Nov. 9, 2015
SPJ/LA Board of Directors Meeting MinutesMonday, Nov. 9, 2015, 7 p.m.Louise’s Trattoria, 10645 W. Pico Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90064Bellman, Bluestein, Evans, Fleeman, Hendrickson, Marcellino, Mottek, Nonahal, Seifer, Streifler, Wald, Walton, Wax, Windsor, Zahniser.I. MINUTESZahniser said the minutes would be revised to move a committee report that was erroneously placed under the wrong heading. Wald then moved to approve the minutes, Windsor seconded. Motion carried.II. PRESIDENT’S REPORTNo report.III. TREASURER’S REPORTHendrickson reported that as of Nov. 1, the chapter’s balance is $29,964. For the same period, the Morgan Stanley account was $69,304.81. Evans moved to accept the report, with Windsor seconding. Motion carried.IV. STANDING COMMITTEESa. Awards – Marcellino walked board members through each of the candidates for SPJ/LA’s Distinguished Journalist Awards. Deliberations and the casting of ballots followed. The winners were:Print – Under 90,000 circulation: Frank Suraci, Daily BreezePrint – More than 90,000 circulation: Steve Loeper, Associated PressTelevision: David Ono, ABC7Radio: Frank P. Mottek, KNXDigital: Adrian Glick-Kudler, Curbed LAFOI: Attorney Theodore BoutrousNonahal thanked the committee for their work. The board also agreed to conduct an online discussion in the upcoming days on a possible special recognition award to a veteran journalist.b. Banquet – No Report.c. Courts – No report.d. Diversity – Nonahal reported that Adolfo Flores continues to work on assembling a panel for a diversity program. Although he had hoped to have one ready for a November event, it’s now looking more like January.e. Ethics – No report.f. FOI –Zahniser reported on the Digging Data and Spreadsheet Survival Workshop. The event, held Nov. 7 at the Cal State, L.A. campus, had about a dozen participants and both of the instructors, Doug Smith of the Los Angeles Times and Ron Campbell from the Center for Health Reporting, were excellent. Although there were eight or nine cancellations in the final 72 hours before the event, having a smaller group was actually more helpful in terms of the logistics – getting each person to download the instructional materials on their laptops, etc.g. Generation J – Bluestein reported that last month’s Generation J event at Cal State, Northridge had more than 250 participants, the majority of them students. This was also the first year that the Los Angeles Times was involved in the event.h. Membership – Hendrickson reported that he and Windsor met to go over the membership list for SPJ/LA, comparing it with records for SPJ national’s membership and found major discrepancies. Nonahal said the membership roster is important, since board elections are coming up, and all of the voting will be carried out online. The chapter will send out an email asking people to check to make sure their membership is up to date.i. Nominations – Bellman reported the committee is working on putting together the ballots for the upcoming board elections. The committee has identified a new candidate in Sarah Favot, county government reporter for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. Bellman promised to provide more details on board elections at SPJ/LA's December board meeting.j. Scholarships – No report.V. OLD BUSINESSOct. 15 event recap – Fleeman reported that last month’s mixer, which featured a presentation on reaching millennial news consumers, went well.Oct. 29 mixer recap – Walton said SPJ/LA’s combo mixer with the Los Angeles Press Club, which had the Halloween theme of scary stories from journalists, was a success. Claudia Peschiutta, who helped organize it, said she’d like to hold a similar event again next year.VI. NEW BUSINESSMottek reported that arrangements are 99% done for this year’s holiday party, which will be held Dec. 2 at the Shanghai Grill in Beverly Hills. Mottek said the restaurant is very down to earth and has a nice meeting room in the back. Work is underway on the press release for the event.VII. NEXT BOARD MEETINGDec. 7 at 7 p.m. at Louise’s Trattoria, 10645 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles.VIII. ADJOURNMENT – Bellman moved to adjourn, Marcellino seconded. Motion carried.Respectfully submitted,David Zahniser