the paper’s priorities on community leadership, watchdog work and innovation in presentation, said Dennis Ryerson, editor and vice president.

“Every day, our charge to the staff is to provide informa-tion people don’t know or don’t expect to know,” he said.

In the nondaily Blue Ribbon category, judges said: “The Brown County Democrat found a way to balance hard-hitting news with relevant features. Creative typography and com-pelling photography allowed judges to peer into a piece of Brown County and really under-stand the area.”

The Democrat staff is honored to receive the designation, espe-cially considering the caliber of competition in the category, said editor Sara Clifford.

“It’s been quite a year for us,” she said. “I only started at The Democrat in November 2009, as did reporter Tom Lotshaw, and within the first three months, our three-person newsroom had produced two series that ended up winning first-place awards in this competition.”

The staff’s priority is to its readers, Clifford said.

“We only publish in print once a week, but we live this job as if we were a daily paper,” she said. “I’m so proud of my team for their dedication to this community.”

For the Story of the Year honor, Denny chronicled the final months in the life of Bruce Hoffman of Monroe County. The Herald-Times health reporter spent many hours with Hoff-man and his wife, Leslie, as they utilized hospice. Denny detailed the optimism and humor the Hoffmans displayed during a heartbreaking time.

Judges said of Denny’s work: “Easing the Journey was the clear winner this year, with powerful writing that showed the compassion of hospice in a heartbreaking situation. It was deeply moving without ever becoming maudlin.”

Easing the Journey was as much a love story as it was about

the dying process, Denny said. He didn’t know the Hoffmans

prior to the series but quickly learned they had a strong and loving relationship.

“It was a difficult series to write because during my six months with the Hoffmans I became quite close to them – much closer than I thought I would,” he said. “Watching Bruce and Leslie deal with Bruce’s declining health was in-spirational in one sense because of their upbeat attitudes. But I was also saddened to see him suffering and declining.”

In his Photo of the Year effort, photojournalist-turned-manag-ing-editor Rumbach captured the people and places that make summer camp special at Ander-son Woods in southern Indiana.

Judges said of Rumbach’s work: “Each photograph is tech-nically sound storytelling and compositionally beautiful. Very nice story.”

“I was thrilled to hear that I had won Photo of the Year,” Rumbach said. “After seeing the other winning images, I am even more honored.”

Anderson Woods focuses on helping individuals with special needs make good friends and memories. Rumbach visited the camp five or six times over the course of about eight weeks.

“The weather wasn’t coopera-tive that summer, and most of the scheduled activities that I arrived to photograph were rained out,” he said. “I soon realized that the story wasn’t really about the array of dif-ferent activities but about the campers themselves and the freedoms they enjoyed just by being away at camp.”

Next year’s Better Newspaper Contest entries will be submit-ted electronically for better efficiency, Braeckel said. Con-testants will submit the same online registration form as this year and then attach PDF tearsheets online.

“We used this system with the advertising contest this year and received no complaints,” Braeckel said. “On the contrary, our members told us how much time it saved.”

Q

A

Q

BlueContinued from Page 1