PublisherTheIndiana

HOOSIER STATE

PRESSASSOCIATION

July 31, 2008 • Volume 73, Number 16 Published alternate Thursdays by the Hoosier State Press Association

By Sue LoughlinTribune-Star

A Sullivan County jury awarded a Clay County law-enforcement officer $1.5 mil-lion in damages Thursday after ruling he was defamed by stories published in the Tribune-Star. Jeff Maynard, then a Clay County sheriff ’s deputy who has since been promoted to detective, filed the lawsuit in June 2004. The trial in Sul-livan Circuit Court started Tuesday and ended Thursday, and a six-member jury delib-erated for about two hours. The jury found in May-nard's favor and awarded him $500,000 in compensato-ry damages and $1 million in punitive damages. Tribune-Star publisher Jeremiah Turner said, "We are very disappointed with the jury's decision and the outcome of the trial. We have always felt and still do that the way we reported the story was truth-ful, accurate and fair. At this point, we are considering all the options available to us, including an appeal." In the lawsuit, Maynard contended that The Tribune-Star published two articles in

March and April of 2004 con-taining allegations against him that "were false and de-famatory." A Clay City woman had made allegations of mis-conduct following a Feb. 28, 2004, traffic stop, according to the two news stories. As a re-sult, then-Clay County Sher-iff Rob Carter asked Indiana State Police to investigate the allegations. The Tribune-Star pub-lished a third article on June 9, 2004 - not cited in the law-suit - stating that Maynard had been cleared of wrongdo-ing, and the Clay City woman who made the allegations had been charged with false reporting, a class-B misde-meanor. The false-reporting charge was later dismissed as part of a plea agreement that included other unrelated charges. Eric Frey, Maynard's attorney, said his client "is very pleased with the jury's verdict. I think he felt that he was certainly defamed by what was printed and felt the jury agreed with that." In Indiana, 75 percent of punitive damages in a civil lawsuit brought by a private plaintiff go to the state's vio-

lent crime victims compensa-tion fund. Frey said he's not sure his client understood until after the jury's verdict that 75 percent of punitive damages must go to the state. Regardless, "It wasn't about the money with him. It was about vindication." Attorney David Sullivan, who along with attorney Scott Craig represented the Tribune-Star in the lawsuit, echoed Turner's comments. Sullivan and Craig are with the Terre Haute law firm of Cox, Zwerner, Gam-bill and Sullivan. Maynard initially filed the lawsuit in Vigo Superior Court on June 30, 2004. The suit later was transferred to Sullivan Cir-cuit Court. Each year, 100 civil torts are transferred to Sullivan Superior and Circuit courts to alleviate the backlog of civil cases in Vigo courts. The Tribune-Star had un-successfully asked a Sullivan County judge to dismiss the lawsuit based on an Indiana law that shields the public and press from lawsuits that attempt to curb free-speech rights in matters of public interest.

Tribune-Star struck with $1.5 million libel judgment

Public Access Counselor Heather Neal wrote 336 ad-visory opinions in response to formal complaints from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. She reports that’s an increase of 34 percent over the previous year and a 720 percent increase over Anne O’Connor’s first reporting period of 1999-2000. Neal’s annual report also indicates she issued 42 informal opinions over the same time period. While formal opinions must be is-sued within 30 days of re-ceipt of the complaint, Neal said her informal opinion turnaround was 10 days during the first quarter of 2008. The PAC office respond-ed to a total of 2,694 inqui-ries during the reporting period, up 28 percent from the previous year. Neal also participated in or presented in 24 educational presenta-tions during the year. Underscoring the impor-tance of the office to Hoo-sier citizens, 49.6 percent of the inquiries originated from the public. Govern-ment officials initiated 38.8 percent of the inquiries and the press was responsible for only11.6 percent. County agencies led the list of who complaints were filed against with 125 for-mal complaints. They were followed by state agencies, 63; city agencies, 61; town agencies, 50; school corpo-rations, 34; township agen-cies, 25; universities, 9; and other local agencies, 5. The majority of com-

plaints concerned access to public records (88.2 per-cent), compared to public meetings issues (11.8 per-cent). Surprisingly, 11 of the formal complaints filed were by government of-ficials. Seventy-three were filed by prisoners, 27 by the media, and the vast major-ity, 239 by the public. Neal also updated the Handbook on Indiana’s Public Access Laws. Since the PAC couldn’t afford to print it, the Indiana Coali-tion for Open Government and Hoosier State Press Association Foundation funded the printing of 5,000 copies of the popular resource. On the PAC web site (in.gov/pac), one can find other resources created in the last year: a guide to filing a formal complaint, a two-page document concerning public access to election re-cords; and a public records request guide for prisoners.

Neal

PAC reports spike in advisory opinions

The public notice adver-tisements of nearly 100 Indi-ana newspapers are posted on indianapublicnotices.com and all but two HSPA mem-ber papers are making efforts to either to upload their pub-lic notice ads or place them on their Web sites so HSPA can gather the information. The goal is to have public notice advertisements from all 92 counties on the Web site in a searchable format. The project complements the publication of public no-tices by making them more accessible and acts as a coun-terpoint to those who would like to see publication of pub-lic notices cease as a govern-ment requirement.

Pulliam interns, fellows gather

(Above, Foreground) Russ Pulliam, son of Eugene S. Pulliam for whom the HSPA Pulliam internship program is named and grandson of Eugene C. Pulliam for whom the Pulliam fellowship program is named, took time last week to brief interns on the benefits of the fel-lowship program at The Indianapolis Star and Arizona Republic (Phoenix). Pulliam annually invites HSPA interns to hear luncheon speak-ers. (Above, Background) Wall Street Journal reporter and former Pulliam fellow, Paul Glader, talks with Pulliam fellows following his presen-tation. (At Left) former Pulliam interns, now Pul-liam fellows, Matt Baker (left) and Trevor Brown.

HSPA notice Web site sees more traffic, nears 100 participants

Please see Notice, page 2

An entity known as Global Notice has attempted in sev-eral states to convince legis-lators to require public notic-es advertisements be placed on a statewide Web site the company would create and eliminate the publication re-quirement in newspapers. While unsuccessful thus far, HSPA sees the effort as a serious threat to a tried-and-true method of informing the public of actions local and state government take or con-template taking. Global No-tice has reserved an Indiana specific Web site for possible future use. HSPA has contracted with

Final deadline for submitting History Info - Friday, Aug. 29. Questionnaire forms available at www.hspa.com.

HSPA Board of DirectorsHSPA Officers

President: Jack D. Pate, Evansville Courier & PressVice president: Eric Cox, The Banner (Knightstown)

Secretary: Rick Welch, The News-Dispatch (Michigan City)Treasurer: Don Hurd, Kankakee Valley Publishing

HSPA Board Members Dailies

Julie Inskeep, The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne)Randy List, Rust Communications

Juli Metzger, The Star Press (Muncie) Tim Timmons, The Paper of Montgomery County

NondailiesRobert Allman, All Printing & Publishing Inc.

Nancy Grossman, Leader PublishingPatrick Lanman, Vevay Newspapers Inc.

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

HSPA Foundation Board of DirectorsHSPA Foundation Officers

President: Curt Jacobs, The Madison CourierVice president: Vickie Palmer, Vincennes Sun-Commercial

Secretary: Mayer Maloney, Hoosier Times, Inc.Treasurer: Jeff Rogers, Home News Enterprises

HSPA Foundation Board of DirectorsHenry Bird, Newspaper Holdings Inc.

Linda Chandler, Ripley PublishingBarbara King, North Vernon Plain Dealer & Sun

Tim Swarens, The Indianapolis StarSarah Wilson, The Rochester Sentinel

David Stamps, Executive Director (dstamps@hspa.com) (317) 624-4430Karen T. Braeckel, Foundation Director (kbraeckel@hspa.com) (317) 624-4426Stephen Key, General Counsel (skey@hspa.com) (317) 624-4427Yvonne Yeadon, Office Manager (yyeadon@hspa.com) (317) 624-4433Shawn Goldsby, ICAN & ICAN Plus Coordinator (sgoldsby@hspa.com) (317) 803-4772Dave Ritchie, Statewide Sales Manager (dritchie@hspa.com) (317) 624-4432

2008 Calendar

HSPA Staff

Page 2 • The Indiana Publisher

The Indiana Publisher is published bi-weekly by the Hoosier State Press Association, Inc., 41 E. Washington St., Suite 301,

Indianapolis, Ind., 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: The Indiana Publisher, 41 E. Washington St., Suite 301,

Indianapolis, Ind., 46204, (317) 803-4772, FAX (317) 624-4428. Web Page: www.hspa.com

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

July 31, 2008

Member Bulletin Board

Employees Sought

Bulletin Board Policy: HSPA runs notices at no charge for member newspapers for two editions. Due to space constraints, no more than 100 words, please. Deadline: Friday noon before publica-tion date. E-mail copy to: dstamps@hspa.com.

Aug. 1 Better Newspaper Contest Deadline

Sept. 12 INAEA-HSPA Foundation Advertising Conference, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis

Sept. 25-26 ICEA-HSPA Foundation Circulation Golf Outing & Conference

Dec. 6 HSPA Foundation Newsroom Seminar, Indiana Convention Center

Indiana Publisher StaffDavid Stamps, Editor and PublisherCarly Everson, Page Design, Staff Writer

HSPA has a surplus fax ma-chine in excellent condition available free (you pay ship-ping) to any HSPA member newspaper. Machine is a Brother 5750e – check Web for specs. If interested, email Da-vid Stamps, dstamps@hspa.com by Friday, Aug. 8. In case of multiple requests, a drawing will be held to decide winner.

Reporter: The Herald-Press is seeking a news reporter that will primarily focus on lo-cal government, but is also capable of filling in on sports as well. The full-time position offers a very nice benefit pack-age and salary is negotiable. Prior reporting experience is required and a college degree is preferred. The Herald-Press is a daily newspaper serving the nearly 40,000 residents of growing and scenic Huntington County. Please send resume to Managing Editor Tom Davis, 7 N. Jefferson Street, Hunting-ton, IN 46750 or Tdavis@h-ponline.com. (2)

Advertising Sales Execu-tive - The Times newspaper (Frankfort) seeks an Advertis-ing Sales Executive. We are looking for someone with dy-namic personality and a sense of urgency. Someone who can generate new sales ideas, techniques. Position reports directly to Advertising Director. Responsible for maintaining current advertising account revenue and creating new business in a designated terri-tory in the Clinton, Boone, Tip-ton, Tippecanoe County area. Competitive compensation package includes 401k plan. Vacation, health, dental, vision and prescription plans avail-able. Mail resume, applica-tion letter to: The Times, P.O. Box 9, Frankfort, IN 46041 Attention: Greg Ludlow, A.D., gludlow@ftimes.com. No Tele-phone Calls Please. (2)

Free Fax Machine

By Richard Gootee Courier & Press Staff Writer

Although Bill Sorrels served six years as the edi-tor of The Evansville Press, colleagues remember it was never a place he felt at home. "I don't think he ever felt as home in the Midwest as he did in the South," said Paul McAuliffe, a Courier & Press editor from 1998-2006 who worked under Sorrels. Sorrels, 83, died July 16 in Kosciusko, Miss., from com-plications from a stroke. He was editor of The Evansville Press from 1977-1983. Sorrels always planned to move back to the South after he was done in Evansville, said Tom Tuley, Sorrels' man-

aging editor at the Press. "He was from Mississippi, and he always intended ... to go back home," said Tuley, who took over as editor of the Press when Sorrels retired. McAuliffe was a young member of the city desk when Sorrels arrived in 1977. He called his former boss a "wonderful writer" who taught him the importance of keeping a good rhythm in his writing. When it came time for McAuliffe to pass on what he knew to young reporters, he used what Sorrels taught him. "I think (what he taught me) helped me understand how to help a lot of our young writers write better," he said. "It put me in a position to

better coach them." Before he arrived in Evansville, Sorrels covered some of the biggest stories of the Civil Rights era for the Memphis Commercial Ap-peal. Sorrels' longtime colleague at the Commercial Appeal, Angus McEachran, praised Sorrels' effort in the after-math of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. "He said what we need to do is get somebody down there in that rooming house and recreate the killer's movements before the assas-sination," McEachran told the Commercial Appeal. "He went down the next day and came back (with that story). He was a ... good reporter and writer."

Editor had passion for South

Circulation Director: The Vincennes Sun-Commercial, Vincennes, IN, is seeking an individual capable of managing

the circulation department. In-terested individuals must have previous newspaper circulation experience and prior super-visory responsibilities. This individual will be responsible for overseeing single copy, home delivery, NIE, sales and marketing and all customers related issues. Please send resume to: Vickie K. Palmer, Publisher, Vincennes Sun-Commercial, P.O. Box 396, Vincennes, IN 47591 or e-mail to vpalmer@suncommercial.com.

nextPression, a Dallas-based firm, to create and maintain the public notice Web site. Although still in the building stage, the site has already drawn interest. HSPA was contacted recently by both an architectural firm and realty firm when a glitch occurred preventing them from access-ing the full copy of public no-tice advertisements posted on the site. The glitch has since been fixed. The level of cooperation shown by member newspa-pers in the attempt to reach the project’s goal has im-pressed HSPA General Coun-sel Steve Key. “Everyone I’ve talked to understands the reason we’re putting this Web site online

and are working with HSPA to determine how they can participate without placing an undue burden on their staffs,” Key said. The database allows visi-tors to search for notices by county, key words, and post-ing time frames. If successful, any legisla-tive attempt to move public notices advertisements from newspapers to the Internet can be immediately coun-tered by an “it’s already there” argument. The debate can then focus on the benefits of publication, which can’t be replicated by the Internet. Publication allows for verification as to what was printed and when. It’s veri-fication that will stand up to

scrutiny in a court of law. Newspapers also continue to be the most effective way to reach the public with the information contained in the public notice advertisements. In the last readership survey conducted by HSPA, 62 percent of Hoosiers said they would “be less likely” or “much less likely” to see pub-lic notice advertisements if they were moved from news-papers to the Internet. The publication require-ment should be continued, said 73 percent of those sur-veyed. That percentage did not drop when it was made clear that government agen-cies must pay for the place-ment of those public notices.

NoticeContinued from page1

Protect Public Notices In Newspapers All HSPA members need to post their public notices to HSPA’s public notice site: Indianapublicnotices.com It’s easy, and it’s important! For instructions, go to www.hspa.com Click Public Notice, then How to Upload Notices

July 31, 2008 Page 3 • The Indiana Publisher July 31, 2008

Join these editors who brighten their pages with the humor of Dick Wolfsie—

Dick tickles the funny bone of our readers. His columns offer a unique perspective on the stuff of everyday life. He has become a reader favorite, and provides some humor in the midst of much not-so-pleasant news.—Scarlett Syse, Editor, The Daily Journal, Franklin

Dick Wolfsie’s column provides a nice balance on our opinion page, giving readers a chance to relax and laugh in a section of the paper that more often stirs anger and animosity.—Ron Browning, Editor, Noblesville Times

Every day we strive to reach readers and give them a product that makes them want to come back tomorrow. Dick's writing is intelligent and funny and is one of the most popular features we have. Dick gives us another tool to engage our readers. —Tim Timmons, Publisher, The Paper of Montgomery County

Dick Wolfsie—

(More than 400 columns in seven years)

(Including Mornings with Barney, out this fall)

( )

Forty years ago, Art Buchwald told Dick, “Stay out of my racket.” Dick didn’t listen.

Dick’s weekly column is available on a free trial basis. No contract, no cancellation fees.

For more information, contact Dick directly: wolfsie@aol.com or 317.594.9312

HSPA salutes Michael Corbett for ICAN Plus Ad

Mike CorbettPublisher

Noblesville Daily Times

Michael sold this ICAN Plus ad for an art fair.

Thanks, Michael!

ICAN sales pay $150 commission to selling paper.ICAN Plus sales pay $135 (2x2); $270 (2x4) to selling paper. Selling is usually done to EXISTING customers. No cold calling. Join Michael in selling ICAN and ICAN Plus ads. Shawn Goldsby – sgoldsby@hspa.com can help, or go to hspa.com and click on Adverting Services for info on selling into both programs.

By Robert King The Indianapolis Star

Michael G. Kane's first visit to Indianapolis was a momentous one. Within an hour after ar-riving on Wednesday (July 16), the 49-year-old newspa-per executive was introduced to the staff of The Indianapo-lis Star as its new president and publisher. The announcement came less than three weeks after Barbara Henry announced her retirement after taking over as the newspaper's top executive in 2000. Kane, who leaves a job as publisher of the Roch-ester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, spoke briefly to employees before moving to the publisher's office, where he immediately began work. Aside from leading The Star, Kane will oversee newspapers in five states for the Star's parent, Gannett.

Among those are three of Gannett's largest newspa-pers: Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., and Indianapolis. Gan-nett's largest paper is USA Today. In an interview follow-ing the staff meeting, Kane said he came to Indianapolis because he wanted to help The Star and Gannett's other newspapers in the region make the changes needed to confront challenges from online advertising and other media. Specifically, he said he wanted to help the newspa-pers think differently about how they serve advertisers in the digital age. Kane said that too often he sees newspaper ads that run online without being tai-lored for the Internet, or ads that aren't crafted to target different audiences. "So there is a real discon-nect I often see in the cre-ative execution of marketing

and ad-vertising solutions," he said. "That is the kind of thing I would like to see change. If you are going to be multime-

dia, you have got to be multi-media in every facet." Under Henry, The Star made numerous innovations in the way it presents news: posting photos and short news stories on the paper's Web site within minutes of an event; incorporating live video feeds and video clips on the Web site; adding da-tabases to the Web site. An-other improvement was the creation of a number of hy-per-local editions that serve readers and advertisers in communities such as Carmel

and Greenwood. Kane said he wants to bring such innovation to the advertising side. "Our industry is sort of stuck,'' Kane said. "We are selling online, but all too of-ten we are selling it as news-paper people. I think that has got to change." Unlike Henry, who had to learn the advertising side after spending her first 17 years out of college as a re-porter and editor, Kane spent almost all his pre-publisher career in marketing. He graduated from Vir-ginia Tech in 1981 with a degree in journalism/commu-nications, then worked for six months as a freelance sports-writer in Northern Virginia. There, he said, he covered a "potpourri" of local sports: high school football, girl's soc-cer and men's recreational softball. But he left writing in search of full-time work. "My dreams of becoming

a full-time beat reporter at the Washington Post weren't quite materializing fast enough," he said. In 1982, he became an ex-ecutive in the International Newspaper Marketing As-sociation, a trade organiza-tion where he spent six years traveling the country and the world advising various news-papers on how to promote and brand themselves. In 1988, Kane parlayed that into a position as man-ager of marketing for the Baltimore Sun. A series of similar positions followed at papers in Delaware and New York. His first job as a publisher -- and first taste of the Mid-west -- came at the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal, where he remained for 51/2 years. In 2005, he was named pub-lisher in Rochester. Kane also was vice president of Gan-nett's East Publishing Group.

Paxton Media Group has announced a number of ex-ecutive changes at its papers in Indiana and Kentucky. News-Dispatch (Michigan City) Publisher Rick Welch has accepted a position of publisher at Paxton’s Madi-sonville, Ky., newspaper, The Messenger. As a result of the move, Welch, a member of the HSPA board of directors, cur-rently serving as secretary, has resigned from the board. Paxton also reported that Patrick Kellar, current pub-lisher of the Herald-Argus (LaPorte), has been named publisher, and Chris Schable, current executive editor of

The Her-ald-Argus, has been named executive editor at The News-Dispatch. Kel-lar and Schable will con-tinue their current roles at The Herald-Argus as well, according to David Holgate, regional publisher for the Indiana-Michigan group of PMG. "I appreciate Rick's contri-bution to The News-Dispatch

and to the communities we serve and wish him the very best at our operation in Madisonville," Holgate said. "I am very excited about the continuity created by ap-pointing Patrick and Chris to their respective positions. Having individuals from the area serving in their roles will allow the local flavor of the paper to thrive." Prior to his appointments in La Porte County, Kellar was publisher of The Courier-Times (New Castle) and the Connersville News-Examiner. Kellar, originally from North Dakota, was publisher at The Ashley Tribune and The Val-

ley City Times-Record, and held po-sitions at The Fargo Forum, The Bis-marck Tribune

and The Minot Dai-

ly News, all in his home state. Schable is a lifelong La Porte resident, graduating from La Porte High School in 1990. In addition to executive

editor, he has served as news editor and sports editor dur-ing the past 10 years at The Herald-Argus. He also served as sports editor at the Chesterton Tri-bune and as a sports informa-tion supervisor for the U.S. Olympic Committee prior to coming to The Herald-Argus. "Growing up in La Porte County, I never expected to have the opportunity to be the editor at my two home county newspapers," Schable said. "It has been and will continue to be an honor and a privilege to work in two great communities among family and friends."

Kane

Kane named publisher of Indianapolis Star

Paxton Media Group announces executive changes

Kellar Welch

Page 4 • The Indiana Publisher July 31, 2008

HSPA Hot Line

Legally Speakingby Stephen Key

The United States is a nation founded on law, but sometimes emotion can over-rule the law. That appears to be the case with the $1.5 million libel verdict against The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute) reached by a Sullivan County jury. The lawsuit concerns two stories published in 2004 about allegations made by Sandra Buczek of Clay City against Clay County Sheriff ’s Deputy Jeff Maynard. She al-leged Maynard had suggested she expose her breasts to him in exchange for him not ar-resting her for driving while her license was suspended. Clay County Sheriff Rob Carter had the allegations investigated by the Indiana State Police. The investiga-tion led to a charge of crimi-nal false reporting against Buczek. The Tribune-Star wrote a third article (not mentioned in the filing of the libel lawsuit) stating Maynard had been cleared of wrongdoing and that Buczek had been charged. The jury award is the larg-est libel verdict against a media defendant in Indiana. Greater than the $985,000 award by a Noble County

jury against the Journal-Gazette (Fort Wayne). That award was overturned by the Indiana Supreme Court in 1999 after 10 years of litiga-tion. Tribune-Star publisher Jeremiah Turner said he and the newspapers’ attorneys, David Sullivan and Craig Cox of Cox, Zwerner, Gambill and Sullivan, Terre Haute, were surprised by the ver-dict. An appeal will be filed, Turner said. Turner said the jury might have been swayed by tearful testimony offered by May-nard’s former wife, which had Maynard and some of the ju-rors also in tears. The crux of Maynard’s case was that the newspaper shouldn’t have printed the story because Sheriff Carter said he didn’t believe May-nard had done what was al-leged and that the newspaper knew that another deputy had made the traffic stop. Turner said Carter’s com-ment was made by Carter on condition of confiden-tially (off-record request) or it would have been included in the story and that the offend-ing story included the fact that the other deputy had said he, not Maynard, had

stopped Buczek. How the Tribune-Star could be faulted for report-ing on allegations against a police officer that were to be investigated by the Indiana State Police is unfathomable. The case should have been dismissed prior to trial under Indiana’s anti-SLAPP stat-ute, which protects against lawsuits that attack the public, including the media, for acts “in furtherance of a person’s right of petition or free speech under” the U.S. or Indiana constitutions in con-nection with a public issue or issue of public interest. Unfortunately, Sullivan Circuit Court Judge P.J. Pier-son denied the motion and the Indiana Court of Appeals refused to accept the newspa-per’s interlocutory appeal. The Tribune-Star’s edito-rial decision to publish a story about the allegation

and pending investigation, contrary to Sheriff Carter’s view or the other deputy’s as-sertion that he, not Maynard, had made the traffic stop, does not reflect “malice” or “reckless disregard for the truth,” which the plaintiff must show to succeed in a libel case. The sheriff ’s comments were a reflection of his per-sonal confidence in Maynard, not knowledge of what hap-pened during the traffic stop. The fact that another deputy made the stop doesn’t dimin-ish the public’s interest in the allegations and state police investigation, but reflects the potential credibility of the woman making the accusa-tions. This verdict cannot stand; otherwise, newspapers run the risk of costly lawsuits anytime they decide to run a story questioning the actions of public officials in the face of denials of wrongdoing by the official in question or his/her superiors. As I said in a April 2006 column, under this scenario, The Washington Post’s inves-tigation into the Watergate scandal may have died a premature death because nu-merous White House officials

denied any wrongdoing had occurred, including President Richard Nixon’s famous “I am not a crook” speech. The risk would have been too great for The Post to continue with its critical work. No one denies that Buc-zek’s lie harmed Maynard’s reputation, but Maynard’s remedy lay with legal action against her, not the newspa-per. The Tribune-Star’s cover-age of the story was made in good faith and grounded soundly on First Amendment principles and ethical jour-nalistic practices. The newspaper attributed the defamatory remarks to their source. It afforded May-nard, Carter and Clay County Prosecutor Dave Thomas the opportunity to comment on the allegations and investiga-tion so that balanced and fair stories could be presented to the public. It has the right to report on the activity of the Indiana State Police and pub-lic allegations made against a law enforcement officer. An anti-SLAPP ruling by Judge Pierson would have saved both Maynard and the Tribune-Star thousands of dollars in legal fees that should result in the exonera-tion of the newspaper.

Emotion outweighed law in libel verdict

The following questions came from: The Indianapolis Star, Washington Times-Herald, The Loogootee Tribune, The Salem Leader and The Salem Democrat, and Wabash Plain Dealer.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office has concluded that Rep. Kathy Richardson did not

break any state laws in her use of e-mail as a county em-ployee, but the office refuses to release the analysis that was sent to the Indiana State Po-lice. The argument is that this would have been a matter to go before the grand jury, so it falls under the confidentiality of grand jury matters. Is this right?

I would dis-agree. Administra-tive Rule 9 does

require confidentiality for grand jury proceedings, but this matter will not become part of any grand jury pro-ceedings.

The prosecutor’s concern would effectively prevent his office from providing the pub-lic information that serves to exonerate a public official, which is illogical.

At most, the document might be considered an inves-tigatory record, which gives the prosecutor the discretion to release as much of the doc-ument as he wishes to make available to the public.

A mother faces charges of neglect in the death of her child. What avail-ability is there of

records from the Child Pro-tective Services concerning its involvement with the mother and child.

The General Assembly a few years ago created local child fatal-

ity review teams to examine deaths to determine if there were ways to reduce the num-ber of child deaths. As part of that legislation, there is a requirement to make records available to the public, albeit redacted by a juvenile court judge. This provision can be found at IC 31-33-18-1.5. What isn’t clear to me is whether the records request should be made directly to the juvenile court or agen-cies, such as Child Protective Services.

The Martin Circuit Court judge has indicated we can’t print informa-

tion out of the County Clerk’s docket book without his ap-proval. Is this correct?

No. The docket book is a public re-cord and there’s no basis for the judge

to sign off on information that would be printed from that book.

A business wants to place an ad letting people know it’ll be closed

for a local parade and urging people to attend the parade and cheer for a state repre-sentative’s candidate from the town. Does this qualify as a political ad?

Since the lan-guage doesn’t advo-cate the election or defeat of a political

candidate, but merely urges a warm reception for the crowd, I don’t believe this fits the definition of a political ad and will not require the political

disclaimer line outlining who paid for the ad and whether it was approved by any can-didate.

Drug task force members say one doctor in county is responsible for 90

percent of the prescriptions for painkillers, but don’t name the doctor. Can the newspaper get in libel trouble if we print this information?

No. With 20 doctors in the county and no iden-tification by the

police officers, it would be dif-ficult for the doctor to show that the public knew which doctor was being singled out. You also have the attribution of the comment to public offi-cials, so I don’t see any liabil-ity in using the comment.

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Governmental Unit Last date for First Publication Last date for Second Publication (10 days prior to public hearing) (At least 3 days prior to public hearing)

3rd Class Cities, Towns,Conservancy Districts, Sept. 10, 2007 Sept. 17, 2007

2nd Class Cities, FireProtection Districts Aug. 31, 2007 Sept. 7, 2007 Libraries, TownshipsSchools, Counties,Solid Waste Districts Airport Authority Districts – Same time and manner as the taxing entity that established the district.Consolidated City – Publications 10 and 3 days prior to last meeting of the City-County Council in September.TIF Redevelopment Area – Same schedule as city, town or county that established the tax increment finance district.

Listed at right is the 2008 schedule of publication for notices of budgets and tax levies by various gov-ernment units. Publication is made twice according to the provision of the Public Notice Advertising Law (IC 5-3-1). If you have any questions concerning these notices, please call or e-mail HSPA general counsel Steve Key, at (317) 624-4427 or skey@hspa.com.

2008 Schedule of Budget Notices