Members present (18): Tom Martin (president), Pam Lannom (past president), Jim Slonoff (treasurer), Roger Ruthhart, Joe Corrado (1st VP), Rick Nagel, Owen Phelps, John Etheredge, Lois Self (executive secretary), Jim Killam (communications coordinator), Colin O'Donnell (2nd VP) , Lonny Cain, Rich Rostron, Jay Dickerson, Pete Nenni, Jeannine Otto, Wally Haas, Randy Swikle.

Members absent: (2) Greg Rivara, Jan Larsen.

Martin called the meeting to order at 10 a.m.

Minutes of the Dec. 5 meeting were approved (Haas motion / Cain second)

Treasurer's report:
Slonoff reported a Dec. 31 checking account balance of $4,816.65 and a savings account balance of $5.94. Recent expenses include $150 for fall conference speaker gifts, $95 for newsletter printing and the $600 annual stipend for the communications coordinator. Revenue includes $2,790 in fall conference fees.
2003 budget results:

	Budget	Actual
Income	$7,800	$7,832
Expenses	$7,785	$6,673
Net	$5	$1,159

Treasurer's report approved (Lannom motion, O'Donnell second)

Executive secretary's report:
Self said more than 400 scholarship application forms were mailed to northern Illinois high schools. NINA dues statements also were mailed, as was the winter newsletter (just this week).
NIU has about 300 journalism majors, and that number is outpacing faculty and budget capacity.

President's report:
Martin mentioned Lannom's column in the winter newsletter, which encourages members to be "evangelists" for NINA. He asked the board for ideas in making NINA more attractive to potential members, students and for general publicity. Suggestions included:
- Swikle: create a poster about NINA's support for scholastic journalism, to hang in classrooms.
- Martin: Press releases about scholarships and NINA training opportunities
- Nenni: Presenting NINA to students as a resource for future jobs and training
- Cain: An annual program designed just for students
- Lannom: Inviting community college journalists to the spring and/or fall conference
- O'Donnell: Board members offering to speak to young journalists
- Self: Revive/revise the NINA speakers bureau
- Cain: NINA could have a presence at high school and college career days
- Swikle: Sponsor a news-oriented event - for example, a political forum that would draw media coverage

Lannom suggested that the resource committee be expanded in order to deal with these and other ideas for more publicity and visibility. Martin asked for volunteers to break away from their current committees and join Killam on the resource committee. Volunteers were: Haas, Rostron, Swikle, Self and Nenni. The board approved this change (Lannom motion / Nagel second)

Program Committee report:
Corrado said the Spring Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, April 16, at Oak Trust Credit Union in Oakbrook Terrace. Mike Berens, investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, will lead a workshop on computer-assisted reporting. Cost will be $25 for members and $50 for non-members, with a limit of 40 people (due to room size).

For the Fall Conference (Oct. 22), the committee is looking at a program centered on narrative writing, as encouraged and defined by the Readership Impact Study (www.Readership.org.).

Education committee report:
O'Donnell said the high school scholarship application deadline is March 15. Packets were sent to 414 high schools. Slonoff suggested that board members contact their local high schools to remind them of the opportunity. Killam will e-mail a press release to the NINA listserv, for members to forward to schools.

NINA will offer a design workshop at NIU on Friday, Feb. 27, with Kevin Wendt of the San Jose Mercury News. Cost is $10 for members, $20 for nonmembers.

Another grammar workshop will be held in June. Presenters TBA.
A high school advisers workshop will be held in September at the Daily Herald. This might involve students, too.

Membership committee report:
Lannom asked each board member to identify one nonmember newspaper, and three current member newspapers, as "buddies" for this year. The goal is to recruit new members and promote conferences, workshops and contests by calling or e-mailing "buddies."

The Daily Southtown, Lerner Newspapers, Star Newspapers and the LaSalle News Tribune all have agreed to free one-year memberships. The entire membership list will be updated soon on the NINA Web site.

Communication coordinator's report:
No report. The next newsletter will be mailed in early March.

Old business:
There are two vacant board seats. Martin asked that recommendations/nominations be brought to his attention before the April 2 board meeting.

New business:
There was some discussion about whether to expand NINA programs to include advertising and circulation, or keep NINA's focus strictly on editorial. Members and prospective members will be asked their opinions on this before any formal course of action is planned.

Shop talk:

• Nagel: The Beacon News has seen its first newsroom hires in three years: two part-time and one full-time.
• Etheredge: The Kendall County Record will mark its 140th anniversary this year with special stories and a special section planned.
• Haas: The Rockford Register Star has entered a joint venture with Rockford TV station WREX (Channel 13). From a studio in the Register Star building, members of the paper's sports staff does a weekly show. Soon this will expand to business and politics. Also, the paper is conducting 10 meetings of reader access groups, involving both readers and nonreaders.
• Corrado: Sun Publications are filling some vacant positions.
• Swikle: Johnsburg High School has won the Let Freedom Ring First Amendment Award for the fourth straight year. JHS was one of just three winners in the whole nation this year. Randy has retired from teaching, but is working with the Illinois Press Foundation on a First Amendment education campaign for schools. He said he would be willing to write a column for newspapers on subject of importance of
  high school newspapers.
• Lannom: Readers-as-columnists idea is going well at The Doings, although the local Lexus dealer isn't happy about a column that said kids shouldn't drive Lexuses (Lexi?) because they should have the experience of driving a beater.
• Slonoff: Jim and Pam are taking part in a variety show that benefits a social service agency in Hinsdale.
• Phelps: The Observer has produced an audit report on sexual abuse by clergy. All complaints in the diocese for the past 50 years are included.
• O'Donnell: The Daily Herald, along with the Sun-Times and other Hollinger newspapers, has launched a partnership with chicagojobs.com. Also, the Daily Herald is the new printer of the Woodstock Independent.
  Nenni: The Daily Herald's Lake County bureau has been staffing booths at community events such as home shows, with contests for readers.
• Dickerson: The Galena Gazette has been busy with coverage of the Iowa Caucuses.
• Cain: The Daily Times Web site has been locked down; much of the content is available to paid subscribers only. Subscription is included with a print subscription, or costs $50 a year without the print subscription.
• Rostron: The Woodstock Independent's kids page has become more regular, although it does not yet have advertising support.
• Martin: Tom continues to get feedback from his new staff at Galesburg. His key question: Are we a reflection of our readers?
• Otto: The Sterling Daily Gazette turns 150 years old later this year. A special section is planned.
• Ruthhart: With the Rock Island Arsenal being a main support unit for the war in Iraq, Small Newspapers have sent a reporter to the Middle East, talking to people who have been sent there as part of the war effort. Also, a former Chicago Cub, Gene Oliver, is writing a popular column for the paper.

Next board meeting: Friday, April 2, 2004, at the Northern Star office, Campus Life Building, NIU.

Meeting adjourned at noon.

Minutes submitted by Jim Killam, communications coordinator, 1-27-04.

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