Members present (12): Lonny Cain, president; Jim Slonoff, treasurer; Lois Self, executive secretary; Kim Kubiak, second vice president; Jim Killam, communications coordinator; Joe Corrado; Don Lyons; Richard Parmater; Colin O'Donnell; Pam Lannom; Roger Ruthhart; Owen Phelps.

Members absent (9): Rick Nagel, past president; Jan Larsen, first vice president; Gale Baldwin, John Etheredge, Dave Fornell, Phil Jurik, Ray Karges, Tom Martin, Cheryl Wormley

Staff / guests present: Dana Ditrichs, Bernadin Mfumbusa.

Cain called the meeting to order at 10 a.m.

Minutes of the April 6 board meeting were approved unanimously.

Officer reports:

Treasurer: Slonoff said the spring conference, a narrative writing workshop, lost money. Expenses totaled $638.10. Registration revenue was $320 ($10 each for 32 people).
Dues collection also is down. About $3,240 has been collected thus far this year, less than the $3,375 NINA has committed for scholarships. Usually, a surplus of about $800 exists once scholarships are paid.
Several members suggested that the spring conference's $10 registration fee was too low. Self said $20 wouldn't be so big a jump as to discourage attendance. Slonoff also suggested that planners budget for a worst-case scenario when figuring conference costs. NINA is operating in the black and expects to continue doing so, but conference and workshop costs will have to be monitored carefully, he said.

Executive secretary: Contest update. Self said 25 newspapers submitted contest entries, down from 27 in 2000. But, the overall number of entries - not yet tallied - appears to be down significantly. Discussion ensued as to whether judges in particular categories should have to award all places if entries are few - for example, awarding first place when there is just one entry. The board's consensus was to instruct judges to first determine whether an entry meets the minimum level of quality to be judged, and then to rank the entries starting with first place.
Self noted changes in the NIU Department of Communication. QuarkXpress will be offered in computer labs soon, and a new telematics lab is being developed, which will emphasize graphics software. Dr. Angela Powers chose to stay at NIU despite a lucrative offer from another university; Yu-li Chang has joined the faculty as an assistant professor in broadcast news; and a search has begun for a new photojournalism professor to replace the departed Edgar Huang. Self invited board members to the department's Oct. 19 open house.

Self expressed concern about NINA's financial state. NIU has frozen the department's local fund, used to pay NINA bills among other things, because of overdue bills. A temporary solution is being used, but cannot be used for long. Treasurer Slonoff said he pays NINA's bills quarterly and was unaware that NIU wanted them paid more quickly. Ruthhart suggested, and the board agreed, to direct Slonoff to pay NINA bills as they are received. This should alleviate the problem with NIU.

Finally, Self spoke of a potential one-day seminar at NIU, possibly next spring, that would focus on investigative reporting. Prominent alumni and other big-name speakers could be involved, and the event could draw high-school and college students as well as working journalists.

President: Cain noted next week's (Aug. 17) computer-assisted reporting workshop with Bill Dedman. He also gave an update on the Mentor Award, a proposed award honoring the late Marx Gibson. A steering committee has met, and there is sentiment that the Illinois Press Association would be well-suited to organize the award process on an annual basis. The Board authorized Cain to meet with IPA executive secretary Dave Bennett to work out details for transferring the award to the IPA (Phelps motion, Parmater second).

At Large / Programs Committee: Lannom said a two- or three-track program is being considered for the Oct. 26 fall conference, with several unrelated sessions offered back-to-back. A keynoter will speak at lunch, so the awards program will be slightly shorter. Potential session topics include math for journalists, interviewing and project reporting.

Second Vice President / Education Committee: Kubiak said Best-Clip and Best-Photo contests are planned, and asked that these be promoted with IPA and NPPA. No other workshops are scheduled this year, aside from the fall conference. The college newspaper general excellence contest has been scrapped for this year, due to low interest in previous years. The board directed Killam, Self and Ditrichs to contact high school newspaper advisers and offer reduced-rate admission for the fall conference.

Communications Coordinator: Killam said he will produce a newsletter in early September, and noted he will miss the fall conference because the National College Media Convention occurs the same weekend. He and Cain will work to promote the Best-Clip and Best-Photo contest.

Meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m. Next regular board meeting is the dinner meeting Thursday, Oct. 25, at Sophie's restaurant in Sycamore.

Minutes submitted by Jim Killam, communications coordinator