Present (13): Randy Swikle, Richard Parmater, Roger Ruthhart, Jim Slonoff (treasurer), Pam Lannom (1st V.P.), Joe Corrado, Lonny Cain (past president), Owen Phelps, John Etheredge, Greg Rivara, Jan Larsen (president), Tom Martin, Jim Killam (communications coordinator).
Absent (8): Lois Self (executive secretary), Rick Nagel, Colin O'Donnell, Wally Haas, Jeannine Otto, Kim Kubiak (2nd V.P.), Cheryl Wormley, Ray Karges.

Larsen called the meeting to order at 9:50 a.m.

Oct. 24 minutes were approved unanimously (Etheredege motion, Cain second).

Treasurer's Report: Slonoff reported an Oct, 31 checking account balance of $2,408.69, plus a savings account of $5.94. Checks paid include $180 to Castle PrinTech for the past two newsletters, $129.08 to reimburse Jan Larsen for expenses from the high school advisers' workshop; $105 for Dairy Queen prizes for the fall conference and $200 to reimburse Slonoff for gifts for fall conference speakers.
Revenue included $170 from the high school advisers workshop and $240 in dues collected.
Fall conference: NIU charges totaled $2,242.41. Conference revenue was $2,705, plus a total of $210 still owed by three newspapers (the NIU Communication Dept. may need to rebill these companies). That brought total conference revenue to $2,915, or a net profit of 672.59.
Treasurer's report approved unanimously (Lannom motion, Cain second).

Lannom also said one of her goals as NINA president in 2003 will be to develop a budget in order to keep closer track of conference spending and to give the board more of a basis for making financial decisions.

Executive secretary's report: No report (Self was absent).

Program committee: Lannom thanked everyone who helped with the fall conference and "Journalism Jeopardy," and said NINA is especially grateful to the guest speakers who volunteered their time.

Membership committee: Larsen (for Kubiak) said 2002 was not a good year for increasing membership. About 8 individual members were added. A more complete report should be available at the January board meeting.

Education committee: Haas was absent. The board discussed ideas for future workshops for high-school newspaper advisers and administrators. Swikle suggested emphasizing partnerships between teachers and school administrators, with an eye toward building a free and responsible student press. He also said future workshops could be held either in March or September for maximum effect.
High-school scholarships: The board will decide at its January meeting whether to fund these again next year, and what amount. Killam will issue a press release at that time, along with the application materials to be sent to high schools.

Communications Coordinator: Killam said the winter newsletter will come out in early January.
Dates for 2003 committee and full board meetings are: Jan. 24, April 4, Aug. 8, Oct. 23 and Dec. 5.

Old business: The board has 3 vacancies for 2003. Several potential members will be contacted prior to the Jan. 24 meeting. Lannom also asked board members to tell her what committee assignments they'd like.

New business: Ruthhart asked whether the board could talk with a group of NIU students about the effectiveness of the Red Eye and Red Streak newspapers. Killam said he and the Northern Star editors could arrange a focus group of students to meet for lunch after the Jan. 24 board meeting.

Shop Talk:

• Martin said the Bureau County Republican's Progress edition is focusing on product, places and people unique to Bureau County.
• Killam said many of his students will be seeking internships or stringer work, both during the holidays and for summer. The Northern Star soon will make the jump to all-digital photography, and is preparing to launch a news/music/advertising Webcast as a potential forerunner to getting involved in student radio.
• Swikle said Johnsburg High School was one of seven national winners of the Freedom Forum's "Let Freedom Ring" award for schools who teach and celebrate the First Amendment. Johnsburg's principal, Chuck Dill, was named national principal of the year by the Journalism Education Association. Swikle also has been commissioned by the Illinois Press Foundation to develop a First Amendment curriculum for students in grades 5 through 12.
• Parmater's Regional News has hired a new reporter who lived in Europe most of her life and recently got a masters degree in journalism from the University of Illinois.
• Ruthhart said the Argus and Dispatch have begun an online service where readers can buy and download archived photos. See http://photos.qconline.com/photog/ for details.
• Slonoff has been elected Illinois Press Association president for 2003. Also, the Doings' annual Christmas gift guide, "Holiday Reflections," has received great response for reporters' first-person recollections of Christmas memories.
• Lannom said the Doings is completing a year-long partnership with the Gift of Hope organ and tissue donation organization. Numerous stories have been done throughout the year. The paper will receive the media "Lifesaving Partners" award from Gift of Hope.
• Corrado said Sun newspapers are in the midst of a project where kids are writing school-related columns as a series.
• Cain's Ottawa Daily Times is down two reporters and has been unable to replace them because of budget restraints. The paper switched to a 50-inch web, with minor design tweaks and very little reaction from the community. And, the paper's "Write Team" has entered its third season. In the future, Cain envisions the same concept - community members writing regular columns - but with more-specialized writers.
• Phelps said his week had been busy, with a priest in the Rockford diocese having been charged with sexual assault. The diocese newspaper already was at the printer when the news broke, so he will be dealing with credibility questions from readers who believe the paper chose not to cover the story.
• Etheredge said Oswego is experiencing huge population growth - from 3,900 12 years ago to 17,000 today - and it has been a challenge for the paper to keep up. There is more government news than they can handle with a small staff.
• Rivara said the Kane County Chronicle held a valuable training session with Ken Finkel, who was in the area anyway for the Associated Press Sports Editors convention.
• Larsen said the Herald-News is paying bonuses to reporters and editors based on circulation gains.

Meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jim Killam, communications coordinator, 12-6-02.

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