Thursday, February 17, 2022
Virtual meeting held via video conference on Zoom.
Present: President Randy Showstack; Vice President Dee Ann Divis; Treasurer Dan Kubiske; Corresponding Secretary Amy Fickling; Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall; and board members Julie Asher, Denise Dunbar, Jacqueline Fuller and Selma Khenissi
Excused absences: Board members Ken Jost and Celia Wexler
Special guests: Region 2 Coordinator Stephenie Overman; student chapter liaison Kathleen Burns; Hall of Fame Committee Chair Steve Taylor; and Andy Schotz
Call to Order
President Randy Showstack called the meeting to order at about 6:48 p.m.
Minutes
Treasurer Dan Kubiske moved that the board approve the minutes of the January 27, 2022, board meeting that had been circulated earlier by email. Board member Julie Asher seconded. The board voted to approve the motion.
Treasurer’s Report
Kubiske moved that the board accept the treasurer’s report he had circulated by email earlier. Asher seconded. Kubiske said that the note on the fee payment for the domain name registration renewal should be corrected to be say annual, not monthly. The board voted to approve the motion, with the amendment that Kubiske would make the ministerial correction.
Region 2 Report
Region 2 Coordinator Stephenie Overman said that the Region 2 Conference will be in Roanoke, Virginia, April 8-9. The time for the reception for the Virginia Pro Chapter’s presentation of its George Mason Award to Beth Macy, author of “Dopesick,” will be set soon. She said that the Virginia Tech SPJ student chapter participants are excited to take part in the conference.
PIO Report
Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall gave highlights of the report on the Censorship by PIO Project that she emailed to the board earlier in the day. She said that Frank LoMonte, who has written some of the most impressive reports opposing restrictions on reporters through public information officers, is moving from the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida to CNN as an in-house council. She had sent the board the letter she sent to the National Press Club Freedom of the Press Committee asking that it emphasize the need for embedding reporters in federal agencies as much as embedding journalists with the troops overseas, a request it had recently made of the Pentagon, as Russia began troop movements in the area around Ukraine.
Dateline Newsletter
Corresponding Secretary Amy Fickling, who is Dateline newsletter editor, reminded everyone on the board that it is good for the chapter to put out a newsletter monthly, but it’s best when there is a good peg, such as an upcoming chapter program, to promote as the lead story. She asked board members to be on alert for anything that should be included in an upcoming issue, particularly in their area of work on chapter activities. She requested that when board members send her information or links of other things of interest, that they also write up a short item about it so that she has more than just a link and doesn’t have to write it herself. The deadline is always the 15th of the month.
Campus Liaison Report
Student chapter liaison Kathleen Burns said she has located three people at Howard University to communicate with. The deadline for applications for the SDX DC student scholarships this year is March 15. She mentioned the Alexandria Times is looking for virtual interns and offering modest pay.
Hall of Fame and Distinguished Service Award
The board discussed matters related to the nominees for Hall of Fame induction and the Distinguished Service Award recipient, which the board hopes to honor at an in-person dinner in June this year.
Amicus Brief in D.C. Case
Robert Becker joined the meeting and reported to the board that the amicus brief that the chapter signed on to has been filed with the D.C. Court of Appeals. It has to do with the District government automatically posting certain information online, which they are legally required to do. He said it may take a year for the court to hear the case due to the COVID-19 pandemic backlog.
Co-Hosting Sunshine Week Panel with DCOGC
He also reported that the D.C. Open Government Coalition, of which he is a member, will be having its Sunshine Week event virtually on March 16 with a focus on the Metropolitan Police Department. One thing likely to come up is a federal civil rights complaint that alleges that the department slowed or denied FOIA requests. It will also include a panel discussion with crime victims or family members of murder victims who have had problems getting information about cases from the police department.
He formally requested that the chapter co-sponsor the event, as it has in the past, and emphasized that since it is virtual there will be no shared cost involved for chapter co-sponsorship. What is more important is the chapter’s help in getting the word out about the event. DCOGC will be lining up the panelists.
Foxhall moved that the chapter co-sponsor the DCOGC Sunshine Week program on March 16 this year. Kubiske seconded. The board voted to approve the motion.
Becker said goodnight and left the meeting after the vote.
Discussion on Possible In-Person Dateline Awards and Hall of Fame Dinner
Fickling talked about the survey she did of members about the potential for holding an in-person awards dinner in June at the National Press Club. She received 13 responses out of about 105 people she sent it to. Some people said they would be likely to attend a live event. Others said they could not commit yet. One person said we might consider having a reception instead of a dinner this year.
She said she thinks the people who are used to coming and having a good time at the dinner will come. Those who don’t tend to, will likely not. One question, she said, is whether the people who are finalists for awards will come – they were not surveyed, as their names aren’t available yet.
She said it’s possible we could lose money on the dinner this year, given that circumstances have changed during the pandemic. She said she thinks the contract guarantees a minimum of 85 people. She said she thinks it’s not possible to say at this point we would have enough people attend to cover that.
Showstack said he thinks we need to move ahead with planning as if we will go ahead with the in-person dinner June 14. He said perhaps the board should not be very concerned about the ticket costs (with the added fees incurred by reserving using an Eventbrite invitation), if it seems there is pent up demand for a live event and people are willing to pay.
Asher indicated she thinks the percentage of people at the dinner who are chapter members may be small. She said the company that has created the obelisks and plaque for the Hall of Fame and DSA is still in business, but we need someone to do the program layout, as the person who has done this in the past is no longer available for the task.
Fickling pointed out we have had different pricing levels for early bird, for members, and for others. She said that if we do it with the electronic invites, someone will need to be in charge of that sliding scale.
There was a consensus on the board that the chapter should move ahead with an in-person dinner if possible and with doing invitations electronically.
Dateline Awards
Andy Schotz reported the Dateline Awards contest is going well and that the new coordinator is an excellent hire.
Chapter Program Idea
Board member Selma Khenissi reported she is working on a chapter program on social media for journalists both at home and abroad: the rule and norms to consider. The board discussed having the event in March.
Planning for SPJ Conference
Showstack reported that he and Vice President Dee Ann Divis are on the national SPJ committee for the national SPJ conference in Washington, D.C., October 27-30, and that the committee had its first meeting a week ago. The deadline for submittiing program ideas for the conference schedule is April 28. The organizations meeting with SPJ this year are small, but bring in many people. These are the Associated Collegiate Press and the College Media Association. It will be a “hybrid” format.
Divis said she and Showstack pressed the point at the committee meeting that the conference should deal with the heavy issues, including climate and repression of democracy. She said they would continue to push for that kind of thing.
She also said that the November elections will be a huge issue. She said the chapter could do a “drumroll” leading up to the conference, doing some activities in advance and then talking about how they worked out at the conference. One possibility is to have a corps of reporters talk to community groups.
She said she would be sending out a Doodle poll to find out when board members would like to have a strategy session about this.
Kubiske noted members should be in touch with people who might be the speakers in any session they propose.
Kubiske moved and Divis seconded that the meeting be adjourned.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Foxhall
Recording Secretary
2021-2022