Recent Columns

“For the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie”

Jul 23, 2021

The words in the headline were spoken by Joseph Goebbels, Adolph Hitler's chief propagandist. I know comparing the lies of the Nazis to the systemic lying in the political culture of America today is certainly not fresh. But every time it seems the leaders of the...

Indiana’s surplus is as useful as a stuffed mattress

Jul 16, 2021

If you had $100 and were forced to invest it, what types of investments would you consider? Celebrity space programs might be a market ready to explode, or maybe another GameStop will come along. But here's a wacky thought: let's pool several billion dollars together...

A movie just in time for another summer of soul

Jul 9, 2021

It started with a text message containing the trailer of the new documentary, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). A couple of days later, a group of friends streamed the entire movie on a projector screen in a neighborhood backyard. The...

Gerrymandering is a squeeze on the moderate voter

Jul 2, 2021

"Gerrymandering" is one of those awkward, made-up, and uniquely American words that has forever scarred the English language. What does it mean? It means strategically drawing legislative districts to benefit the political party in charge, immediately following the...

It’s hard to say what’s obscene or simply free speech

Jun 25, 2021

"I know it when I see it," U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote in 1964 when trying to describe his definition of obscenity in the 1964 decision in Jacobellis v. Ohio. I have thought about that quote plenty over the years. Admittedly, I am a vulgar...

America’s old friends are friends with us again

Jun 18, 2021

I have written it several times over the years: America needs to do what it can to be hated less around the world. I know, I know, that sounds too simple to be useful, but it's not. Our friends at Pew Research Center have been tracking America's image for at least the...

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Keeping the Big Ten Network on the Air

One of Mr. Leppert’s successful projects was his media campaign on behalf of the Big Ten Network in its dispute with cable formats for broad distribution of the network during its start-up years. He wrote and distributed press releases, organized supporters to attend press conferences and traveled the state for media events with both Mark Silverman, the original president of the network and Jim Delany, the long-time commissioner of the Big Ten Conference. Silverman has since moved into an executive position at Fox Sports, and Delany has announced his retirement in June of this year. The media output and related responses to it were vital in moving the stalled discussions to a mutually beneficial resolution between the network and cable formats. The Big Ten Network is distributed widely today and is a model for college sports networks.

The three of us were only flagged for speeding one time during the campaign, fittingly on State Road 37, while racing between press conferences at IU and downtown Indianapolis.

Moving Indiana Forward with Bias Crimes Legislation

Mr. Leppert was engaged by the United Way of Central Indiana to design and implement the campaign in 2018-19 for the passage of new hate/bias crime legislation in Indiana. The foundation of this coalition was built by joining two organizations, the Indiana Alliance Against Hate, and Indiana Competes. After several years of resistance in the Indiana General Assembly, specifically since the RFRA session of 2015, this campaign was the catalyst to passage of the new law and removing Indiana from the list of only five states without hate crimes legislation.

More than 800 members of the smaller merged entities were mobilized. Press events were held throughout the state. Editorial boards were visited. Letter writing and phone banking strategies were implemented. The management of this large group, and the short timeframe available to make our impact was an experience. While the law enacted by the legislature did not include all of the protected classes our coalition sought for inclusion, the establishment of hate or bias as statutory consideration in sentencing was established for many classes. Our campaign proved successful.