Nov 10 2008 board meeting minutes

November 10, 2008, board meeting minutes

Attendance: Jennifer Monnin, Julanne Hohbach, Chuck Nelson, Jane Beathard, Mike Lorz, Katy Waters, Kevin Kemper, Jonathan Peters, Sarah Mills Bacha, Joe Meyer

President Jennifer Monnin delayed calling the meeting to order until 12:15 p.m. due to the lack of a quorum.

Minutes of the Oct. 13 meeting were approved.

Treasurer Sarah Mills Bacha said it’s been a quiet month for her office with no money coming in and no checks going out. The Vanguard investment accounts have lost a couple of thousand dollars since summer and will likely lose more in the current economic decline. The total value of all Vanguard funds as of Sept. 30 was $28,905.85.

Committee reports

Kevin Kemper said about 70 people attended the diversity program held in conjunction with the Columbus Metropolitan Club on Oct. 22 at the Athletic Club. Theme of the discussion was “Race, Gender and Presidential Politics.”

Kemper said he will discuss future programs with Metropolitan Club officials in order to negotiate a better price for SPJ members. He apologized for getting the word out late about the program. Jennifer Davis attended and paid full price for her lunch. She will get financial credit on the next SPJ event for her participation.

Kemper also said he is working on a “meet the Kiplinger fellows” program for January. The program will be held in conjunction with the Glenn School at The Ohio State University. It was suggested that the WOSU studio at COSI would be a good location.

Mike Lorz said the Ohio SPJ event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland went well on Oct. 18. He said he had higher expectations for the event and was somewhat disappointed with the outcome since overall it didn’t reflect on the work of those honored. About 80 people attended. There were 700-plus entries in the statewide writing contest – about the same number as the previous year.

Katy Waters said there are some problems with the national SPJ Web site. She said it shows about 110 members in the central Ohio chapter. She is currently constructing an e-mail list of current members.

Lorz suggested a discount be offered to local people who join the national SPJ for two years.

Regional Conference

President Monnin announced that SPJ is partnering with the Online News Association for the Regional Conference now set for April 3-4 in Columbus. Registration will be accepted via PayPal.

Theme of the conference will be the “new media.” Connie Shultz has agreed to be the Keynote speaker for the Spring Conference. The board also approached Debra Jasper about doing a joint Keynote on the impact of New Media. Debra declined the joint keynote idea, but suggested that the presentation be a panel or that Connie do the Keynote as a solo.”

Some programming suggestions included beat blogging, the art of the two-minute video, using the new media in a political campaign and something related to broadcast journalism. Lorz suggested that Frank Deaner of the ONA present a session on the effect of an African-American president on newspaper readership.

Suggested venues included Polaris, the OSU campus and downtown Columbus. Brian Ball will get prices on each suggestion before a location is nailed down. It was suggested that if the event is held downtown, SPJ could include a movie at the Arena Grand Theater on Friday night.

Lorz asked how the conference will be marketed. He suggested the use of e-mail and the Internet to alert potential attendees. Marketing needs to be started by January 1, he said. Kemper suggested dividing up a list of regional colleges that have journalism programs and initiate personal contact to those institutions.

Waters said she continues to look for sponsors for the regional conference. She has mailed 25 letters already and is looking for more contacts.

New Business:

Hillary Warren has asked to be removed from the SPJ board. It was suggested that Phil Rudell of the Dispatch was interested in the position. Chuck Nelson offered to approach Rudell about participation.

President Monnin said the central Ohio chapter should look for opportunities to move members into the regional and national SPJ arenas. She also said the national organization is looking for chapters to host youth outreach on First Amendment issues. There appeared to be little interest in such an outreach.

Lorz said the Oklahoma SPJ Chapter has asked Ohio to judge their annual writing contest. He asked for volunteer judges to judge the entries before December 5.

The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.