Note: These minutes are not considered official until approved by the JEA Board of Directors at its next meeting.

Minutes
Journalism Education Association Board Meeting
April 17, 2008 • 8:30 a.m.
Anaheim Disneyland Marriott

CALL TO ORDER — Jack Kennedy called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.

LIGHTNING ROUND (Updates, Quick Reports) — 8 – 10 a.m.

• Roll call — Susan Tantillo In attendance were:
  Jack Kennedy, MJE, President and Executive/Finance Committee chair
  Bob Bair, MJE, Vice President and New Adviser Outreach Committee chair
  Susan Tantillo, MJE, Secretary and Awards Committee chair
  Ann Visser, MJE, Past President/Convention Consultant
  Bradley Wilson, CJE, C:JET editor and Technology Committee chair, Photography Contest Coordinator
  Linda Puntney, MJE, JEA Executive Director
  Connie Fulkerson, JEA Administrative Assistant
  Mark Newton, MJE, Certification Commission chair
  Lori Oglesbee Petter, CJE, Development/Curriculum Commission chair and Publications Committee chair
  Anita Marie Wertz, MJE, Junior High/Middle School Commission chair
  Norma Kneese, MJE, Multicultural Commission chair and Outreach Academy Committee chair
  John Bowen, MJE, Scholastic Press Rights Commission chair
  Steve Matson, MJE, Region 1/Northwest Regional Director and Partnership/Endorsements Committee chair
  Kathy Gaber, Region 2/Southwest Regional Director
  Gary Lindsay, MJE, Region 3/North Central Regional Director
  Wayna Polk, Region 4/South Central Regional Director and Scholarship Committee chair
  Brenda Gorsuch, MJE, Region 5/Southeast Regional Director and Administrator Outreach Committee chair
  Betsy Pollard Rau, Region 6/Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes Regional Director
  Ron Bonadonna, CJE, Region 7/Northeast Regional Director and Membership Retention Committee chair
  Javonna May Bass, Ad Hoc Board Member
  Linda Barrington, MJE, NCTE Liaison/Assembly Director and Mentoring Program Committee co-chair
  Julie Dodd, MJE, Scholastic Press Association Directors Liaison, Mentoring Program Committee co-chair
  Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE, JEA Listserv Liaison
  Logan Aimone, MJE, NSPA Liaison
  Albert R. Tims, Ph.D., NSPA Board President and Director, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
  Mitch Ziegler, CJE, Anaheim Local Committee chair
  Patricia Turley, Write-off chair (For the relevant portion of the meeting)
  
  
• Approval of minutes — Susan Tantillo CLICK HERE

  Visser moved and Lindsay seconded that the minutes from the Philadelphia board and general membership meetings be approved as presented. Motion carried unanimously.

• Local committee reports

  Ziegler welcomed the board to Anaheim, thanked the board for its support and predicted a successful convention. Puntney thanked Ziegler for agreeing to bring his leadership skills to the convention as local chair. After telling the board he hoped he would be able to echo Ernie Banks once the convention was over and say, “Let’s play two,” he left the meeting to attend to convention details.

• Profit/loss statement, Philadelphia convention — Linda Puntney

  Puntney reported JEA total income of $238,911.50 and JEA total expenses of $97,149.47 for a et income of $141,162.03. Puntney noted the budget for the convention was $200,000 income and $100,000 expenses for a profit of $100,000. Philadelphia drew 4,802 delegates (4,426 paid).

  Aimone said the $6,365 in uncollected income at the time of the statement is less now because the NSPA staff has been working to collect overdue accounts. This represents registration fees from six or seven schools.

• Quarterly Financial Statements — Linda Puntney

  Quarterly Profit/Loss Statement: The 2007-08 (July 1-June 30) overall JEA budget is based on projected income of $962,615 and projected expenses of $1,115,988 with the difference to be made up, if necessary, from reserve funds. Puntney noted as of April 10 income was $622,053.16 and expenses were $571,837.91 for a net income of $50,215.25. The JEA Balance Sheet as of April 7, 2008, shows total assets of $1,431,941.71.

  Puntney called attention to items of interest from the Quarterly Profit/Loss Statement including a substantial increase in Miscellaneous Income due to an anonymous donation to the Mentor Program of $35,000 and increased payment to help State Directors get to conventions since the stipend became $300. She said the Special Projects line includes the Mentor Program expenses.

  Investments: JEA’s total portfolio value as of March 31, 2008, was $790,114.76. This compares to $815,395.53 on Dec. 31, 2007, and $801,697.10 on March 31, 2007. Puntney noted this loss on paper is typical of almost everyone’s experience in the current economic climate. JEA’s portfolio has a “wait and hold” strategy and “investments are not in any danger but it isn’t pretty. The most recent quarter was difficult.”

• Headquarters report — Linda Puntney

  Puntney called attention to the headquarters entry in the JEA Semi-Annual Report.

• Convention Updates —Logan Aimone, Ann Visser, Linda Puntney

  Aimone reported 4,314 delegates registered for Anaheim three days ahead of the convention with 3,985 of those paid. He said NSPA will donate $1,090 to Student Press Law Center from money collected because of the check-off box for voluntary contributions on the Anaheim registration form.

J. Bowen moved and Visser seconded that JEA donate $1 of each paid registration from Anaheim to the Student Press Law Center. Motion carried unanimously.

St. Louis convention dates are Nov. 13-16, 2008. The convention will use America’s Center convention center near the headquarters Renaissance Grand and Suites Hotel. Local chair is Nancy Freeman, MJE, Clayton HS.

Phoenix convention dates are April 16-19, 2009. The convention will use the convention center adjacent to the headquarters Hyatt Regency Phoenix. Local co-chairs are Peggy Gregory, CJE, Greenway HS, Phoenix, and Christine Brandell, CJE, Highland HS, Phoenix.

Kennedy said the official Outreach Academy cadre consists of Stan Zoller, CJE, of Rolling Meadows (Ill.) HS, and Linda Shockley of Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. Because Shockley cannot be at the Anaheim convention, Reginald Ragland, Washington D.C. state director, and Steve O’Donoghue, California Scholastic Journalism Initiative, will assist Zoller and local ORA chair Nancy Zubiri, Venice (Calif.) HS.

Matson suggested revisiting the ORA goals to determine if the academy is meeting those goals. Kneese said Sandy Woodcock of NAA Foundation will conduct an electronic survey of ORA participants beginning with those who attended the first ORA in Seattle (2005) to help with the assessment. Wilson suggested comparing the JEA membership list with the ORA participant list as one measure.

• Mentoring Update — Linda Barrington, Julie Dodd

  Dodd said surprises always occur when undertaking any new project. Barriers for current mentors in recruiting and meeting with their mentees have included inclement weather, state testing and those who are hesitant to have a mentor.

  The JEA Mentoring Committee has decided it is best for JEA not to enter into a formal partnership with the New Teacher Center because its formal program is too long (eight training steps over two years) and too expensive ($28,000 for two trainers) for JEA’s purposes. JEA can use the money in other ways. Therefore, the JEA Mentoring Committee will develop its own mentoring materials for journalism using some of what the committee has already purchased from the New Teacher Center.

  New states joining the program for 2008-09 include California, Illinois, North Carolina and, hopefully, Virginia. Training for all new mentors will be at UC/Berkeley in July. JEA received a $35,000 grant for each of the first three years from an anonymous donor, $10,000 of which is earmarked for training California mentors. Therefore, California will have six mentors. Illinois and North Carolina will each have two mentors. The committee is working with Virginia on a possible alternative approach for its program.

  The original 10 mentors – two each from Colorado, Kansas, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin – have worked with 25 mentees since initial training at the fall convention. These include six in Colorado, six in Kansas, four in Ohio, five in Oregon and four in Wisconsin. At least three mentees were expected to attend their first national convention in Anaheim.

  Dodd and Barrington are looking for grant money to continue the program after the third year of JEA-pledged support (2009-2010).

  Oglesbee Petter moved and Newton seconded to record in the minutes official recognition and appreciation of the vision and success of the Mentoring Program. Motion carried unanimously.

  Oglesbee Petter suggested the committee establish benchmarks for program evaluation, create a book of successful teaching materials to sell in the JEA Bookstore and video some mentoring sessions. Dodd said the committee is already working on these and is looking for money for equipment to send to mentors to record mentoring sessions.

  Barrington stressed that mentors do not evaluate mentees. This is part of the philosophy of the program. Dodd said mentoring topics are seasonal. Spring concerns focus on state testing and recruiting. At other times of the year mentees are more concerned about how to prepare for a challenging conversation with a principal. Mentors prepare to cover everything from management of publications and student staff to the teaching of journalism.

  C. Bowen said one Ohio mentee volunteered to be on the new statewide board of Ohio Scholastic Media Association. Kennedy said every mentee school in Ohio won awards at the recent OSMA state press day where he was the keynote speaker.

  Lindsay praised the excellent and helpful Mentoring Program report for its anecdotes.

  Kennedy pointed out the difference between a “problem” to be solved and a “predicament” the scholastic journalism profession finds itself in with a huge turnover in advisers. He sees this predicament as never-ending and the Mentoring Program as a way to help advisers cope.

  Gaber asked how many of the 25 mentees will continue to advise. Two will not, one in Wisconsin and one in Colorado. Dodd said at least two who had not planned to will continue as a result of the Mentoring Program. New Teacher Center data report an 80 percent retention rate of those mentored through its program. Some journalism mentees are looking for more supportive schools.

  Gorsuch commended the program for its approach of mentors not evaluating the mentees.

• NSPA Update — Logan Aimone

  Aimone distributed the NSPA Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2008.

  He said NSPA received 65 resumes and is set to hire a new staff person as Membership Services Director who will also oversee trade show and hotel logistics for national conventions. This person will be on board for St. Louis.

  He reminded the board that Phoenix is projected to bring in $25,000 to $30,000 less than Anaheim based on attendance patterns over the past 10 years. Aimone reported that a helpful convention blog begun with the Philadelphia convention will continue. The blog is at the NSPA Web site (http://studentpress.org/nspa).

  NSPA added a new contest beginning with the Anaheim convention, Best of Show Web sites.

  The NSPA critique service will begin to phase out the paper judge form and replace it with a digital form where judges can simply type their comments. These will be sent to schools by e-mail instead of UPS.

  Barrington commended Aimone for his visibility and helpful comments posted to JEAHELP. Tims commended Aimone for his effective leadership and management style.

  Oglesbee Petter moved and Newton seconded that the JEA board go on record to recognize the efficiency and enthusiasm Logan Aimone has brought to the NSPA side of our conventions and partnership. Motion carried unanimously.

• Press Rights Commission Update — John Bowen

  J. Bowen introduced and discussed the Six Tenets of Responsible Student Media Programs. The commission developed and expanded these tenets at its working retreat at the Poynter Institute in January. See the complete discussion of each point at www.jeapressrights.org. Responsible student media programs:

  1. Establish policies for effective and responsible reporting.
  2. Provide opportunities through student-run media to build better citizens who can apply critical thinking and decision-making skills.
  3. Hire and depend on professionally educated advisers who use proven curricula.
  4. Ensure open lines of communication among students, teachers, administrators and community members.
  5. Encourage balance in student media content through the use of complete, accurate and thorough information with access to diverse sources.
  6. Produce media that report information in context, visually and verbally, to enhance their comprehension and greater good for all communities.

  On behalf of the JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission, J. Bowen moved that JEA budget up to $20,000 for development of promotional materials for the commission’s Responsible Scholastic Journalism campaign and to seek partnerships with other groups to assist with funding. Motion carried unanimously.

  The money exists in the 2007-08 budget. It will be encumbered for this motion’s purpose. Campaign ideas include sending four posters already developed by the commission to every high school in the U.S. and partnering with the NAA Foundation on mailing or other costs over and above the $20,000 from JEA. Other ideas include creating a Web site by fall with free campaign-related materials (lessons, activities, readings and research related to the six tenets); seeking additional sponsors; publishing the posters as paid ads in high school newspapers, administrator journals (especially NASSP) and other media outlets; making posters available to run as PSAs through the Ad Council; creating digital presentations for advisers to use in teaching administrators in workshops or other courses; allowing the posters to be downloaded in different sizes so they can be used for recruiting students or informing parents about the value of participation in high school journalism; sending postcards of the posters to incoming freshmen; creating a contest for broadcast classes with the theme of the six tenets; matching the commission’s Think First promotional buttons typographically with the posters.

• Write-off/judging responsibilities/Board responsibilities — John Bowen, Ann Visser

  Turley announced Cindy Bandow, Junction City (Ore.) HS, and Carrie Faust, CJE, Smoky Hill HS, Aurora, Colo., will share Write-off Contest co-chair responsibilities. Bandow will assist Turley at spring conventions. Faust will assist at fall conventions beginning with St. Louis. April VanBuren, CJE, Parkway Central HS, Chesterfield, Mo., will be the local Write-off chair in St. Louis.

  Turley introduced Mike Riley, CJE, Cody (Wyo.) HS and Wyoming High School Student Press Association executive director, as the new Broadcast Contest Coordinator.

  Tantillo moved and Gaber and Oglesbee Petter seconded to make permanent the piloted changes to the Newsmagazine Layout and Podcast contests. Motion carried unanimously.

  Kennedy asked the Write-off Committee to expand its discussion about the overall philosophy of the contests with a report to the JEA board in St. Louis.

  Carol Lange, CJE, current Broadcast Contest Coordinator, presented a proposal for a new Short Documentary carry-in contest to replace the Live Sports Coverage carry-in contest because the latter contest has not had sufficient interest since before the Seattle convention (2005).

  Gaber moved and Newton seconded that the board approve piloting the Short Documentary carry-in contest to replace the Live Sports Coverage carry-in contest. Motion carried unanimously.

  Oglesbee Petter distributed a copy of a letter from Alyssa Armentrout, broadcasting and photojournalism teacher at McKinney (Texas) HS. Her letter laments the lack of broadcast sessions, especially for those competing in broadcast-related Write-offs as sessions often conflict with contest-related obligations for students. To help solve the problem, as she sees it, Armentrout vows to teach at least one broadcast session at future JEA conventions. She writes to the board: “If each of you would find just one other enthusiastic, qualified broadcast teacher to teach sessions, we can make our broadcasters as creative and versatile as they can be and make JEA the place for high school broadcast journalism.” Puntney said, “We’re doing the best we can given the room availability.” During the Write-off contest, all available rooms are used for the contest.

  Wilson presented two proposals related to photography contests.

  Matson moved and Lindsay seconded to replace the Two Weeks’ Work carry-in photo Write-off contest with a pilot Photo Story carry-in contest effective in fall 2008. Motion carried unanimously.

  Matson moved and J. Bowen seconded that the Write-off Committee experiment with digital submission of photos for the pilot Photo Story contest in St. Louis to help determine how best to handle photo submissions for the future. Motion carried unanimously.

  Both pilots will follow guidelines submitted by Wilson.
  
  Newsmag CLICK HERE
  Documentary CLICK HERE
  Photography contests CLICK HERE

• Student Journalist Impact Award…Puntney

  After 15 years of providing the annual $1,000 prize for JEA’s Student Journalist Impact Award, Bruce S. Hopping, administrator of the Kalos Kagathos Foundation, has decided to move in a new direction. The 2008 prize will be the final one donated by his family’s foundation.

Lindsay moved and Tantillo seconded that JEA continue the spirit of the Student Journalist Impact Award with the $1,000 prize funded by JEA and a new name of JEA Investigative Reporting Award. Motion carried unanimously.

• Items of concern, attention, update — officers, directors, chairs

• Othr quick ereports — officers, directors, chairs

  Matson called attention to his portion of the JEA Semi-Annual Report, especially the status of student press rights bills in Washington and Oregon.

  Oglesbee Petter showed the curriculum guide for extracurricular journalism programs as created by Trevor Ivan, graduate student at Kent State University. The guide will be available on CD from the JEA Bookstore.

  Newton reminded board members of their obligation to work toward appropriate levels of certification for those who are not already Master Journalism Educators. He congratulated Wertz on attaining MJE status.

  Polk reported 38 states have submitted a candidate in the 2008 Journalist of the Year program. She asked for an interpretation of the requirement for winners to have scholarship money paid to their school: “These scholarships are released when a student enrolls in a college journalism program.” Discussion followed. Suggestions varied from leaving the requirement as it is now, to removing any requirement for the winner to study journalism to saying preference will be given to those enrolling in a college journalism program.

  Wilson distributed deadline and advertising rate information for 2008-09 issues of C:JET.

DISCUSSION ITEMS(Sitcoms, dramas)/biggest issues — 10 a.m.

• PLC Proposal — Mark Newton CLICK HERE

  Newton discussed his proposal submitted with Jim Streisel, CJE of Carmel (Ind.) HS, to establish a National Journalism Professional Learning Community, a Web-based national PLC for journalism educators and media advisers. The purpose of PLCs as currently found in many school districts nationwide is to provide a means for educators to collaborate on materials for their courses. Quoting the Newton/Streisel proposal, “The goal of the NJ-PLC is to create common curricula in order to better educate students by sharing curricula, best practices, lesson ideas/plans to teach specific topics and skills, and common assessments to assess and evaluate teaching and learning.” Newton explained the three integral PLC questions as 1) What do we want our students to know? 2) How do we know when they know? 3) What do we do if they don’t know? The goal of the PLC will be to create proven models for successful scholastic journalism education. Newton said such an endeavor makes sense with JEA’s mission and is obviously the “Education” part of JEA.

  Newton moved and Oglesbee Petter seconded that JEA allocate $50,000 to develop a National Journalism Professional Learning Community. Motion failed with three abstentions.

• Middle School Contest Proposal — Anita Marie Wertz CLICK HERE

  On behalf of the Junior High/Middle School Commission, Wertz moved to add broadcast to the Junior High/Middle School mail-in contest, to increase the number of entries per school from six to eight, to increase the entry fee from $10 per school to $12 per school and to require schools to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of materials. All other rules will remain as currently set forth. Motion carried unanimously.
  

• Partnernship/Endorsement Committee Recommendation

  The committee heard two proposals on April 16.

  The committee did not recommend JEA’s agreeing to a proposal from Megan Fromm, doctoral student at University of Maryland, on behalf of the University's Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change because the proposal does not fit JEA’s mission statement.

  On behalf of the Partnership/Endorsement Committee, Matson moved that JEA endorse SchoolTube’s “Journalism Channel” (not the entire Web site), provided that SchoolTube’s policies and presentation of journalism information are consistent with JEA’s policies and mission. Motion carried 9-6.
  

• 2009 Budget — Jack Kennedy CLICK HERE

  The Finance Committee moved adoption of the 2008-09 budget as presented with the following additions:

  1. $1,000 for the JEA Investigative Reporting Award (2-48.11)
  2. $6,000 for Outreach Academy participant substitute pay for two conventions (2-28.13)
  3. $2,800 for Outreach Academy (2-28.11)
  4. $600 for upcoming Outreach Academy chair travel (2-28.14)
  5. $6,000 for JEA Professional Learning Community Exploration Committee meeting (2-55.5) from motion by Newton seconded by Oglesbee Petter. Motion carried.
  6. $5,000 for regional workshops as outreach in Regions 2, 3 and 7.

  Budget proposal with above additions totals $1,221,671. Motion carried unanimously.

• Bookstore sales Newton asked for the following motion from the Scholastic Press Rights Commission to be taken from the table:

  If the publishers will not revise or reconsider the materials in question or will not indicate by the Anaheim convention that they intend to make changes in the next edition they publish, then the JEA board should remove the publication(s) from the JEA Bookstore.

  J. Bowen moved and Bair seconded to retable the motion until either the Publications Committee makes a recommendation or until the St. Louis convention. Motion carried unanimously.

Newton moved and Oglesbee Petter seconded to suspend the sale in the JEA Bookstore of Jostens Taking Issue and Patricia Osborn’s School Newspaper Adviser’s Survival Guide until the Publications Committee completes its review of the materials. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion to adjourn at 3:40 p.m. by Matson.

The next meeting will be at 8:30 a.m., Nov. 13, 2008, at the Renaissance Hotel, St. Louis, Mo.

Note: These minutes are not considered official until approved by the JEA Board of Directors at its next meeting.

Minutes
Journalism Education Association General Membership Meeting
April 18, 2008 • 8 a.m.
Anaheim Disneyland Marriott

CALL TO ORDER — Jack Kennedy called the meeting to order at 8 a.m.

Present were:
Jack Kennedy, MJE, President and Executive/Finance Committee chair
Bob Bair, MJE, Vice President and New Adviser Outreach Committee chair
Susan Tantillo, MJE, Secretary and Awards Committee chair
Ann Visser, MJE, Past President/Convention Consultant
Bradley Wilson, CJE, C:JET editor and Technology Committee chair, Photography Contest Coordinator
Linda Puntney, MJE, JEA Executive Director
Connie Fulkerson, JEA Administrative Assistant
Mark Newton, MJE, Certification Commission chair
Lori Oglesbee Petter, CJE, Development/Curriculum Commission chair and Publications Committee chair
Anita Marie Wertz, MJE, Junior High/Middle School Commission chair
Norma Kneese, MJE, Multicultural Commission chair and Outreach Academy Committee chair
John Bowen, MJE, Scholastic Press Rights Commission chair
Steve Matson, MJE, Region 1/Northwest Regional Director and Partnership/Endorsements Committee chair
Kathy Gaber, Region 2/Southwest Regional Director
Gary Lindsay, MJE, Region 3/North Central Regional Director
Wayna Polk, Region 4/South Central Regional Director and Scholarship Committee chair
Brenda Gorsuch, MJE, Region 5/Southeast Regional Director and Administrator Outreach Committee chair
Betsy Pollard Rau, Region 6/Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes Regional Director
Ron Bonadonna, CJE, Region 7/Northeast Regional Director and Membership Retention Committee chair
Javonna May Bass, Ad Hoc Board Member
Linda Barrington, MJE, NCTE Liaison/Assembly Director and Mentoring Program Committee co-chair
Julie Dodd, MJE, Scholastic Press Association Directors Liaison, Mentoring Program Committee co-chair
Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE, JEA Listserv Liaison
Mitch Ziegler, CJE, Anaheim Local Committee chair
Nancy Freeman, MJE, St. Louis Local Committee chair

LIGHTNING ROUND (Updates, Quick Reports) — 8 – 10 a.m.

• Minutes/Summary of Board Action — Susan Tantillo
  
  Write-off changes:
  • Approved as regular contests Newsmagazine Layout carry-in and Podcast pilot contests.
  • Approved as a pilot contest Short Documentary, a video carry-in contest to replace the Live Sports     Coverage carry-in that hasn’t had enough contestants to offer since 2004.
  • Replaced photography Two Weeks’ Work carry-in with a Photo Story pilot contest and agreed to experiment with using digital submission of photos for this contest.

Changes to Junior High/Middle School Mail-in Contest:

• Added broadcast category.
• Increased entries per school from six to eight.
• Increased entry fee per school from $10 to $12.
• Required self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of submissions.

Passed a $1,221,671 budget including the following highlights:

Fund two delegates to the National Council for the Social Studies convention for First Amendment sessions.

Fund two supportive administrators to the National Association of Secondary Schools Principals national convention.

Establish two new committees with chairs to be appointed by the president: Professional Media Advisory Council and Multi-Media Exploration Committee.

Fund a meeting to explore the possibility of establishing a JEA Professional Learning Committee.

Produce and distribute JEA’s annual report on a CD.

Fund regional workshops as outreach in regions 2, 3 and 7

• Conventions, Headquarters, Financial reports — Linda Puntney
  • Profit/Loss Statement:Puntney reported JEA total income of $238,911.50 and JEA total expenses of $97,149.47 for a net income of $141,162.03. Puntney noted the budget for the convention was $200,000 income and $100,000 expenses for a profit of $100,000. Philadelphia drew 4,802 delegates (4,426 paid).
  • Quarterly Profit/Loss Statement: The 2007-08 (July 1-June 30) overall JEA budget is based on projected income of $962,615 and projected expenses of $1,115,988 with the difference to be made up, if necessary, from reserve funds. Puntney noted as of April 10 income was $622,053.16 and expenses were $571,837.91 for a net income of $50,215.25. The JEA Balance Sheet as of April 7, 2008, shows total assets of $1,431,941.71.
  • Investments: JEA’s total portfolio value as of March 31, 2008, was $790,114.76. This compares to $815,395.53 on Dec. 31, 2007, and $801,697.10 on March 31, 2007. Puntney noted this loss on paper is typical of most everyone’s experience in the current economic climate. JEA’s portfolio has a “wait and hold” strategy and “investments are not in any danger but it isn’t pretty. The most recent quarter was difficult.”
  • Philadelphia convention: Puntney reported JEA total income of $238,911.50 and JEA total expenses of $97,149.47 for a net income of $141,162.03. Puntney noted the budget for the convention was $200,000 income and $100,000 expenses for a profit of $100,000. Philadelphia drew 4,802 delegates (4,426 paid).
  • Anaheim convention: Three days ahead of the convention, 4,314 delegates (3,985 paid) had registered, making Anaheim the largest JEA/NSPA Spring convention since San Francisco in 2001. Ziegler reminded attendees about the reception at 8:30 p.m. tonight to benefit Student Press Law Center.
  • St. Louis convention: Freeman issued an invitation to the fall convention, “Gateway to the Best,” in St. Louis Nov. 13-16, 2008, at the Renaissance Grand and Suites Hotel.
  • Phoenix convention: The next spring convention, “Phoenix: Power Up,” will be April 16-19, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix.
  • Membership: Puntney called attention to the April 8, 2008, membership report available in the room. In comparing with a year ago, voting membership is up slightly, 102 percent, while non-voting membership is down slightly, 97 percent. Largest increases in regional membership occurred in Region 1 (Northwest), 133 percent, and Region 4 (South Central), 110 percent.
  • Advisers Institute:Advisers Institute for 2008 includes Sequence I: Law, Ethics and Advising in the 21st century, Washington, D.C., June 15-20, 2008; Sequence II: Advising School Publications, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., July 20-24, 2008; Sequence III: Desktop Publishing, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., July 25-30, 2008. For more information, visit http://jea.org/workshops/advinst/advinst.html.
    
    
• Board Reports/Items of Concern/Attention

Curriculum Commission/Publications Committee…Oglesbee Petter
Oglesbee Petter announced a meeting at 10 a.m. today in the adviser hospitality area for anyone interested in contributing to these groups.

JEA Web site…Wilson Wilson reported receiving 3,000 to 5,000 hits per month at jea.org, with 12,000 hits in the last 30 days.

Scholastic Press Rights Commission…J. Bowen J. Bowen explained the upcoming campaign developed by the Scholastic Press Right Commission to disseminate the Six Tenets of Responsible Student Media Programs. Basically, the campaign advocates thorough, accurate, complete and clear reporting based on the First Amendment and ethics.

Multicultural Commission…Kneese Kneese introduced Javonna May Bass from McKinney (Texas) Boyd HS as the new Ad Hoc JEA Board Member. She also said the official JEA Outreach Academy cadre consists of Stan Zoller, CJE, of Rolling Meadows (Ill.) HS, and Linda Shockley of Dow Jones Newspaper Fund.

Mentoring Program…Dodd Dodd reported the original 10 mentors – two each from Colorado, Kansas, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin – have worked with 25 mentees since their initial training at the fall convention. These include six in Colorado, six in Kansas, four in Ohio, five in Oregon and four in Wisconsin. Four of these mentees are attending Anaheim as their first national convention.  Three mentors will present a session at this convention. Training for the original 10 mentors continued at this convention on Thursday. JEA has received an anonymous donation of $35,000 to expand mentor training in California.

Scholastic Press…Dodd Dodd reminded members of the Scholastic Press Association Roundtable at each national JEA convention from 9 to 10:50 a.m. Saturday.

High School Journalist of the Year...Polk Polk reported a total of 38 entrants in the scholarship competition, an increase of nine over last year. She thanked state directors for their work to increase participation in the program.

Northwest Region…Matson Matson saluted Nancy Giuliani from Newport, Ore., Oregon’s state director for 25 years. She has said this is her last national convention.

Certification Commission…Newton About certification, Newton said, “Do it!”

From the President…Kennedy

• Kennedy announced he is seeking chairs for three committees: Nominations, Professional Media Advisory Council and Multi-Media Exploration.
• He thanked those in attendance for coming to this meeting and for helping the JEA Board of Directors to achieve transparency regarding JEA’s operations and decisions.
• He told the group the funding in the new budget to explore the feasibility of a JEA Professional Learning Community is logical for an organization such as JEA. He suggested JEA is the only national organization that talks about scholastic journalism teaching and is concerned with the idea of how to become better teachers by having a connection between lessons rather than teaching each concept in isolation. The three key questions: 1) What do we want our students to know? 2) How do we know when they know? 3) What do we do if they don’t know? Newton invited interested delegates to a meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday to talk about this idea.

State Directors…Bair Bair reminded state directors of their meeting immediately following this meeting.

Commend local convention folks: Bair moved and Visser seconded that the organization go on record to commend the Anaheim local committee for its great job in organizing for the spring 2008 convention, the happiest convention on Earth. Motion carried unanimously.

DISCUSSION ITEMS(Sitcoms, dramas)/biggest issues — 10 a.m.

• Matters introduced by members

  Joe Rowe, Thomas Jefferson HS in Portland, Ore., a first-time attendee, Outreach participant and 2007-08 mentee, asked whether JEA has a committee dealing with human rights. Kennedy said there was no committee now, but every committee starts with one interested member.

Motion to adjourn at 8:40 a.m. by Matson, seconded by Oglesbee Petter.

The next meeting will be at 8:30 a.m., Nov. 13, 2008, at the Renaissance Hotel, St. Louis, Mo.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Revisions to Write-off contests — photography

Why make these changes?
The changes in the photo contest go beyond just requiring digital submissions. Currently, each of the contests requires three distinct activities: the critique, the written critique and the judging. There is considerable redundancy in the small-group critique, considered the most valuable for the photographer, and the written critique (often the most valuable for the adviser). The critiques are educational. The judging is a formality of the contest and is the most valuable for the judges.

Submissions
Photographers could submit their photos when the Write-off desk is open on Thursday or Friday. Assistance will be provided for students with technical difficulties when the Write-off desk is open on Thursday ONLY. Students may submit photos by Compact Flash card, CD or flash drive on-site when the Write-off desk is open. Until 5 p.m. on the Monday prior to the convention, students may submit their photos on a designated FTP site.

The process
The critiques and judging will take place during the day Friday as a regular class session. No more than 50 contestants would be allowed in each of the photo contests, 25 in each critique room beginning at 9 a.m. Photographers would NOT receive a separate individual written critique but would receive a copy of notes on all of the photos, including their photos, in their contest.
During the 4-6 p.m. a viewing and large-group critique of some of the stand-out entries in the photography Write-off competitions.
Judging will occur Friday evening beginning at 7 p.m.

Average number of entrants during the last four national JEA/NSPA conventions:
28 — Yearbook Sports, 41 entrants
29 — Newspaper Sports, 29 entrants
30 — Yearbook Student Life, 40 entrants
31 — Newspaper News/Feature, 32 entrants
32 — Two-Week’s Work, 26 entrants
33 — Portfolio, 35 entrants

MATERIALS PROVIDED BY JEA
None

MATERIALS WHICH CONTESTANT MUST PROVIDE

• Digital copies of images. Include caption for each photograph. JEA does NOT assume any copyright of these images. JEA may publish images online or in print to illustrate the results of the competition. JEA will not consider further publication of the images without permission of the photographer.
• By submitting entries into the photography contests, students and advisers affirm that the work is produced soley by the individual entering the contest.

REQUIREMENTS
The photos may be scanned from traditional film/prints or digitally produced.
• Photos may be color or black-and-white or a combination of color and black-and-white. All must be saved in RGB mode.
• Pictures need not be cropped for competition in the same manner as they appeared or will appear in the publication.
There is no minimum size for photos although image quality will be a factor in judging. Do NOT enlarge images beyond the sizes of the original image.
Caption information must be contained in the Description field of the Adobe Photoshop File Info dialog box. Captions must be included with all pictures.
Photos must be named using the naming conventions in the instructions. Misnamed photos will not be judged.
Photos must be saved as JPG files.
Photos must be submitted electronically to meet the deadlines in the pre-conference materials.
DO NOT
Do not bring slides or printed versions of images.
Do not mail the photographs, CDs or any other material for this contest.
Do not submit prints in which the content has been digitally altered. Such images should be entered in the COMPUTER DESIGN – PHOTOSHOP ART (carry-in) competition. (Photo illustrations are acceptable as part of a portfolio in the portfolio contest.)

28. YEARBOOK SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY (carry-in)
NATURE OF THE CONTEST
You will submit three of your photographs that appeared in last year’s yearbook or will appear in this year’s yearbook and that have not been entered in a previous national JEA competition. All three photographs should be related to sports. You are responsible for submitting your photographs before the deadline and for remaining for a small-group critique session.
WHAT THE JUDGES WILL LOOK FOR
Imaginative subject matter; technical quality and excellence including digital color correction; neatness in mounting; photo composition; visual impact; story told in each photograph; simplicity; cropping; lighting. Judges will also look for a variety of sports-related images, including action and reaction, not three similar images. Quality of the caption may also be considered.

29. NEWSPAPER SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY (carry-in)
NATURE OF THE CONTEST
You will submit three of your photographs that have been published in the school news publication within the last year and that have not been entered in a previous national JEA convention competition. All three photographs should be related to sports. You are responsible for submitting your photographs before the deadline and for remaining for a small-group critique session.
WHAT THE JUDGES WILL LOOK FOR
Imaginative subject matter; technical quality and excellence including digital color correction; neatness in mounting; photo composition; visual impact; story told in each photograph; simplicity; cropping; lighting. Judges will also look for a variety of sports-related images, including action and reaction, not three similar images. Quality of the caption may also be considered.

30. YEARBOOK STUDENT LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY (carry-in)
NATURE OF THE CONTEST
You will submit three of your photographs that appeared in last year’s yearbook or will appear in this year’s yearbook and that have not been entered in a previous national JEA competition. All three photographs should be related to any aspect of student life (not sports). You are responsible for submitting your photographs before the deadline and for remaining for a small-group critique session.
WHAT THE JUDGES WILL LOOK FOR
Imaginative subject matter; technical quality and excellence including digital color correction; neatness in mounting; photo composition; visual impact; story told in each photograph; simplicity; cropping; lighting. Judges will also look for a variety of sports-related images, including action and reaction, not three similar images. Quality of the caption may also be considered.

31. NEWSPAPER NEWS/FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY (carry-in)
NATURE OF THE CONTEST
You will submit three of your photographs that have been published in the school news publication within the last year and that have not been entered in a previous national JEA competition. All three photographs should be news or features images (not sports). You are responsible for submitting your photographs before the deadline and for remaining for a small-group critique session.
WHAT THE JUDGES WILL LOOK FOR
Imaginative subject matter; technical quality and excellence including digital color correction; neatness in mounting; photo composition; visual impact; story told in each photograph; simplicity; cropping; lighting. Judges will also look for a variety of sports-related images, including action and reaction, not three similar images. Quality of the caption may also be considered.

32. PHOTO STORY (carry-in)
NATURE OF THE CONTEST
You will submit three, four or five of your photographs that appeared in last year’s yearbook, will appear in this year’s yearbook or that have been published in the school news publication within the last year and that have not been entered in a previous national JEA competition. All photographs should be related to a common theme and should visually tell a story. You are responsible for submitting your photographs before the deadline and for remaining for a small-group critique session.
WHAT THE JUDGES WILL LOOK FOR
Imaginative subject matter; technical quality and excellence; neatness in mounting; photo composition; visual impact; story told in each photograph as well as in the package of images; simplicity; cropping; lighting. Quality of the caption and written story may also be considered.

33. PORTFOLIO (carry-in)
NATURE OF THE CONTEST
This contest is designed to help photographers, generally graduating seniors, prepare for scholarship applications, internship applications or job interviews by giving them the opportunity to prepare a portfolio and to have it critiqued by a professional. Students should submit a minimum of five images and a maximum of 10 images that reflect their abilities as a photojournalist. Photos may be color or black-and-white or a combination of color and black-and-white. You are responsible for submitting your photographs before the deadline and for remaining for a small-group critique session. You may enter the portfolio contest only once during your high school career.
WHAT THE JUDGES WILL LOOK FOR
Strong clear message within a variety of assignments; creativity; technical quality of prints; neatness in mounting; photo composition; visual impact; simplicity; effective cropping; lighting. Quality of the caption may also be considered as will presentation of the entire portfolio.

The impact on JEA

Judges
Now: The contests require about 20 people to (1) do small-group critiques; (2) write critiques; and (3) judge. Because the critiques start at 4 p.m. and judging ends at around 10 p.m., this can be a long day, especially for professions who might have to work that day as well. Advisers are reluctant to spend that much time and often want to go out for dinner instead of committing six hours to Write-offs. While there is generally considerable overlap with the folks who do the critique before dinner and the folks who help finish after dinner, there are often between five and 10 people who leave at dinner, requiring five to 10 new people after dinner for a total of some 30 people involved in the photo contests.
Revised: Only 12 people would be required for two-hour blocks of critiquing throughout the day on Friday. Their commitment would be for no more than two hours and they would not stay for dinner. In addition, one staff member would have to remain in each room to take notes and run the projector/computer. This staff member would be provided dinner as well. Select entries would be shown from 4-6 p.m. either in a large-group critique session for all the students in the photo contests or in an open judging held at the same time. Two to three more judges would be required for this portion of the contest. They would be provided dinner.

Rooms
Now: Now, the photo judging requires room for 203 students either in six smaller rooms for about 50 each or one large room or some combination. The typical classroom is not suitable for critiques so often the critquers end up going out into the hall or finding space to sit on the floor.
Revised: The students would attend a one-hour critique session during the day in a room that would accommodate about 25 people with a computer and projector. These students, of course, would not be attending another session. Each student would get about a 2-minute critique from the professional/adviser and from other students in the room, about what they get now. Two rooms would be allocated during the day for photo contests. From 4-6 p.m., the students would attend a large-group session in a room for 250 or so students during which time they would either observe the judging or receive a large-group critique of selected images entered in the contest.

Staff
Revised: A staff member would have to remain in each froom from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. (1) to take notes on the critique; (2) to handle the computer and projector; and (3) to moderate the discussion, keeping the folks doing the critique on time. College student staff members would be perfect for this task.

Contest limits
Revised: Because of limits on room size and ability to adequately critique images, no more than 50 students would be allowed in any of the photo contests. This is more than the number of entrants in any photo contest we’ve had in the past.

Equipment
Revised: Each room would require a portable computer and projection device. The computer/projector could be moved for the large group critique and both could be used at the Write-off office for students submitting entries.

Small critique
Revised: Students would be assigned a time/room for their small group critique. This could be done by posting the names/numbers of the students at the Write-off office and around the convention area prior to the start of the convention. No forms would be required for the individual critique. All students would be provided with copies of the notes from the critique of their contest.

Changes to the JEA Junior High/Middle School Mail-In Contests

Rationale:

There has been an increase in the number of schools that have broadcast journalism programs.
The three categories currently in the JEA Junior High/Middle School Mail-In Contest are
photography, feature writing, and layout. The current three categories encompass yearbook and
newspaper, but not broadcast. It is the desire of the JEA Junior High/Middle School Commission
to expand the mail-in contest to include broadcast, both radio and video.

Motion:

The JEA Junior High/Middle School Commission moves to make the following changes to the
Mail-In Contest.

• Add video or radio broadcast to the current categories of photography, feature writing, and
  layout
• Broadcast segment may be of any genre (sports, feature, news, etc.)
• Segments are not to exceed five minutes
• Broadcast entries shall be on CD, DVD, video, or cassette (based on the equipment of the school – CD or DVD preferred)
• If multiple segments are included on one media, clearly indicate the segment to be judged
• List up to three names for those who produced segment. If more than three, list name of broadcast staff
• Increase the number of entries from a school to eight from the current six
• Increase the fee to $12 from $10
• Require schools to include a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) for the return of entries, critiques and awards (suggest a Priority Rate Flat Rate Envelope or similar packaging)

All other criteria for the JEA Junior High/Middle School Mail-In Contest will remain unchanged.

Budget:

There is no increase of cost to JEA.