March 8, 1999 Meeting Minutes

Members Present
Dave Aeikens, president; Mike Knaak, treasurer; Kathleen Hansen, secretary; Karen Boros, Robert Franklin, Gary Hill, Jay Maxwell, Juliana Thill, board members

Thanks to Robert Franklin for hosting the meeting and providing refreshments.

Presidency and Elections
Aeikens reported progress on filling in the ballot. Hill will stand as president, Borger as president-elect, Hansen as secretary and Knaak as treasurer. Board of Director candidates for four openings are Pumarlo, Petersen, Lowe, Glass, McMenamin, Walsh and Fedor.

Ballots will go out shortly after April 1.

Regional Program Report
The agenda for SPJ Regional/ National Press Photographers Association meeting on April 16 and 17 was finalized. Hill said he would ask Tom Houser to moderate the Nifty NICAR session.

Bill Buzenberg will be invited to deliver the keynote address at the Mark of Excellence Lunch (he later accepted). Total donations toward the conference as of March 5 were $4,800 plus the national grant of $500. (more donations were received later).

Board members will be expected to help out at the registration desk and throughout the day on Friday and Saturday.

Publicity
Thill reported that the newsletter went out on Saturday and the Regional flyer would be prepared and mailed as soon as feasible.

Page One Contest and Banquet
Maxwell reported receiving 598 entries, generating $8,970 in revenue. Borger, Maxwell and some additional volunteers sorted out the entries and mailed them to Western Washington.

The banquet date and speaker are still not determined. (We later learned that the governor accepted our invitation to speak on May 25).

Several hotels had openings on the possible banquet dates. (We later signed a contract with the Minneapolis Hilton and Towers for May 25 with a dinner price of $30.00).

Leadership Retreat
The chapter may send two people to Greencastle for the SPJ Leadership Retreat on August 13, 14 and 15. Aeikens suggested the president and president-elect should go. Hill declined (Borger later declined). Maxwell accepted.

Finance Report
Knaak reported that the chapter’s current balance is $11,713.32.

Media Guide
Boros that mailings are current. We still have 14 boxes with 80/guides to a box. There will be no new guide this year.

Membership
No report.

FoI Report
Aeikens reported that the chapter was written about in News Media and the Law in regards to the Bancroft arrest. Aeikens said Weaver admitted it was a mistake to take the film out of the camera. Weaver agreed to meet with Aeikens, Knaak and Dalglish soon.

A March 17 News Council meeting will review coverage of the Hiawatha incident. Aeikens and Dalglish will attend.

New Business
Boros reported that the Twin Cities Journalists Fund selected it first scholarship recipient. Franklin suggested that SPJ might prepare and place markers or plaques on sites around the state that have significance for journalism.

Franklin raised the issue of lack of union representation for many media professionals. He suggested an AAUP-type model of applying warning labels to media organizations that mistreat workers.

Several members suggested that SPJ should help start satellite chapters around the state. There is particular interest in the Duluth area.

Franklin raised the issue of pay for interns. Many news organizations (especially broadcast organizations) do not pay interns, or pay but do not provide substantive work experiences. Franklin suggested that SPJ could file a complaint with the Minnesota News Council or engage in public shaming by publicizing information about how interns are treated by news organizations in the state.

Next Meeting
The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 6 at 6:00 at the Star Tribune.