New Hampshire Press Association Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes — Sept. 13, 2018
Board of Directors: Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, a regular board meeting was called to order via phone conference call by President Vanessa Palange at 1:05 p.m.
In Attendance: In addition to Ms. Palange and Executive Director Phil Kincade, the following board members were in attendance: Chuck Douglas, Heather Henline, Carol Robidoux , David Saad, Trent Spiner and David Tirrell-Wysocki, participating for portions or all of the call, as individual schedules permitted.
Absent: Howard Altschiller, and David Brooks filed his treasurer’s report via email in advance of the meeting.
A quorum of membership was present.
Approval of Minutes: The previous meeting’s minutes were submitted for approval by Ms. Henline, secretary, pending any corrections from the board. Ms. Robidoux made a motion to approve, and it was seconded by Mr. Douglas. The motion carried unanimously, and any submitted changes would be made by Ms. Henline prior to the final filing of the minutes.
Treasurer’s Report by David Brooks: Mr. Brooks filed a report via email. He reported a balance of $5,684.99, as of Sept. 11. We have received dues by check from the Monitor, NH1, Union-Leader, Telegraph, Bow Times, Gatehouse Media and NHPR. PayPal payments were received from Heidi Copeland, of NH Business Magazine, and Harrison Thorpe, of the Rochester Voice.
Executive Director’s Report Phil Kincade:
- New Hampshire News Cooperative Update — This carries over from previous old business. Nancy West, of InDepthNH, previously indicated the local state cooperative received a grant through Solutions Journalism Network. They are in the process of hiring a part-time managing editor to oversee the collaborative and seeking reporters as well as participation from the membership. Mr. Kincade said NHPA will help to promote this project by posting the openings on our website as well as via our Facebook page.
- Radically Rural event in Keene — This is a reminder of the same event discussed last meeting. Terry Williams at the Keene Sentinel is working with this year’s Radically Rural event, set for Sept. 27-28. It’s is an annual two-day summit that will bring together 500 people who are passionate about creating vibrant, robust rural communities and are eager to learn, connect and lead the charge. As part of that, five program track feature topics will offer strategic opportunities for transformation in rural communities.
One of the topics is: journalism. This will highlight building a base for strong local news reporting in rural areas; dealing with fake news in rural communities; and “building your own print and digital newspaper.” Mr. Kincade said Mr. Williams would appreciate attendance by any member of the board or NHPA organization who can make the event.
- Annual Meeting Update — Mr. Kincade indicted the annual meeting is set for noon Oct. 25 at the Nackey Loeb School of Journalism, 749 E. Industrial Park Dr. Manchester, N.H. Pizza will be served along with light refreshments. Mr. Kincade said he has touched base with this year’s current board members to determine if they want to run for re-election or another post.
Additionally, he has reached out to see if anyone else among the membership has an interest in running for the existing board slots or the two newly proposed posts of assistant secretary and assistant treasurer. Nancy West, of InDepthNH, has asked to be added to the ballot for consideration as president. Melanie Plenda, freelance journalist, has asked to be added to the ballot for consideration as assistant secretary. Mr. Kincade indicated he would make both of those additions.
Committee Reports:
Legislative — Trent Spiner, chair: Mr. Spiner said there is a Right to Know NH meeting set for Sept. 15. Committee members plan to attend for NHPA representation. At the meeting, attendees hope to set priorities heading into the 2019 legislative session. Mr. Spiner said these will be used as a springboard to draft one or two bills to hopefully strengthen RTK laws in the state.
Mr. Douglas discussed whether NHPA would engage the paid services of a lobbyist during this next legislative session. After discussion among the board, it was put to a vote to defer renewing a contract with any lobbyist at this time, on a motion by Mr. Douglas and seconded by Ms. Henline. Ms. Palange called for a roll-call vote, with the following all voting in favor of refraining from a contract renewal at this time: Mr. Douglas, Ms. Henline, Ms. Palange, Ms. Robidoux and Mr. Spiner.
Content Sharing — Vanessa Palange, chair: Ms. Palange referred to the New Hampshire News Cooperative update in Mr. Kincade’s report.
Contest — Heather Henline, chair: Ms. Henline indicated progress was made in securing the Illinois Press Association and its Advanced Contest Entry System (ACES). The contract had been signed for the ACES services, and Mr. Kincade said he had a demo of the site platform set for Sept. 17. He planned on Sept. 18 to update the budget and charges for securing these services.
Motion to Accept Committee and Other Reports: This was made by Ms. Robidoux and seconded by Ms. Palange. It carried unanimously.
Old Business:
- Seminar/Workshop — Mr. David Tirrell-Wysocki said everything is set for the Oyster River journalism workshop, which will take place Sept. 18.
The new workshop structure would consist of four sessions in the morning: reporting; video and photos; sound for online or radio use; and the First Amendment. This would be followed by lunch. Then, in the afternoon, the focus would be on combining the skills from the morning to enter into planning sessions for live coverage of a news-making event. This likely would be a political candidate speaking to the students. The immersion teams then would be responsible for producing on deadline a print, video and/or audio coverage package.
New Business:
- Event Co-Sponsorship — The New Hampshire Supreme Court Society will posthumously honor slain conflict journalist James “Jim” Foley with its Life and Liberty Award. Mr. Douglas wanted to invite the NHPA to join in co-sponsoring this event, which we thought may be scheduled sometime the week of Nov. 26-Dec. 1. He indicated he would provide further details, once they become available. Update: The ceremony is set for Nov. 13 at the state Supreme Court in Concord.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:45 p.m., on a motion by Mr. Douglas. It was seconded by Ms. Palange and carried unanimously.
Next meeting: Our next meeting is scheduled for a conference call at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct.11. An agenda will be forthcoming.
Respectfully submitted,
Heather Henline
New Hampshire Press Association
Secretary
Be First to Comment