January 7, 2017
SPJ/LA Board of Directors Retreat AgendaSaturday Jan. 7, 201710 a.m. – 2 p.m.9430 Wish Ave.Northridge, CABluestein called the meeting to order at 10:32 a.m. Present: America Arias, Tammy Audi, Joel Bellman, Stephanie Bluestein, Linda Bowen, Christina Cocca, Sarah Favot, Richard Hendrickson, Elizabeth Marcellino, Irene Moore, Richard Saxton, Alice Walton, Roberta Wax, Natalie Windsor, David ZahniserI. Approval of minutes from Dec. 12 board meetinga. Henderickson moved to accept the December minutes, seconded by Windsor. Favot and Marcellino abstained. Motion carried.II. President’s reporta. Bluestein welcomed new board members, America Arias and Irene Mooreb. Bluestein announced the 2017 slate of associate board members: Bowen, Claudia Peschiutta, Julia Seifer, Streifler and Windsor.c. Bellman moved to accept the slate of associate board members, seconded by Saxton. The motion carried.III. Treasurer’s Reporta. Hendrickson requested an amendment to Dec. 1, 2016 Treasurer’s Report. The BOA balance as of Nov. 1, 2016 is $32,380.48 and the ending balance as of Nov. 30 is $32,447.49. The actual balance on the books is $27,669.53.b. Zahniser moved to receive the amended Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Bellman. Favot and Marcellino abstained. The motion carried.c. The BofA balance as of Dec. 1 is $32,447.49, and as of Dec. 31 is $27,254.07. Balance on the books as of Jan. 1 is $27,254.07. The Morgan Stanley balance as of Jan. 1 is $71,374.14, which includes a gain of $122.07 from the previous month.d. Windsor moved to receive the Jan. 7 Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Marcellino. The motion carried.e. It was announced that on Jan. 25, Nonahal, Hendrickson and Bluestein will meet at Bank of America to give Bluestein authorization to sign checks, so that the chapter will have three authorized signatories. Two signatures will still be needed on every check.IV. Introductionsa. Each member introduced themselves and said why they are members of SPJ. Reasons included a belief in SPJ principles (like the First Amendment), a place to discuss ethical issues and journalism advocacy, the workshops that our chapter provides for reporters in newsrooms who may not otherwise receive training and staying connected to the broader journalism community outside of one organization. Board members in academia said they enjoyed staying connected to the profession.V. SPJ/LA committees and general responsibilities of board membersa. Bluestein distributed the new committee assignments for 2017. Wax encouraged members to offer to help out on a specific program if they are interested, even if they are not members of the specific committee.b. Bluestein asked associate board members to attend meetings as they are able. The chapter’s monthly board meetings will continue to be held at Louise’s Trattoria. Bellman encouraged associate board members to attend as they are eligible voting members.VI. Membership outreacha. Bluestein distributed a worksheet that was discussed at a seminar she attended during SPJ’s Excellence in Journalism conference in September 2016 about increasing membership in the chapter. Issues included retaining members, getting non-members to become members and encouraging current members to bring in new members. Board members discussed sending out a survey, capturing members of SPJ’s local student chapters as they graduate from college, professional development workshops and digital tools workshops.VII. Lunch breakAt 12:30 p.m. Waxman moved to adjourn, seconded by Bellman. Approved. The meeting was re-adjourned at 1:21p.m.VIII. Brainstorm programming ideasa. Attendees discussed programming ideas FOI mixer was suggested for Sunshine Week in March. Digital tools workshop, a workshop for freelance journalists or entrepreneur journalists, suggested a game night for the November mixer, a diversity event related to covering immigration. A suggestion was made to live-streaming some of the workshops so people can participate remotely.b. SPJ/LA’s 2017 calendarBluestein distributed the calendar. Board members discussed the upcoming calendar and proposed changing some dates.IX. Other businessa. Bluestein distributed language that clarifies chapter delegates’ responsibilities when voting at national conventions on behalf of the chapter.Hendrickson moved to accept the clarification of delegate responsibilities, seconded by Zahniser. Motion carried.b. Walton gave an update of the chapter’s 41st Annual Distinguished Journalists Awards scheduled for Jan. 26 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. We’ve committed to 125 seats; Our attendance goal is 150. Walton encouraged members to send emails to their contacts encouraging them to buy a ticket to the banquet, a table sponsorship, an ad in the program or a ticket for a student journalist to attend. There was discussion about the keynote speaker. Frank Mottek will emcee.c. Bluestein said she had asked Cocca to research boosting a post on Facebook promoting the banquet. Cocca reported that a $15 boost would reach an estimated 1,700 people. A $75 boost would reach an estimated 22,000 people.d. Windsor moved to authorize Cocca to spend up to $100 on a Facebook boost for the banquet, seconded by Walton. Motion carried.· Next board meeting: Feb. 6 at Louise’s, 7 p.m.a. Zahniser requested that the board take time at the upcoming meeting to discuss issues in journalism that have surfaced recently, such as whether people trust the news and content farms that are producing fake news and what it means for SPJ-LA programming in the upcoming year. Zahniser would like a board-wide discussion about how the chapter will address these issues.· Adjournmenta. Moved by Windsor to adjourn at 2:51 p.m., Seconded by Cocca. The motion carried.Respectfully submitted,Sarah Favot