May-June 2010 by South Dakota Newspaper Association

Volume 24 – Number 1

An information publication of the South Dakota Newspaper Association, Brookings, SD

May/June 2010

Weekly publisher from northeastern South Dakota elected SDNA president Doug Card, publisher of the Britton Journal and Langford Bugle, was elected president of South Dakota Newspaper Association during the group’s 128th annual convention April 16 and 17 in Deadwood. Card, who purchased the newspapers from his father in 1997, said South Dakota newspapers have a bright future. “In these days when we hear in the national news about the upcoming demise of newspapers, we are showing people every day and every week that it’s not happening here. Although the looks of our newspapers and the way they are published have changed tremendously through the years, everything we do is still with one objective in mind – to serve our communities. Community journalism is alive and well in South Dakota,” Card said. Card is a third generation president of SDNA. His grandfather, Harold Card, owned the Webster Reporter and Farmer for 37 years and was SDNA president in 1937-38. His father, Charles Card, owned the Britton Journal for 47 years and was

SDNA president in 1972-73. Doug Card is only the third owner in the past 108 years of the Britton Journal. Card graduated from South Dakota State University in 1976 with a journalism degree. He was sports editor at the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan for nine years. He and his wife, Carla, have two children and a granddaughter. Also elected to the SDNA Board of Directors were: First Vice President Lucy Halverson, publisher of the Lyman County Herald at Presho and Chamberlain/Oacoma Sun; Second Vice President Charley Najacht, publisher of the Custer County Chronicle at Custer and Hill City Prevailer News; Third Vice President Steve Baker, publisher of the Pierre Capital Journal; Interim Director Jon Hunter, publisher of the Madison Daily Leader; Director Paul Buum, publisher of The Alcester Union & Hudsonite; and Immediate Past President Hollie Stalder, publisher of the Meade County Times-Tribune at Sturgis, Lawrence County Journal at Deadwood and Butte County Post at Belle Fourche. The SDNA Board members were

New SDNA President Doug Card presents Hollie Stalder with an appreciation plaque for her year of service as president in 2009-2010 at the April convention.

elected as part of the association’s annual business meeting held in conjunction with the convention.

South Dakota Newspaper Association, based in Brookings, represents the state’s 130 weekly and daily newspapers.

SDNA Board approves creation of South Dakota Newspaper Foundation SDNA members attending the convention in Deadwood learned that the SDNA Board had just approved a measure to create a newspaper foundation in cooperation with the South Dakota Community Foundation. It marks the first-ever newspaper foundation for South Dakota newspapers. Along with the creation of the fund, a new South Dakota non-proﬁt corporation called South Dakota Newspaper Foundation, Inc., has been organized to lead the foundation efforts. The foundation board, chaired by Clark County Courier Publisher Bill Krikac, will consist of recent SDNA past presidents. The idea for formation of the newspaper foundation came about during fundraising efforts for the SDNA ofﬁce building in 2007. Some contributors for the new building asked about the possibility of making charitable contributions. However, at the time, no entity existed within the association to accommodate those requests. That led the SDNA Board to pursue the idea further and ultimately led to working with SDCF. Several state newspaper associations have foundations. Many of those foundations help provide funds for educational opportunities for members, scholarships for journalism

students and other professional development programs. SDNA President Doug Card, publisher of the Britton Journal and Langford Bugle, said the association is excited about the formation of the foundation. “South Dakota newspapers are all about serving and giving back to their communities, and this will be one more way to help us do an even better job of accomplishing that mission,” Card said. Krikac added: “This will be a great way to invest in our future, whether it be as a contribution to the new SDNA building, scholarship funding or other career developmental opportunities.” Creation of the newspaper foundation fund in cooperation with the South Dakota Community Foundation will mean that SDCF will provide investment and administrative support. “Working with South Dakota Community Foundation makes a lot of sense,” said SDNA General Manager David Bordewyk. “They have the expertise to manage the fund and to invest the funds for an excellent return. They will provide support that will free us to focus on growing the newspaper foundation fund and deciding how best to

make use of earnings from it.” Bob Sutton, president of South Dakota Community Foundation, added: “We are pleased to partner with the South Dakota Newspaper Foundation as they

work to grow an endowment fund. The two organizations are both committed to the sustainability of South Dakota communities, and this partnership will go a long way in achieving such goals.”

SDNA gives $10,000 to Newspaper Foundation Fund The first contribution to the South Dakota Newspaper Foundation Fund comes from South Dakota Newspaper Association. The SDNA Board voted unanimously May 20 to contribute $10,000 to the Foundation Fund. SDNA President Doug Card said the contribution signiﬁes the association’s commitment to building a strong foundation. “We feel that the foundation can be a powerful tool to help strengthen our association members through ongoing training, encourage talented youth to become future journalists, and to better serve our communities in the process. Our contribution is the beginning of what we hope will be a strong foundation that will beneﬁt us for years to come,” Card said. Anyone interested in contributing to the South Dakota Newspaper Foundation Fund can contact SDNA General Manager David Bordewyk at 1-800-658-3697.

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Good communication builds association Greetings! This is my first chance to write a column as your SDNA President, and I would like to say thank you to members of our association. One of the things that always inspires me at our state conventions is the dedication that newspaper people have to their multifaceted roles as community journalists. What a challenge we have to be a community leader, a government watchdog, and the one looked to in our towns to chronicle everything happening. It’s a huge challenge and a big responsibility that I think members of our association handle very well and take very seriously. We all know that the newspaper business is anything but a 9-5 operation, and at times we all wonder if it is all worth it. But then we get the little note with a subscription renewal that just lets us know they have looked forward to getting the paper for the past 50 years. Or we get a thank you for the story we did to help promote a benefit for a sick child. Sometimes we even hear from a resident who thanks us for being at the city council meeting and making sure our elected officials are doing their jobs. However, it may be some of the things

Published bi-monthly by South Dakota Newspaper Association, 1125 32nd Ave., Brookings, SD 57006, and at additional ofﬁce Telephone: 800-658-3697 Periodicals Class Postage paid at Brookings, SD 57006 Subscription price: $15 per year. SDNA Ofﬁcers President Doug Card / The Britton Journal First Vice President Lucy Halverson / Lyman County Herald, Presho Second Vice President Charley Najacht / Custer County Chronicle Third Vice President Steve Baker / Capital Journal, Pierre Past President Hollie Stalder / Lawrence County Journal, Deadwood Board Members Paul Buum / The Alcester Union & Hudsonite Jon Hunter / Daily Leader, Madison

SDNA Staff David C. Bordewyk / General Manager Cherie Jensen / Assistant Manager John Brooks / Advertising Sales Manager Sandy DeBeer Advertising Assistant Cheryl Busch / Advertising Assistant Darla McCullough / Advertising Sales Assistant

SOUTH DAKOTA NEWSPAPERS is the ofﬁcial trade publication for the South Dakota Newspaper Association, representing daily and weekly newspapers in the state.

Postmaster: Send change of address to South Dakota Newspaper Association, 1125 32nd Ave., Brookings, SD 57006

Presidential Perspectives Doug Card President / SDNA The Britton Journal

we do that are largely taken for granted that have the biggest impact. We will probably never know how that photo of the fourth grader winning the spelling contest may have inspired her to become an English teacher. What about the editorial that ended up giving life to a community project? Or maybe a young person decided to come back to your hometown to work and raise a family because his newspaper was a community booster. As newspaper owners we’re not just another business in the community, we are partners with our community. That’s what is so inspiring when we get a group of newspaper people together as we did in Deadwood last month. It’s a partnership that’s working in South Dakota, in spite of all we hear about the slow death of newspapers. And it’s working because of dedicated people like you. So thanks again for all you do and for giving me the opportunity to lead our association in the coming year.

■ Promote network programs Speaking of partnerships, we want to emphasize that your association would like your input as to how we can better partner with you to help your business. We are a dedicated bunch and love our communities, but if we can’t be profitable as a business we can’t do anybody much good. Statewide classified ads and statewide 2x2 ads are two examples of that partnership. These programs can make you money but also benefit our association. Make sure you take advantage of the free materials developed by our staff to promote those programs. Just e-mail or call the office and you will be sent brochures and a counter-top display. These programs can be a great value for our customers, but I think sometimes we’re guilty of keeping them a secret. ■ Foundation started Another thing that we’re very excited about is the formation of a Newspaper Foundation Fund with the South Dakota Community Foundation. We have also filed incorporation papers with the Secretary of State’s office to form the non-profit South Dakota Newspaper Foundation, Inc., which will oversee the fund. A meeting of the foundation’s organizing board comprised of past presidents will

meet soon to begin work on bylaws, membership, and other organizational items. Your association has also approved an initial $10,000 investment to kick start the foundation and get things started. Tax deductible contributions may now be accepted for the fund with the main focus initially to be on professional development and education opportunities for our members and for upcoming journalists. The board will further deﬁne and reﬁne that mission. The association continues to work hard to contract political advertising during this election year. Association partners can help by talking about the advantage of newspaper advertising when political candidates are making their rounds. We advertise for others, but sometimes we don’t toot our own horn often enough. Finally, we want to stress to all members that an important part of any strong partnership is good communication. We will do our best to keep you informed of things happening in our business and in our association, but we also need to hear from you. What can we do better? Should we be doing some things differently? How can we partner with you to help you grow your business and serve your communities better? We’d love to hear from you. Feel free to drop Dave an e-mail (daveb@sdna.com) or contact me (dcard@brittonsd.com).

Dave Leone of Aberdeen was one of those ‘just tell me when and where’ volunteers I last saw Dave Leone at our state capitol. It was Nov. 12 last year. SDNA Board members along with members of the North Dakota Newspaper Association Board were touring the capitol building after holding a joint meeting in Pierre. The tour wasn’t quite completed, but Dave needed to get back on the road to Aberdeen. We exchanged one of those “take care, drive safe and see you soon” handshakes before he left. Six months later Dave is dead and we are sad and wishing it wasn’t true. Dave Leone, publisher of the Aberdeen American News since mid-2007, died Thursday, May 27, 2010, after a short battle with cancer. He was 55. Among those surviving Dave are his wife Jane and ﬁve children. Dave also served on the SDNA Board. He was elected in March 2009. And he was on the SDNA First Amendment Committee the past two years. He will be missed dearly in the SDNA Dave Leone family. Dave never hesitated to help out when it came to volunteering for SDNA work. In fact, he didn’t wait to be asked. He initiated the offer to help. Are you running the SDNA house ads promoting newspapers for campaign advertising that we distributed this spring? Those ads are the result of Dave’s work. He took that project on himself. In fact,

■ Workshop at Crazy Horse

Manager’s Message David Bordewyk SDNA General Manager

at the November board meeting in Pierre, Dave shared drafts of the ads with the rest of the board, asking for their comments and critiques. Two years ago, Dave worked with the First Amendment Committee in developing a series of ads promoting the importance of open government in South Dakota. Those ads coincided with passage of the open records overhaul legislation in 2009. A year ago when we began planning publisher meetings with potential political candidates for statewide office, I called Dave, asking if he could come to Sioux Falls to participate in a couple of them. “Sure,” he said. “Just tell me when and where.” I did and he came. There are many more examples of Dave’s unselfish willingness to help out, to lend his time, talents and energy for the good of all South Dakota newspapers. He especially had a passion for promoting newspapers for campaign advertising, for protecting the First Amendment and open government and for finding newspapers’ profitable path on the Internet. And so our heart goes out to Dave’s wife and children. They have lost a husband and a father much too soon. All of us in the SDNA family want them to know we miss him too. And know that his legacy and his spirit live on with us.

Many of you know already, but it’s worth repeating that this year’s journalism workshop at Crazy Horse Memorial for Native American students was the best yet. This year’s workshop was dramatically revamped. The program was reworked. More importantly, students were chosen to attend through an application process. Thirty-three students participated this year. In years past, more than 100 students attended each conference. The result this year: a much more hands-on mentoring approach at the conference that created a more meaningful, enriching experience for the students. That experience couldn’t be more evident than toward the end of the conference when students watched the stories and photos they had worked on roll off the press at the Rapid City Journal. Our thanks to Publisher Brad Slater and the Journal staff for helping make that magical moment for the students possible. The workshop at Crazy Horse is not possible without the work of many great people and organizations. Under the umbrella of the SDNA Minority Affairs Committee, chaired by Argus Leader Publisher Randell Beck, the workshop is planned and carried out by talented people from the SDNA membership, the Freedom Forum, the journalism programs at SDSU and USD, Crazy Horse Memorial and journalism professionals from around the country to volunteer as mentors. Thank you to everyone who contributes to make the Crazy Horse Journalism Workshop a success. Plans are already in the works for 2011.

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Colorado cartoonist’s work in SDNA newspaper A cartoonist new to South Dakota Newspapers but not the business is making his debut in this issue. Alan Vitello, an award-winning newspaper cartoonist from Colorado, has been added to the line-up of contributors for South Dakota Newspapers. “We are pleased to showcase Alan’s work in our association newspaper,” said SDNA General Manager David Bordewyk. “He does great work and we think readers of our newspaper and our member newspapers will agree.” Vitello has been honored by both the Society of Professional Journalists and the Colorado Press Association. His work was included in “The Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year” every year from 1990 to 2008. His clients include Colorado Press Association and many Colorado newspapers. Vitello, a 1986 graduate of Colorado State University, welcomes queries from South Dakota newspapers interested in publishing his cartoon work. He can be reached at alanvitello@msn.com.

25 public reprimands given since 2004 ■Summary of South Dakota Open Meetings Commission cases from past six years The South Dakota Open Meetings Commission has ruled on 25 cases since its inception in 2004. Public reprimands – the only penalty the commission can hand out -- were issued in 16 of those cases. In the remaining nine cases, no violations were found. Summaries of the 25 commission cases have been provided by Assistant Attorney General Diane Best. She is assigned to assist the commission with procedural matters. Town of Herrick. The open meetings law pertains to all meetings, including special meetings and “old business.” It applies even when the only item is an executive session item. The law requires that votes be made in an open meeting after the executive session is concluded. A reprimand was issued. Davison County. Presentations or reports are to be heard in open session except for specific executive session matters. Regardless of whether an ad hoc task force suggests the executive session, the county is responsible for complying with the law. The county should have had someone separately review a task force report in advance to split the presentation into public and executive session matters. A reprimand was issued. Gregory School Board. During an executive session, the board cannot deviate from the topic for which it called the executive session. Further, the topic for an executive session must be covered by one of the exceptions listed in the open meetings law. A reprimand was issued. City of Lead. This matter involved three items. First, although personnel matters are properly a matter of executive session, an executive session cannot be used to discuss reorganizing the functions of various divisions in the city. Second, a meeting where the city considered whether a city employee had acted improperly on a purchasing issue was properly the subject of

an executive session for personnel reasons. Third, any ofﬁcial action must be publicly noticed through the agenda process. A reprimand was issued. Faulkton Area School District. The school board went into executive session to address personnel issues. The district did not make a vote later in open session. The District asserts that no vote was taken; the Complainant asserts that a vote was taken privately in executive session and resulted in contract termination of teachers. The interpretation involves consideration of SDCL 13 43 6.3, a statute pertaining to teacher contracts. The Commission held that no violation occurred because no vote was taken in the executive session. Melrose Township. The complaint alleged that an executive session was improperly conducted. The Commission held that the executive session was conducted to discuss legal business with their attorney and the executive session was proper. The open meetings law allows for executive sessions for such legal discussions. No violation occurred. Melrose Township II. The Complaint alleges that a quorum of the Melrose Township Board met without complying with the notice and posting requirements of the open meetings law. The township board met with the Grant County Commission. Even though the Grant County Commission complied with the notice and posting requirements, the open meeting laws required the township to also comply since a quorum of the township board met to discuss ofﬁcial business at the same time. A reprimand was issued. South Dakota Science & Technology Authority. The complaint alleged that executive sessions conducted for discussing contracts were proper under the open meeting laws. The Commission held that discussion of contracts is not, in and of itself, adequate reason for executive session. A

reprimand was issued. The Commission also explained that preparation for or participation in employee contract issues would be a proper matter for an executive session. Also, consultation with legal counsel or consideration of advice from legal counsel about contractual matters is proper for an executive session. Rapid City Regional Airport Board. The complaint alleged that the Airport Board wrongly conducted executive sessions during several meetings. The OMC reiterated its ruling in the Science & Technology Authority decision (that executive sessions cannot be conducted for “contractual matters” unless the contractual matters otherwise fit one of the statutory exemptions). Further, including an interested party to a contract in an executive session was not proper in this case. Arcade Township. The complaint alleged that no agenda was posted for a meeting of Arcade Township, a township in Faulk County. A reprimand was issued for that reason. South Dakota Board of Regents. The complaint alleged that the Board of Regents conducted meetings improperly, including executive sessions, in considering a Sioux Falls campus. A decision was issued finding that the Board of Regents did not make an official decision to purchase land at a specific location without placing the item on an agenda. The official decision was actually made by the Legislature. The OMC also found that executive sessions discussing contractual matters related to the new campus that were not discussions of legal issues were improper. A reprimand was issued for that reason. City of Tripp. The complaint alleged several violations involving the Tripp City Council, including the failure to post agendas, failure to keep proper minutes, and failure to make minutes publicly available. The City failed to post agendas

for several meetings. Further, the City held an executive session for a personnel matter and made an official decision while still in the executive session. Voting must occur in public. A reprimand was issued. Brown County. The complaint alleged that Brown County failed to post an agenda of a meeting. Although the County published a newspaper notice, provided a copy of the agenda upon request, and did not appear to intentionally violate the law, SDCL 1 25 1.1 was violated. A reprimand was issued. Lawrence County. The complaint was filed December 23, 2005. It alleges that Lawrence County violated the open meeting laws when it dissolved its Lawrence County Fire Advisory Board. The Commission found that no violation occurred. Black Hawk Fire District. The complaint was filed September 2007. The Commission found that the Fire District failed to comply with issuing meeting notices specific to rural fire protection districts and, further, that the Fire District failed to comply with the posting requirement in SDCL 1-25-01.1. A reprimand was issued. City of Watertown. The complaint was filed September 2007. It alleges that the City Finance Committee conducted a meeting without providing any notice to the public or posting any agenda. Oral presentations were heard in November 2007. The Commission determined that no violation occurred because the Finance Committee was an advisory body only and was not itself subject to the open meetings law and a majority of the City Commissioners did not attend the meeting. Minnehaha County. A complaint was filed in December 2007 alleging that three members of the County Commission held an informal meeting without complying with the open meetings law. The OMC issued (Continued on page 5)

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Online advertising revenue there for the taking by Susan Smith Contributing Writer Newspapers can take advantage of online revenue opportunities by maintaining a mindset that welcomes the new product. Charles Kolsky, vice president for Business Development for DotConnectMedia.com, told publishers, editors and staff members attending the South Dakota Newspaper Association Convention in Deadwood April 16 that newspapers are losing money every day to Google search engine ads. “That is money being spent on Google that would be spent in your newspaper,” he said. In order to grab those dollars, newspapers need to offer online advertising spots in a variety of sizes in a location that is easily accessible to the reader. (For example, by not placing ads so far down a page that the reader never scrolls that far.) “If you don’t, other people in your community will,” he said. High-volume Internet users cite Google, Yahoo and Microsoft as their primary source for news. Stories on Google or Yahoo may link back to a local newspaper, but the impression is that the article came from Google, Kolsky said. Advertisers then get the idea that Google and similar search engines are the best place to buy spots. To reverse that trend, newspaper managers need to learn more about their own sites, who visits frequently and what they look at. This means how many page views a site gets – hits mean nothing, Kolsky said. “People need to know what’s going on on their sites,” Kolsky said. Typically it’s the home page and local news pages, Kolsky said. F r e e m a n Courier Publisher Tim Waltner said that assertion is true for the online version of his newspaper. The news area Charles Kolsky is by and far the most visited. Advertisers will use that type of information to decide whether their advertising will achieve the desired impact. “The average length of a visit and the average page views are great metrics for measuring how effective your website is,” he said. “It’s all about eyeballs, what do they do on your site – what do they read,” Those readers are likely young, welleducated and have an average income of more than $60,000 per year – exactly the kind of person advertisers want to attract. Flexibility by newspaper owners is a key factor in attracting those young, smart, afﬂuent customers. It’s helpful, Kolsky said, if newspapers take daily campaigns versus locking advertisers into a monthly buy. The business you refuse is likely to be snatched up by someone more accommodating, he said. But the most important factor to online advertising success is consistent selling of that option. “If someone is not focused on doing that every morning it’s not going to happen,” he said.

SDSU Journalism Professor Matt Cecil tells SDNA members attending the convention how easy it is to post stories and photos to the web sites he created for SDNA.

Easy-to-use online sites created by SDNA available to all members by Susan Smith Contributing writer The blogosphere. From blogging political conventions to the intricate details of their latest knitting projects, bloggers have established a powerful web presence. And they’ve caused some angst among traditional journalists who don’t agree with some of their reporting tactics, or lack thereof. All opinions aside, SDNA has found a way to make blogs work for newspapers. The association last year collaborated with Matt Cecil, a journalism professor at South Dakota State University, to create readymade blogs that newspaper members can use to establish a quick, inexpensive and easily managed online presence. Cecil told those attending the SDNA convention in Deadwood that he’s optimistic about the future of community newspapers that maintain a connection to their communities and blogging can help them do that. “One way to maintain that connection is to keep doing what you do,” he said. “An online presence is an important part of that.” Most South Dakotans now have access to broadband Internet and want to be a part of the multimedia options offered on the Internet. Cecil told the convention audience: Facebook, the social networking site typically associated with the “younger generation” of tech-savvy Internet users, is now populated predominantly by people over 45 years old. “Your readers are or soon will be online,” Cecil said. “Someone on the Internet is reaching your readers if you aren’t.” But Cecil warned newspaper publishers and editors against recreating their printed products online. Instead he urged building an online community using content that is short and quick or that enhances the content in the printed product. He also encouraged

newspaper staff members to tailor content so that it drives readers back to print. Ads can be placed as blog entries, along with columns from or about community personalities. Digital video cameras can be purchased for $150 and used to capture interviews or snippets of ball games. SDSU Journalism will offer a video production workshop in June, Cecil said. Cecil acknowledged that most small daily and weekly newspaper editors have enough to do in the normal production cycle without throwing a blog into the mix but he urged

them to craft three to ﬁve small things a week to start. And he encouraged editors and reporters to post daily if possible. “Posting is as easy as writing an e-mail,” he said. “It takes advantage of what you know how to do really well anyway – telling stories.” Cecil encouraged any SDNA member interested in taking advantage of the blog template that he had created to contact him at the SDSU Journalism Department or the SDNA ofﬁce.

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South Dakota Newspapers

SDNA presents annual Freedom of Information Award A South Dakota citizen whose efforts to get copies of a local government board’s meeting minutes led to a change in state law this year will receive South Dakota Newspaper Association’s Public’s Right to Know Eagle Award during SDNA’s 128th convention April 16-17 in Deadwood. Each year SDNA recognizes an individual or organization demonstrating outstanding efforts to protect the public’s right to know with its Eagle Award. Receiving the award this year is Gordon Heber, a Sioux Falls resident. Heber is being recognized for his 2009 efforts to obtain copies of meeting minutes from the Douglas County Conservation District, where Heber owns farm land. The district board refused to give him copies of the minutes until it had approved them. Heber used an open records appeal process created by the legislature in 2008 to argue that the delay in receiving the meeting minutes hindered his ability to know about the conservation district’s work in a timely fashion. The state Ofﬁce of Hearing Examiners ruled in July 2009 that Heber had no right to the minutes until they were approved by the conservation district board. Until then, the unapproved minutes were “nothing more than notes,” the OHE ruled. Heber did not let the OHE decision deter him. He continued to press the issue and to

advocate for legislation to change it. Ultimately, a change was approved by the 2010 legislature and signed by the governor that will require all state and local government boards to make their minutes publicly available within 10 days after a meeting, including unapproved minutes. “Gordon Heber encountered barriers in his attempt to learn about governmental actions that could affect his life. His willingness to challenge the status quo led to a change in state law,” said Maricarrol Kueter, Sioux Falls Argus Leader executive editor and chair of SDNA’s First Amendment Committee. The SDNA First Amendment Committee selects the Eagle Award recipient each year. Past recipients of the SDNA Eagle Award include members of the 2001 state Supreme Court, former Mitchell School Board Member Rodney Hall, former Attorney General Larry Long, former Yankton County Commissioner Brian Hunhoff, former Codington County States Attorney Vince Foley, the SDSU Collegian student newspaper, state Sen. Jason Gant (R-Sioux Falls), state Sen. Nancy Turbak Berry (D-Watertown) and state Sen. Dave Knudson (R-Sioux Falls). South Dakota Newspaper Association, based in Brookings, represents the state’s 130 weekly and daily newspapers.

OMC reprimands (Continued from page 3) a reprimand. USD Student Government Association. A complaint was filed in December 2007 asserting that the USD Student Government Association violated the open meetings law. Oral presentations were held on July 31, 2008. The OMC found that the Student Government Association was not subject to the open meetings law. City of Mitchell. A Complaint was filed in June 2008 asserting that the Mitchell City Council violated the open meetings law by holding an executive session with the city’s attorney when it discussed general legal matters that included more than just litigation or contracts as contemplated by SDCL 1-25-2. Oral presentations were held on July 31, 2008. The OMC held that no violation occurred because the session was a meeting with city counsel for privileged communications. Kingsbury County. A Complaint was filed in July 2008 asserting that Kingsbury County violated the open meetings law. The OMC held that a violation occurred when the auditor met with three commissioners to generally review the county’s revenue information in a listening session and no specific budget items were discussed. The meeting was held without posting an agenda or otherwise complying with the open meeting laws. Butte County. A complaint was filed in September 2008, asserting that the Butte County Commission violated the open meetings law by failing to disclose on its agenda that it would be both interviewing and hiring a new county auditor. The agenda listed only that they would be interviewing auditor applicants. The OMC held that no violation occurred. Brown County. A complaint was filed in September 2008 asserting that the Brown County commission violated the open

meetings law with respect to posting an agenda. The agenda was posted backwards and another agenda was posted at the bulletin board in the county courthouse. The OMC held that no violation occurred. Roberts County. The complaint was filed in March 2006. The County Commissioners were invited to the Dakota Sioux Casino. Believing that they were only touring the casino, they did not post an agenda or otherwise comply with the Open Meeting Law. However, Tribal leadership asked the County Commissioners to discuss endorsing the Tribal government’s proposal to increase Casino operations. Although the County Commissioners did not take action, the OMC held that a violation occurred because they listened to some discussion regarding official matters. City of Martin. A complaint was filed in March 2009 asserting that the city violated the open meetings law on two separate occasions. The OMC issued two decisions. In one matter the OMC determined that the City violated the Open Meetings Law by failing to post an agenda 24 hours in advance of a special meeting and there was no emergency involved. The OMC issued a reprimand. The other matter involved the question of whether a City Council motion to go into executive session was detailed enough. The OMC held that the motion did not violate the Open Meeting law. Groton Area School District. The Complaint alleged that the Groton Area School District had properly posted an agenda and called a special meeting to order, but then added another item to the agenda (and voted on the item) after the meeting was called to order. The additional item was not an emergency item. The OMC held that the additional item should have been handled by the Groton Area School District only upon 24 hours notice. A reprimand was issued.

Gordon Heber of Sioux Falls received the 2010 SDNA Eagle Award at the SDNA convention April 16 in Deadwood.

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Crazy Horse 2010 Thirty-three Native American high school students from seven states participated in the 11th annual Crazy Horse Journalism Workshop in April. Above: Jack Marsh of the Freedom Forum gives instructions for the day’s events. Above right: Larry Atkinson of the Mobridge Tribune mentors Brittney Phelps on writing a news story. Below right: Scott Ehler of the Parkston Advance tracks the conference’s technology demands. Below: Jomay Steen of the Rapid City Journal discusses story ideas with a student.

Stay away from glittering generalities by John Foust Raleigh, NC I remember hearing a radio interview with a teacher who had a unique approach to teaching high school students about communication. In her classroom, she paid special attention to what she called “glittering generalities,” those phrases which look and sound impressive – but have no meaning. She said that politicians (regardless of party affiliation) are the most visible offenders, but the afﬂiction has crept into every corner of the world of communication. Her students have fun ﬁnding glittering generalities – so they can tear them apart in class. If her classes ever examine ad copy, they will have no problems locating glitter. In a matter of minutes, I ran across the following colorful phrases. Can you guess the products and services being advertised? 1. Cloud nine never looked better than this. 2. Inspired by genius. Crafted with

care. 3. Relaxation is calling. Are you ready? 4. Get the right perspective. 5. Nobody does it more. Nobody does it better. 6. Treat yourself. 7. Unparalleled amenities to enhance your lifestyle of luxury. 8. Comfort deluxe. 9. Now you can have your dreams and wake up, too. 10. From urban elegance to casual design, we can take you wherever your dreams and budget can reach. Answers: (1) Condo development, (2) Furniture, (3) Vacation resort, (4) Solar heating, (5) Health club, (6) Windows, (7) Real estate, (8) Athletic shoes, (9) Auto, (10) Outdoor furniture. What these phrases need – what advertising needs – is speciﬁcity. Claude C. Hopkins, one of the early gurus of advertising, wrote, “Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck. They leave no impression whatever.

They suggest looseness of expression, a tendency to exaggerate, a carelessness of truth. They lead readers to discount all the statements that you make.” Let’s take a closer look at the “comfort deluxe” description of athletic shoes. Right off the bat, the word “deluxe” can be tossed out the window. Like its cousins, “fantastic” and “excellent,” it is too vague to mean anything. On the other hand, the word “comfort” has potential, because it suggests a specific benefit to the wearer. What is it about these shoes that makes them comfortable? Special cushioning? Extra ankle support? Larger toe box? Focus on the specifics of comfort, and you’ll have a winning idea. Glittering generalities can also appear in conversations. If you’re on the receiving end, it is a frustrating experience. For example: Friend: You’ve gotta see the new movie that just opened. You: How did you like it? Friend: It’s fantastic.

You: What is it about? Friend: You won’t believe the plot. It’s one of the best ever. You: So, what happens in the movie? Friend: All kinds of incredible things. Unbelievable special effects. It kept me on the edge of my seat for two hours. You: Is it an action movie? A mystery? A comedy? Friend: I can’t say enough good things about it. You’ll be impressed. You: I don’t know. Friend: Let me tell you about special ingredients in the popcorn. It was the best I’ve ever tasted. One of the keys to effective communication – and effective advertising – is to replace glitter with speciﬁcs. (c) Copyright 2010 by John Foust. All rights reserved. E-mail John Foust for information about his training videos for ad departments: jfoust@mindspring.com.

South Dakota Newspapers

May/June 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ 7

Adobe Creative Suite CS5: Should I Upgrade? Now that the iPad hysteria has settled down, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been replaced by a new onslaught of questions concerning Adobeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest rendition of Creative Suite, CS5. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Should I upgrade?â&#x20AC;? has been the query of choice in my email over the past few weeks and now we lay aside our anxiety and take a look at the application of most interest to newspapers, InDesign CS5. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not waste time. For those of you in too much of a hurry to ďŹ nish this column, the answer is a resounding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes!â&#x20AC;? No hesitation. No second guessing. Or maybe a little second guessing. A tad bit of hesitation. But only because the computers youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re now using might not support this powerful application. And though you might have the latest Macs and PCs scattered around your newsroom, chances are you still have a few G5s and Pentium IIIs pounding out pages. However, if you have the computers to support Creative Suite 5 - or youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re willing to go out and replace your older workstations - run, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t walk, to the nearest software dealer and upgrade to InDesign CS5. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get for your trouble: â&#x20AC;˘ Automatic Font Loading: Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say someone packages an InDesign document on

Kevin Slimp Director, Institute of Newspaper Technology another computer - or in another hemisphere for that matter - and sends it to you. And letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say your computer is missing some of the fonts used in the document. Not a problem. InDesign CS5 will automatically ďŹ nd those fonts in the package, install them in the background and they appear on your page. No more pink highlights. â&#x20AC;˘ Photo Captions from Metadata: Metadata is that information built into photos that includes data related to how a ďŹ le is created. Metadata can also include text intended for cutlines. InDesign CS5 will automatically ďŹ ll your cutline text frame with information from this metadata, meaning editors and photographers can include this information in the photo so the paginator can simply insert it into the appropriate text frame. â&#x20AC;˘ Track Text Changes: Newspaper workďŹ&#x201A;ows often include writers and editors making changes to text after it appears on the page. InDesign CS5 keeps tracks of

these revisions. The paginator can accept or deny changes without having to import multiple text ďŹ les. â&#x20AC;˘ Creating Animated Flash Documents: Yes, you heard me right. You can design a ďŹ le to be exported in various Flash formats. These ďŹ les can include movement, such as a car zooming across the screen, videos and more. In a word, make that three words, I love it. Creating animated ďŹ les just became much easier. And you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to have Flash to make it happen. The work can be done solely in InDesign or exported and opened in Flash for further enhancements. â&#x20AC;˘ Multiple Column Headlines: In previous versions of InDesign, headlines that spanned multiple columns had to be created in separate text frames. Not any more. Now headlines can be included in the same text file as body copy, then reflowed across columns by applying a span setting. â&#x20AC;˘ Revamped Selection Tool: Tasks that previously meant changing tools can now be easily accomplished using the Selection tool. Rotate, resize, move, distribute, crop and scale content without changing tools. A real time-saver. â&#x20AC;˘ Mini Bridge: Adobe Bridge is now included with InDesign. A new Mini Bridge

operates within InDesign CS5, allowing the user to browse ďŹ les and drag and drop graphics, text and photos right on the page. Handy dandy. â&#x20AC;˘ Multiple Page Sizes: This might not impress newspaper editors very much, but your production staff will have to be restrained when they learn they can create varying sized pages within one InDesign document. If I had a dollar for every time a layout person asked why this couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be done . . . well, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have a lot of dollars. Now it can. Enough already. If I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t convinced you to upgrade to InDesign CS5 by now, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably not possible. Heck, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get a penny if you upgrade, so use any version you wish. However, for those of you who want my humble opinion, this is the most impressive upgrade Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen in any application in a long time. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well worth the $199 upgrade, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got the computer to run it. It might even be worth considering new computer purchases. Adobe InDesign CS5 can be purchased as part of the Design Standard or Design Premium versions of CS5. It can be purchased separately for $699 or upgraded from a previous version for $199.

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