Thursday, December 16, 2021
Virtual meeting held via videoconference on Zoom.
Present: President Randy Showstack; Treasurer Dan Kubiske; Corresponding Secretary Amy Fickling; Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall; and board members Julie Asher, Jacqueline Fuller, and Celia Wexler.
Excused absences: Vice President Dee Ann Divis; board members Denise Dunbar, Ken Jost, and Selma Khenissi.
Special guests: Dina Weinstein, president of the Virginia SPJ chapter; Stephenie Overman, SPJ Region 2 coordinator; and student chapter liaison Kathleen Burns.
Call to Order
President Randy Showstack called the meeting to order at about 6:45 p.m.
Committee Reports
While waiting to establish a quorum to conduct business, Showstack asked to start with chapter committee reports.
Treasurer Dan Kubiske, who is co-chair of the national SPJ International Community, offered an update on that group’s work. They will do a joint program in March with the Louisiana SPJ Chapter on coverage of Haiti. On January 11, the community will have a session from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on what they are doing to protect journalists from physical and online threats. In February there may be a session with the Kansas City Star and New Zealand News about the deep dive they did on racial aspects of news coverage in the past. The director of the Voice of America may be granting an interview. The community just did a program on the First Amendment and the world with Freedom Forum attorney Kevin Goldberg.
A quorum was established, so business items resumed.
Minutes
Assistant Treasurer Celia Wexler moved that the minutes of the November 18, 2021, board meeting be approved; Kubiske seconded.
Corresponding Secretary Amy Fickling noted there were two versions of a section of the September minutes that were factors in the vote on approving the September minutes during the November meeting. Fickling said the November minutes draft, as submitted, do not reflect which version of the section was intended for the approved September minutes, and that should be clarified. Wexler withdrew her motion.
Kubiske moved we defer discussion of minutes until we have a clarification. Asher seconded the motion. The board voted to approve the motion.
Discussion with SPJ Virginia Pro Chapter President
The board welcomed Dina Weinstein, the new president of the SPJ Virginia Pro Chapter at about 7 p.m. Weinstein discussed a number of things her chapter is doing, including holding its George Mason Awards in Roanoke in collaboration with the Virginia Tech SPJ chapter.
Each board member introduced themselves and gave some background on their work.
Weinstein said she brought a message from the Virginia chapter that it would like to help with the D.C. chapter’s planning for the SPJ national journalism conference in fall 2022 in Washington, D.C. Showstack said we will coordinate that chapter collaboration, through Vice President Dee Ann Divis, with whom he’ll put Weinstein in touch. Divis is the chapter’s point person on national conference planning as well.
Weinstein said she had taken inspiration from her chapter’s December 11 event at the George Mason home, Gunston Hall. She said the state of Virginia has many resources on the Founding Fathers that might be used in relation to the national SPJ conference.
She also said her chapter is looking for corporate support for their George Mason Award.
Weinstein left the session at about 7:36 p.m.
Financial Report
Kubiske moved the board accept the financial report he had submitted to the board previously by email. Wexler seconded. The board voted to approve the motion.
Report on Student Chapters
Student chapter liaison Kathleen Burns said one of the leaders of the George Washington University student SPJ chapter has left and no one has stepped into his place, which is always a disadvantage with student chapters. There are two new officers there who would like to partner with us.
Board member Jacqueline Fuller reported there has been discussion with people at her alma mater, Marymount University, about a chapter.
Discussion on Long Term Planning
Burns also mentioned her idea to have a program with Christy Bowe, the only woman photographer who has been part of the White House press corps.
Members discussed having more overarching themes or long-term plans for programs.
Region 2 Director Stephenie Overman said she and Vice President Dee Ann Divis are working on a program on social media. She said the board sometimes puts a lot of energy into programs and we don’t have an overarching vision for them.
Burns said she is concerned we are not doing enough active recruiting.
Showstack said he hoped to have a board meeting on strategic planning soon and he did want to be more in sync with national SPJ.
Regional Meeting Planning
Overman said she has been in contact with the Maryland Delaware DC Press Association about possibly doing a regional meeting with them in Annapolis. She said she would need help with programs, no matter who we partner with. She said she would like programs that foreshadow the SPJ national meeting conference next fall.
Report on Censorship by PIO Work
Foxhall reported on efforts opposing restraints relating to PIOs. She said she is doing research for an article for the Columbia Journalism Review. She said a New York Times reporter had thanked her profusely for the work we are doing. She said people in SPJ continue to look for a legal case on the issue. She said it is necessary that journalists speak up is at this point when we have five 5 million pandemic dead and the 9,000 or so staff in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all but silenced: “I consider that insane and immoral.”
Asked about the correspondence the chapter had with the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early this year, Foxhall said she thought the next step in relation to that agency might be to find an advisory committee meeting to speak at.
Foxhall also reported that the SPJ national Freedom of Information Committee is now trying to gather a number of media policies from public agencies for a Freedom of Information week presentation. Showstack asked if Foxhall could find out if the chapter could be involved in that.
Wexler and Showstack pointed out that the Union of Concerned Scientists has done work on media policies of agencies.
Other Discussion on Events
Showstack asked that Burns work on the photographer event with Divis. He said the board will hopefully have a strategic planning event in late January.
He also asked we try to move ahead with a member appreciation event even if it has to be virtual. In addition, he reported, we are keeping with the same list of Hall of Fame honorees we chose over a year ago, but who have not been publicly named or inducted due to the inability to have an in-person event.
Showstack mentioned the new Dateline Awards Coordinator is proceeding with the contest process.
Overman pointed out this year might be a good opportunity for the chapter to take a lead on the SPJ national conference planning, given staff turnover at headquarters and a delay in holding the first conference planning meeting, which Claire Regan had told the chapter would be held in December.
Adjournment
Kubiske moved that we head to the bar. Foxhall commented, “Oh, if only we could.” Asher seconded. The board voted to approve the motion.
The meeting was adjourned at about 8:26 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Foxhall
Recording Secretary
2020-2021