ZOOM MEETING LINK / RECORDING

https://iu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/t/1_c16gj5zh

In Attendance:

WTIU Community Advisory Board Members:

John Bailey, Tom Bunger, Pamela Davidson, Mark Edwards, Sally Gaskill, Mike Hefron, Cullen McCarty, Martha Nice, Lynn Schwartzberg

Staff Members/Others:

Brad Kimmel, Brent Molnar, Marianne Woodruff

Agenda:

Discussion About Community Advisory Board Restructuring and Proposed Governing Policies

Since June, the WFIU and WTIU Community Advisory Boards have begun to explore whether restructuring into a single entity makes sense.  The stations currently exist as a public broadcasting joint licensee.  Most administrative and internal resources are currently shared by both stations.  Viewer/Listener (consumer) habits are also trending towards consuming content on multiple platforms (tv, radio, web, streaming services, etc.).

At September’s meeting the CAB expressed interest in developing a set of Governing Policies/Bylaws for consideration.  The document outlines such items as:

• CAB Functions
• Term Limits
• Meeting Proceedings/Schedule
• Officers
• Working Groups

The FIU-TIU CAB Governing Policy Recommendations were submitted to CAB members for review prior to the meeting.

Notes:

Reviewed the proposed Governing Policy for a restructured, joint WFIU-WTIU Community Advisory Board.

Following discussion about the purpose of Working Groups and the difference between Cross Platform Content and News, the WTIU CAB Members recommended adding a seventh Community Advisory Board Working Group specifically dedicated to local News – which would also mimic WFIU-WTIU departmental/organizational structure.

Tom Bunger motioned to add language to the proposed WFIU-WTIU Community Advisory Board Governing Policies to reflect a seventh Working Group focused on News content:

• The News Group will advise about whether our current and prospective news content for broadcast and other platforms meets the core informational needs of the communities we serve.

Martha Nice seconded the motion.

The Community Advisory Board unanimously approved the motion to add a Working Group focused on News.

Martha Nice moved that the WFIU-WTIU Community Advisory Boards be restructured into a single Advisory Board that adheres to the proposed policies set before the group, and as amended with a seventh, News-focused working group.

Sally Gaskill seconded the motion.

With a show of hands, Tom Bunger, Pamela Davidson, Mark Edwards, Sally Gaskill, Cullen McCarty, Martha Nice, Lynn  and Schwartzberg voted in favor of restructuring the Community Advisory Boards.  Joan Curts sent her vote in favor of the merger in advance. (8)

Mike Hefron abstained from the vote. (1)

If needed, additional amendments suggested by the WFIU CAB will be added to the new, proposed Governing Policy and sent to the WTIU CAB for review and approval at a future special meeting via ZOOM.

Mike Hefron then read his letter of resignation to the WTIU Community Advisory Board, indicating that his time on the board has been valuable to him, and he expressed interest in serving as a resource for our organization’s special projects in the future.  Mike emphasized the importance of making sure that we are serving Gen Z as we make content and strategic decisions in the future.  He also reiterated the need to continue to serve our communities’ news content needs, and the value of our local reporting.  We thanked Mike for his years of service.

Next steps for the newly merged board include the WFIU CAB going through the same discussion and voting process.  (The WFIU CAB approved the merger by 5pm that day.)

CAB Members will receive a survey asking them to rank their top three choices for working groups on which they would like to serve:  Advocacy, Development, Cross-Platform Content, News, Engagement, DEI, and Recruitment.  It will also provide a way for them to express their level of interest in serving in either a Chair or Vice Chair position. 

The new meeting schedule will fall on the first Thursdays of February, May, August, and November between 11:30am and 1:30pm.

At February’s meeting, we will introduce working groups to their staff leaders.