AAJA-Washington, D.C.: January 31, 2009 Minutes

MINUTES OF JANUARY 31, 2009 BOARD MEETING

D.C. Chapter Board Meeting
January 31, 2009

Board members in attendance: Hanah Cho, Liz Kay, Kakki Lewis, Jenny Abella and Sherri Ly
Others attending: Peggy Hu, Doris Truong, Caroline Smith, Jay Wang, Alex Wong, Elizabeth Lee, Tan Ly

1. Old business: None.

2. Setting budget for the year: The chapter has about $16,000 to $18,000 in its coffers, and our priorities this year will be programming that emphasize skills-building and outreach for colleagues in transition or laid off recently.

Spending estimates for the year (very preliminary):

$2500 for ELP and other professional development stipends
$2500 for scholarships/internship stipends
$2000 for food related to Trivia Bowl and other events

3. Scheduling and planning events:

Kakki is organizing a panel focusing on pursuing a freelance or other entrepreneurial options outside of the traditional newsroom.

The panel may include bloggers and other journalists who have transitioned to other careers such as public relations, production, etc.

A half-day workshop with 20-25 people, who secure their spots via a refundable deposit, seems to be the best use of our resources and time. And it also provides for more intense and intimate setting so that participants can get the most out of the program.

Kakki will reach out to journalism organizations, such as the National Press Foundation, to co-sponsor or provide free space. The Newseum and the National Press Club are other possible options. We're looking at sometime in April.

A budget for the event may include funds for light lunch/breakfast and drinks and small thank-you gifts for participants.

Hanah will reach out to Lister Lim to possibly reschedule a Final Cut Pro workshop, which was canceled last fall. There's interest in holding 2-3 sessions so that workshops can be broken up to cater to beginners, intermediate and advanced learners.

Hanah also will reach out to other journalism groups, such as NABJ, SPJ, to co-sponsor mixers and social events to cut down on spending and also to draw as many people as possible.

Doris mentioned that a chapter member, Tracie Liguid, who works at the Pilot, is interested in organizing a online training-type of workshop in Norfolk.

Holding another Scrabble tournament is another option. The tournament in 2007 raised several hundreds of dollars. Liz will spearhead the planning and find out whether we can use The Baltimore Sun's conference room, the Sun will donate food or whether we could bring our own food for the event.

Trivia Bowl: It will likely be held on a Friday in the fall. Tan Ly requests we provide some dates so that he could work with the Washington Post to secure a room. Tan said he received permission for the chapter to use the room for the event, which will provide significant cost savings. We can also bring our own food for the event.

The chapter has been invited by U. of Maryland's Office of Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy and the Asian American Student Union to participate in a community organization fair. Jenny Abella volunteered to attend the fair and staff our booth to do student outreach. The event takes place Feb. 26 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the student union.

4. ELP and other stipends:

The chapter will provide stipends for chapter ELP participants. We will use a similar application process where we ask members to help the chapter in some tangible way in exchange for financial help.

The chapter will post application on its listserv and Web site.

Also, the chapter will provide stipends for members who need financial help to attend other professional development programs at a time when newsrooms are cutting back on such spending.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and Doris will take charge.

Average stipend will total $250, but it could be more or less depending on the number of applications and budget.

5. Student scholarships/internship stipends:

There was consensus that the chapter look into changing scholarships into internship stipends to help students who are working without pay at localtv stations and newspapers. The chapter would get more out of helping students who we know are pursuing journalism. It's hard to keep track of local students who received our scholarships once they go off to school.

Instead of smaller stipends, the chapter can have one $2500 stipend and alternate the recipient by medium -- i.e. broadcast intern one year, a print intern the following year., etc. The chapter wants to have a say in who receives the internship stipend.

Liz will check with the recruiter at the Baltimore Sun about their interest, and she will also reach out to the Boston chapter to find out how they dole out internship stipends. She will also check into the Md/Va/DC Press Association, which sponsors a student intern, to see if they're interested in partnership up with the chapter.

The internship stipend can be used year-round, as opposed to a summer internship, because many newsrooms take interns during the fall and spring. Depending on how quickly we can make the change, the switch to stipends may not happen this year. We may have to stick with students scholarships until all the details are worked out with stipends.

6. The chapter is still looking for a treasurer.

Hanah notes that the chapter has found a secretary, Kathy Park, a broadcast reporter from WJLA/NewsChannel 8. She will be sending out a ballot for the special elections.

Meanwhile, Cecilia Kang from WashPost will continue her duties until we find a replacement. It's critical we find one soon because taxes will have to be completed and we need to switch the signatory on the account.

There was some discussions of hiring someone part-time to deal with the chapter's finances. Doris notes some chapters have done or are doing that.

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