Members present (11):Pam Lannom (president), Roger Ruthhart, Jim
Killam (communications coordinator), Rick Nagel, Tom Martin (1st vice president),
Lonny Cain, Owen Phelps, Lois Self (executive secretary), Rich Rostron,
Joe Corrado (2nd vice president), Greg Rivara.
Members absent (8): Jan Larsen (past president), Jim Slonoff (treasurer), John Etheredge, Wally Haas, Colin O'Donnell, Jeannine Otto, Richard Parmater, Randy Swikle.
Lannom called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
Minutes of the April 4 board meeting approved unanimously.
Treasurer's Report: Lannom (for Slonoff) reported a checking account balance of $2,567.30. Yet to be added to that total is about $600 profit from the June 13 grammar workshop. Report approved.
Executive Secretary's Report: Self said the contest entry deadline has passed, with the number of entries looking fairly consistent to that of the last several years. NIU journalism enrollments are maxed out in every class; among new students, there is an especially large interest in broadcast journalism. The department continues to explore the idea of creating a visual journalism lab in the basement of Cole Hall, but needs to identify prospective donors.
President's Report: Lannom read thank-you letters from NIU students Stephanie Gandsey and Cory Ohlendorf, who won NINA scholarships this year. She thanked Barry Wood and Wally Haas for their work on the grammar workshop, which drew about 60 participants. She will propose a couple of minor bylaws changes soon, having to do with committee structure. Killam will post those proposed changes on the NINA Web site and general membership will vote on them at the Oct. 24 Fall Conference. Appointment of two new board members to fill vacancies left by Ray Karges and Cheryl Wormley has been delayed, but nominees should be voted on by the Oct. 23 board meeting/dinner. Next year's officers also will be elected at that meeting.
Education Committee: Corrado said that, rather than NINA doing a high-school advisers workshop similar to last year's, we will take part in and promote NIU's Sept. 22 daylong workshop for high school teachers, which focuses on new ideas in English and Communication. Journalism sessions at the event include ethics and the First Amendment, how to run a high school newspaper, teaching new media and converging broadcast and print journalism. NINA will have promotional brochures available at the workshop, mentioning ways we can help high-school advisers.
Program Committee: Martin said the Fall Conference program's theme
is "Breaking the Habit: Finding the Real Stories Around Us." Yet-to-be-named
speakers will focus on how newspapers can break the habit of getting all
news and ideas from covering meetings.
Cain also suggested, and the board agreed, that students be invited to an
after-conference Q&A session with editors about journalism careers.
Membership Committee: No formal report. The committee continues to contact potential member newspapers and also is looking more at individual members for the organization's future growth, Phelps said.
Communication Coordinator's Report: Killam needs fall newsletter material by Sept. 10. He encouraged board members to submit columns any time.
Old Business: None.
New Business: NIU journalism professor Brian Thornton attended the meeting to tell board members about his advanced reporting class this fall. Students will be looking for investigative projects of interest to area newspapers. The resulting stories then could be published. If editors have ideas or are interested in talking with a student, they should contact Thornton at thornton.b@comcast.net.
Shop Talk:
Meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
Next Meeting: 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, Carl's Fargo Restaurant, Sycamore.
Minutes submitted by Jim Killam, communications
coordinator, 8-12-03.