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Newspapers and civic responsibility CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary:

Lately, a bunch of wealthy, hotshot CEOs and politicos have made noises about buying some well-known metropolitan daily newspapers that are considered in play. The names are Hollywood producer David Geffen and the Los Angeles Times; retired General Electric CEO Jack Welch and the Boston Globe; and Baltimore civic leaders Walter Sondheim Jr. and Ted Venetoulis and the Baltimore Sun. What’s going on here? The business is dying, isn’t it? Circulation of major dailies has been in a downward spiral…

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Roof Envy: Insurers pay to fix thousands of hail-damaged homes, but some neighbors are feeling left out

After an April hailstorm caused widespread damage in central Indiana, an epidemic slowly and quietly began spreading through tree-lined streets and cul-de-sacs. As contagious as the common cold, “neighboritis” is contracted through casual contact with friends and neighbors, even by the simple act of driving by a house topped with sparkling new shingles. Those infected often experience an initial wave of optimism and euphoria, sometimes followed by a crash that leaves them feeling dissatisfied, even betrayed. The cause of the…

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Lights, camera, Internet-More Web sites using video: Vodcast clips catching on as a way for organizations to deliver their message in a new, more exciting way

The terms for emerging Internet technology are enough to make the less savvy long for the days when e-mail seemed cutting-edge. The communication tool, especially among teens, has given way to instant messaging, of course. So it’s no wonder colleges and companies alike are starting to shun standard e- mail and Web-page marketing efforts in favor of video-on-demand clips, known as vodcasts. “The computer was meant to be watched; it wasn’t meant to be read,” said Jon DiGregory, who founded…

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SPORTS: Glimmers of hope give Painter a long honeymoon

In terms of a transition game, Purdue University’s Matt Painter hasn’t yet been able to get out on the figurative fast break. First, there was the year he spent as associate head coach during Gene Keady’s long goodbye, when the Boilers struggled to a woeful 7-21 mark. Then, last season, when Painter assumed full control of the Boilermakers, injuries and suspensions factored heavily into a 9-19 record and a last-place, 3-13 finish in the Big Ten. And this year? With…

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SPORTS: IU’s Sampson prepares for his toughest audience

CHICAGO-Yes, Kelvin Sampson has the job. It’s been his since March. Nonetheless, the audition begins next week in Conseco Fieldhouse, when his IU Hoosiers basketball team opens the preseason NIT against Lafayette. Sampson will need to be into multi-tasking. Coach his team. Rise to stratospheric expectations. Restore reputations. Quiet the critics who can’t get over the fact that he arrived with baggage that included more than his clothes. And, just win, baby. That will take care of virtually all of…

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BULLS & BEARS: Market may be at high, but big challenges loom

The other day, as investors basked in the glow of new stock market highs, an eyecatching headline traveled across newswires. The article, which seemed out of place with the record highs on the Dow Jones industrial average, was titled “GAO chief warns economic disaster looms.” The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, is an investigative arm of Congress that audits and evaluates the performance of the federal government. The head of the GAO can be thought of as the nation’s chief…

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High school dropouts go under microscope: IPS seeks answers from leaders on costly problem

Indianapolis Public Schools late this month plans to convene a community panel to help the state’s largest school system implement a dropout prevention plan next spring. The first public meeting of the 50-person panel is set for Nov. 27 and comes as a new report suggests Indiana dropouts cost taxpayers $62 million a year. The panel is made up of a wide range of people, from parents to community leaders. Each of the estimated 21,000 dropouts statewide costs the state…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Guidant sale not so sweet for holders of buyer’s stock

With almost every passing day, Boston Scientific Inc.’s $27 billion purchase of India n a p o l i s – b a s e d Guidant Corp. looks like a bigger fiasco-for the buyer, that is. Whether it was bad for the sellers-Guidant shareholders-is a trickier question. They received a stew of stock and cash in the deal and fared splendidly if they immediately sold their shares. But if they didn’t, Massachusettsbased Boston Scientific’s $80-a-share offer has lost its…

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Cable company rolls out on-demand advertising: Comcast already has signed deal with General Motors

People don’t typically pay for on-demand cable so that they can look at advertisements, but Comcast thinks they will. It’s trying to turn an old axiom-that people avoid advertising like the plague-on its ear. The Philadelphia-based company that provides cable television in much of Marion County thinks its new on-demand advertising-launched earlier this fall-will be so popular, viewers will seek out the pitches. For Comcast digital cable subscribers, accessing on-demand ads is as easy as going to their video on-demand…

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9 ways to keep clientele coming back:

The most reliable method for evaluating whether your business truly offers great customer service is customer retention. Customer-retention results reflect the customer’s decision to purchase more of your products and services. After much research in this area, we know that these “re-purchase” decisions are based on three important evaluations. First, the customer decides whether you delivered the basic service promise. Did you deliver the package on time? Was the repair done correctly? Second, the customer makes some touchy-feely evaluations about…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Who is watching Hoosier journalism?

I recently attended a lecture on renal problems of penal populations. The study of kidney disease among prisoners has been a fascination of mine since I started watching James Cagney movies. The next day, I thought I would break out in liver spots when I read the newspaper account. The central points of the lecture were missed as the reporter bore down on other interesting, but tangential, issues. No doubt some of prisoners’ kidney problems are the result of specific…

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NOTIONS: Of errors, apologies and redemption

Last week, a friend and I stopped by Nordstrom so she could purchase some cosmetics. She found one needed product on the shelf, then asked the clerk if the item she’d asked to be sent from another store had arrived. The clerk said it had, but that they’d sold it to another customer because my friend hadn’t called for it. My friend said she’d never been notified the product was in. The clerk repeated that it’s store policy to sell…

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SPORTS Bill Benner: Little-noticed Horizon League prospers and grows

SPORTS Little-noticed Horizon League prospers and grows From his fifth-floor office in Pan Am Plaza, Horizon League Commissioner Jon LeCrone has a view of the Indianapolis skyline. His only wish is that the city would look back. Not at him. At his nine-member league, which will grow to 10 next July when upstate Valparaiso joins Butler in the league’s Indiana contingent. Alas, it’s a prime example of good news making no news. Or of the media, local and otherwise, determining…

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RCA Championships secures ATP support: Local tournament working on TV, sponsorship deals

In the wake of rumors that a mini offseason for players could interrupt the RCA Championships’ calendar slot, the ATP-the association representing men’s professionals tennis players-has come out in strong support of the local tournament. “There’s no uncertainty about the future of this tournament from the ATP’s perspective,” said Mark V. Young, ATP’s CEO for the Americas. Young confirmed that ATP officials, who set the men’s professional calendar, have discussed shortening the schedule at the behest of players, who claim…

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Noblesville mega-mall begins lining up retailers: Area brokers say space is likely to lease well

J.C. Penney, Best Buy and Bed Bath & Beyond plan to open stores in the $100 million open-air mall Simon Property Group Inc. and a partner are planning to build in Noblesville, retail brokers say. In addition, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Goodrich Quality Theaters Inc. is in preliminary talks to open a cinema in the project, owner Bob Goodrich confirmed. Simon and another Indianapolis-based developer, Gershman Brown & Associates, announced plans for the nearly 1-million-square-foot Hamilton Towne Centre a year ago….

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NOTIONS: Dear philanthropist: Make me a daydream believer

Last month, I picked up my boys in Fort Wayne, drove north on Interstate 69, hooked a left at Interstate 94, and got off at the Portage, Mich., exit. There, we whiled away the weekend at a family reunion. The grownups ate too much, caught up on gossip and puttered around the lake in the speedboat. The teenagers, whom we rarely saw, did X-Box battle in the basement. On Sunday, after the kids had surfaced for lunch and the grandparents…

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Newspaper war erupting in northern suburbs

Two new Carmel newspapers will soon join eight others in Boone and Hamilton counties. While the region is one of the fastest growing in Indiana, journalism experts said having 10 newspapers serving a population of just under 300,000 is astounding.

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Making the right move: For companies planning a relocation, months of preparation are often in order

CORPORATE RELOCATION Making the right move For companies planning a relocation, months of preparation are often in order Employees of Aprimo Inc. are settling into their new digs at Parkwood Crossing after the fastgrowing marketing-softwaremaker moved its headquarters early last month. While the building may be different, the surroundings are quite familiar. The company remains in the same office complex, albeit across College Avenue from its previous space. But don’t tell Dani Hughes, Aprimo’s human resources representative who coordinated the…

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TOM HARTON Commentary: Crime takes indirect swipe at the arts

In Indianapolis, when the crime rate goes up or kids’ test scores go down, it’s not uncommon for people to point the finger at publicly funded sports facilities. “Our priorities are screwed up,” observers opine. “We spend too much money on these playgrounds for the rich, and not enough on cops, courts and public education.” The sports establishment here has been batting away this criticism for years. It goes with the territory in a city where sports is an important…

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Product gives Thomson better hand: New micro-camcorder boosts prospects for unit French parent wants to deal

Thomson’s latest product is a lot like the French company’s presence in Carmel, these days. Small, and getting ever smaller. With half the number of employees it had in the late-1990s, Thomson’s Americas unit here is about to be downsized yet again from its current 900-some jobs-but not before enjoying a bit of a surprise hit in a palm-size, under-$130 camcorder. The success of the Small Wonder camera-and a slicker new version due out this fall-could help frame the future…

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