Atlanta Marriott Marquis
In attendance:
- Jim Brady
- Jody Brannon
- Josh Hatch
- Burt Herman
- Richard Hernandez
- John Keefe
- Mandy Jenkins
- Gregg Linch
- Christine Montgomery
- Juana Summers
- Mario Tedeschini-Lalli
- Jim Roberts.
Calling in:
- Benet Wilson
- Robert Hernandez
- Jon Hart (General Counsel)
Absent:
- Meredith Artley
Staff:
- Jane McDonnell, Executive Director
- Jeanne Brooks, Digital Director
- Irving Washington, Director of Operations
- Jessica Strelitz, Manager, Strategic Partnerships and Sales
The meeting was called to order at 9:45 a.m.
Old Business
The board unanimously approved the April minutes.
Jane McDonnell mentioned the passing of Jessica Lum, who was a part of the 2010 Student Newsroom and won an Online Journalism Award.
BUDGET AND FINANCES
At 10 a.m. the ONA’s accountant, Carolyn Skinner of Dixon Hughes Goodman, and the representative from the auditing company, Samantha Ephraim of MBAF-ERE, LLC, called in to discuss ONA’s 2012 financial audit.
Samantha went over the audit report line by line, and complimented our organization and its management for being in an enviable financial position and having a very solid audit. She said our balance of funds for programming vs. expenditures is very strong. The firm rated the audit as “clean,” the highest-available rating.
The conversation touched on issues including income, assets, expenses, particularly regarding equipment and depreciation. Carolyn walked the Board through the Form 990 tax filing and clarified some accounting practices to explain how grant funds are categorized.
Irving Washington reported that he has implemented an automated accounting system and online process online that streamlines payment for occasional expenses incurred by our ONA Local groups from events.
Jim Brady moved to approve the audit and financials with one minor revision to the Form 990. Greg Linch seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
BOARD DEVELOPMENT
Jim opened discussion about composition of the board. Currently the two appointed board members are Mario Tedeschini Lalli, who represents our international membership, and Benet Wilson, who deepens our diversity. Jim discussed the advantages of having people on the board who are skilled at fundraising and finances to help ensure ONA’s financial health. Jane said she would value a board member with an MBA who might provide financial advice.
The group discussed the pros and cons of appointing some Board members for specific skills. Jon Hart explained that the bylaws allow the board to designate a non-elected member as it deems necessary.
Burt Herman suggested a board seat be designated for a person with a business background or fundraising skills. To avoid having too many appointed slots, Robert Hernandez suggested the board receive training in fundraising. Jane said she would look into a consultant who might provide such training at our January board meeting.
DEVELOPMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS
Jane acknowledged receipt of a $25,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation, targeted at convening a summit of representatives of the media, government, police, the public and others to discuss and address issues raised by social media in breaking news situations. The goal would be to come up with solutions in a teamwork environment.
Jeanne Brooks reported that the ONA is participating in the Paris conference of the Global Editors Network in June to provide six sessions on process, strategies and design.
Jane explained that the ONA’s new partnership with the For Journalism Project will use grant money from the Excellence in Journalism Foundation to support the creation of online modules on data journalism that ONA members can access for free. More modules might become available after For Journalism launches in August.
The group discussed institutional membership, offering training to specific organizations, selling tables at the conference banquet and member discounts.
Jane provided a rundown of our grants from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the McCormick Foundation, Knight Foundation and the Gannett Foundations and how they support our ONACamps, Online Journalism Awards, business development, training and other programs. Development consultant Julia DiLaura also is working on grant proposals to potential funders to support our legal efforts and the work of the Legal Affairs Committee.
Josh Hatch discussed changes to the OJAs, which include lowering cost for student entries, raising the price for each submission, recalibration of categories based on an organization’s number of full-time employees and folding all non-English awards into each category. Judging will be done online, rather than in person. A new award this year is the Gannett Watchdog Award, which joins the Knight Public Service Award and other Gannett-supported awards for a total of $37,500 in cash awards.
Jen Mizgata says the International Center for Journalists will help translate and distribute OJA information to journalists around the world. Mario explained how volunteers will help with translation, as well. He suggested we look for a larger mix of judges, and Christine Montgomery said she can offer help from some of the global journalists who work for the World Bank.
The board was asked to help test the OJA submission and payment process, which is being refined.
The 2013 OJAs mark the last year of our five-year partnership with the University of Miami. Jane is looking at options and will put out a request for proposals to groups that might provide help with marketing, technology, funding or other in-kind support.
Jane said she is pleased with preparations for the conference, which already has 130 registrations and 800 room nights (with a total of 1,300+ contracted). John Keefe suggested early-bird registration be extended past July 1 to help organizations with budgeting. Jane said several sponsorship checks have arrived.
Jess Strelitz is working on various strategies to attract prospective sponsors, vendors, exhibitors and participants in the main exhibit area, the Midway, the conference website and networking lounges.
The meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m. for a tour of the hotel property, site of the October conference.
Saturday, May 18
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
In attendance:
- Jim Brady
- Jody Brannon
- Josh Hatch
- Burt Herman
- Richard Hernandez
- John Keefe
- Mandy Jenkins
- Greg Linch
- Christine Montgomery
- Juana Summers
- Mario Tedeschini-Lalli
- Jim Roberts
Calling in:
- Benet Wilson
- Robert Hernandez
Absent:
- Meredith Artley
Staff:
- Jane McDonnell, Executive Director
- Irving Washington, Director of Operations
The meeting was called to order at 9:12 a.m.
Jim returned the discussion to board development and summarized the options for the open 2014-15 terms. Each member was asked to state his or her preference from the following:
- Leave the board nomination process the same
- Hold one seat for general appointment
- Specify an appointment based on need (either fundraising or development)
- Hold two seats open for appointments of members with specialty in fundraising and development
- Open one seat now and one in 2014
The group favored holding one seat for appointment purposes for the 2013 election and to be flexible for future needs.
Jane asked any board member up for re-election to alert her to intention by July 15.
The group discussed the pros and cons of voting during the conference vs. starting the election process on the final day of the conference.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
International: Chair Mario Tedeschini Lalli reported that the Paris Global Editors Network conference in June will include six ONA sessions, “Disrupting the Newsroom,” and a networking event. The International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, had three ONA-organized workshops. Burt Herman represented ONA at Brazil’s “On Media” conference. Mario is working on creating a list of bilingual judges for the OJAs as well as a document that summarizes our international strategies. Among the ideas are a greater connection with UK journalism schools and journalists in Israel.
Education: Chair Jody Brannon said the ONA Facebook group for college educators has nearly 400 participants. Three volunteers have completed pages that are intended to summarize and retain valuable Facebook threads. The effort may convert from a Google Site to Spundge. With the nation’s journalism professors assembling in D.C. in August at the AEJMC conference, plans are proceeding for ONA to have a presence there. She also spoke of trying to recruit student members, professors and professional members using LinkedIn. Greg Linch said the newly launched Student ONA Facebook group has about 225 members. His subcommittee is looking at options for mentorship and possibly a blog for summer interns to share their experiences. He also advocated lower conference rates and membership rates for recent grads.
Legal affairs: Chair Josh Hatch directed the board to examine the committee summary listing all recent action. The ONA conference this year may include training on FOI requests. He will work with Jane to seek to secure more support to fund additional legal work. Mario said he would like to find ways to encourage a free press in Europe. Jim applauded the committee for ensuring ONA was among 50 groups that decried the Department of Defense’s recent subpoenaing of telephone records belonging to The Associated Press.
Conference: Planning for the programming and logistics for the conference is well underway, with brainstorming sessions planned for next week, led by Jeanne, Progamming Chair Lisa Williams and a select team, to winnow ideas solicited online. John Keefe offered some members of his WNYC team to help with building features on the conference site.
Jim Brady led a discussion about cooperation with other journalism organizations, which continue to look to ONA for help, leadership, alliances and training.
The meeting adjourned at 11:44 p.m. ET