Minutes of NINA Board of Directors Meeting
Members present (13): Greg Rivara (President), Sharon Boehlefeld (1st VP), Pete Nenni (2nd VP), Colin O'Donnell (past president), Lois Self (interim executive secretary), Roger Ruthhart, Jim Killam (communications coordinator), Rick Nagel, Mike Cetera, John Etheredge, Penny Wiegert, Denise Renckens, Lonny Cain.
Members absent (8): Josh Albrecht, Pam Lannom, Jim Slonoff (treasurer), Joe Corrado, Jay Dickerson, Wally Haas, Kim Kubiak, Randy Swikle.
Guest present: Dr. Bill Cassidy, NIU journalism faculty
Rivara called the meeting to order at 10:15 a.m.
Minutes of the March
23 board meeting were approved (Etheredge motion / Ruthhart second).
Because the March 23 meeting lacked a quorum, the Jan. 19 minutes also were
approved (O'Donnell / Cain). And, the March 23 treasurer's report was approved
(Ruthhart / Etheredge).
Also on March 23, the board had unofficially authorized $300 - $100 for
a winner in each of the three circulation categories - for NIU to award
as cash prizes for a yet-to-be-specified contest category. Today, the board
decided not to approve that because there had not been time to sufficiently
promote it before contest material had to be distributed to members.
Treasurer's report:
No report
Executive secretary's report:
Self is taking on this position again through NIU's fall semester, because
Brian Thornton is leaving NIU at mid-summer and the journalism faculty is
in a transitional period. She said two new faculty members have been hired
- Sabryna Cornish and Tom Oates - and there also is a possibility of one
or more visiting faculty members being hired for the coming year.
Longtime department secretary Dana Ditrichs-Kunkel has been promoted to
a position in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Lois and Dana
will help organize this year's contest while permanent roles in relation
to NINA are determined.
President's report:
Rivara asked the board for thoughts regarding the Northwest NewsGroup's
desire to have a representative on the board. The consensus was this: The
board currently has no vacancies, and NINA's bylaws do not allow creation
of additional board members. But, the Northwest NewsGroup will be encouraged
to have someone get involved in NINA committee work and to attend board
meetings as a non-voting member. Then, when a vacancy occurs (as they inevitably
do), the board will give strong consideration to having this person fill
it.
Program Committee report:
Boehlefeld reported that the Fall Conference theme will be, "The Ultimate
Network Experience: Learning from Your Peers." This will involve about
six roundtable discussions, each offered twice so attendees can pick two.
Tentatively, the groups are: general assignment reporters; government reporters;
police & fire reporters; new editors; and copydesk/designers. These
may be altered, however, based on attendees' preferences. The conference
is set for Friday, Oct. 26, at NIU.
Education Committee report:
Nenni said last Thursday's multimedia storytelling workshop at The Oberver
offices in Rockford workshop drew 36 paid attendees and $720 in revenue.
About half of that will pay for breakfast and lunch expenses. Nenni thanked
Renckens, Killam and Mike Weiler of the Northwest Herald for presenting
the sessions on video and audio, audio slideshows and blogging, respectively.
Etheredge reported another successful competition among high school seniors for NINA scholarships. Five winners received a total of $2,900: $1,200 from NINA, $1,000 from the Daily Herald, $400 from the Naperville Sun, $200 from the Beacon News in Aurora and $100 from the Northwest Herald. Winners are listed in the summer newsletter and on the Digital Ink blog.
The next workshop is Sept. 13 and will focus on alternative story forms (including online storytelling). Committee members are contacting potential speakers and workshop details will be announced soon.
Membership Committee report:
No report.
Resource Committee / Communication Coordinator report:
Killam said the summer newsletter will be mailed next week, and is available
online now. Also, the new "Digital
Ink" blog has been attracting about 200 page views per week.
The National Press Photographers Association is tentatively planning a Flying
Short Course Oct. 27-28, possibly at NIU's Hoffman Estates campus. NINA
may be able to help promote this as a great opportunity for photojournalists
in our region.
Old Business
None.
New Business
None.
Next board meeting: Friday, Sept. 7, at the Northern Star, NIU-DeKalb.
Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Minutes submitted by Jim Killam,
communications coordinator, 6-27-07.
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