The Hoosier State Press Association board of directors continues to encourage member newspapers to upload PDFs of their pages to an FTP site managed for HSPA by Tecnavia Press.
The effort is necessary to populate the soon-to-be-launched redesign of the association’s statewide public notice website.
The site, in conjunction with the publication of notices in newspapers and posting on their websites, will give Hoosiers multiple ways to learn what government units are doing or contemplating.
Protect public notices
HSPA requests that member papers print a code – hspaxlp – with public notices.
When: Please start printing the code now if you are not already.
Where: The code should go at the end of each public notice in at least 4 point font.
Why: The code will allow software to copy notices from newspaper PDF’s for posting online.
Upload your PDF’s
The HSPA Board of Directors asks member newspapers to upload PDF files of their pages to an FTP site in order to post public notices online.
For newspapers that haven’t started uploading their PDF’s, please send the following information for each paper in your group, if applicable, to Shawn Goldsby at sgoldsby@hspa.com:
• Your newspaper name
• Your publication days
• Names of those who will upload the PDF’s
• Those individuals’ phone numbers and email addresses.
Direct questions about the project to Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624-4427.
HSPA wants to preempt efforts in Indiana to create a government-operated website as a replacement for publication in local newspapers.
In addition to uploading newspaper pages to an FTP site, HSPA asks Indiana newspapers to include the code “hspaxlp” at the end of all government public notices.
This text allows Tecnavia software to identify notices that should be placed on the statewide public notice website as it converts the PDFs into word-searchable pages.
There are other ways HSPA can utilize Tecnavia’s technology to help members monetize their content and provide additional services.
For smaller newspapers, uploading all of their pages begins the creation of an electronic archive that their staff can access to easily find a story or ad. A word-search of the electronic archive will beat leafing through dusty bound volumes.
For the benefit of all papers, HSPA will be able to use the Tecnavia copies to check on ads placed through Midwest Advertising Placements, HSPA’s advertising arm, catching did-not-runs in time for the newspaper to do a make-good ad and preserve revenue nearly lost.
The creation of this ever-growing database can open up new ways for HSPA to help members profit from their newspapers.
For example, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association used the same technology to contract with the state historical society for the creation of a download portal.
The portal allows users to view newspaper stories after publication and download a copy of a page for a fee. The money is split between the historical society and the newspaper whose story was downloaded.
The growing Indiana state newspaper PDF archive also will facilitate the creation of a clipping service operated by HSPA. The word-search capability offered by Tecnavia will efficiently drive the finding of stories that match client needs and electronically share those stories for a fee.
A few publishers have expressed reluctance over sharing the PDFs of their pages.
The HSPA board of directors, comprised of state newspaper publishers, will not authorize uses that harm members’ ability to monetize the work done by their staffs, Key said.
“The board’s publishers understand the value of their content and would not act to harm their own interests or those of fellow publishers,” he said.
