CHICAGO HEADLINE CLUB
Board of Directors meeting
Fri. Dec. 3, 2021
President Amanda Vinicky called the Zoom meeting to order at 9 a.m. Also present: Howard Dubin, Rob Elder, Greg Karp, Madhu Krishnamurthy, Tahman Bradley, Adam Rhodes, Ash-har Qurishi, Mike Ewing, Jason Martin, Matt Kiefer, Nader Issa, Nona Tepper, Alejandra Cancino, Stacey Westcott, Molly McDonough, Cathy Larkin, Blair Chavis, Suzanne McBride, and Susan S. Stevens.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved as submitted by Susan.
President;s report: Amanda brought up the problem of SJP HQs not sending out membership renewals that include the Headline Club and its local dues. Howard said he will be talking with the executive director later today. Mike said he will work on options by the next meeting.
Membership: Mike suggested paying an administrator to handle data. Tahman said there are outside websites for members, such as joinit.org, that we might use. Howard said SPJ spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last year for a new computer data system, but doesn’t have people to operate it.
Treasurer: Greg said we have $76,863 in the bank. The foundation has $73,242. He spent $3,824 for the Lisagor entry form annual contract, same as the last several years. He also spent $400 for programming panelist honoraria.
Programs: Amanda gave a big thanks to Nona for her wonderful programs, including the Nov. 10 panel on coverage reflecting the community. Upcoming: Dec 6 on mental health via Zoom and a Dec. 13 holiday gathering at Emporium in Wicker Park. Spread the word!
Mike suggested paying students to cover events, others suggested having professors recruit students, others suggested committee members do recaps. Amanda said we will explore.
FOIAFest: Matt said last year’s coordinator, Kelly Garcia, would like a co-coordinator with the $5,000 payment split 50-50. The McCormick Foundation has not responded to our request for funding, which leaves a big hole that the foundation will cover. He is concerned about the following year(s), and suggests hiring a fundraiser.
Dates: Fri. Feb. 25 and Sat. Feb. 26. Mostly virtual, with some in-person programming. He wants to invite Maxine Walker Guevara of the Pulitzer Center to be the keynote speaker. Board agreed on a $500 honorarium, double if she attends in person to cover her expenses. Seventeen people have agreed to pitch sessions.
Nader said seven BootCamp mentors will return. He and Maya Duksamova are still working on it. They will launch applications for participants in the next couple of weeks. About half of this year’s participants have published their work, with more planning to do so.
Lisagor: Cathy said the committee is updating categories, weeding out those who didn’t get many entries and adding others. There will be maybe 15 fewer categories. The goal is to open the contest Dec. 15.
Lifetime: Susan said her committee has pretty much settled on two great candidates.
Watchdog: Jason said he issued an updated call for nominations, and will have a deadline at the end of January.
Meeting adjourned at 10 a.m. Next meeting Fri. Jan. 7, 2022.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan S. Stevens