CAABJ Constitution amendments

The Constitution Committee, chaired by Melody Freeman of WCNC, has reviewed the CAABJ Constitution and by-laws and identified several areas where we're out-of-step with the NABJ by-laws.

We'll need to discuss these issues at Saturday's meeting:

Objectives and Purpose:
NABJ Constitution: In preamble: " ... and to monitor and sensitize all media to racism." In Article II. Purpose: "To expand and balance the mediaÂ’s coverage of the Black community and Black experience."

CAABJ Constitution: Article 1 Objectives, Section 1: "Sensitize whites in the media to institutional racism in coverage, portrayal of blacks and employment practices."

Question: Do we change word use?

MEMBERSHIP:
NABJ Constitution:
Full Membership: Art. III Sec 1b: Full membership shall also be open to freelance journalists."; Art. III Sec 1c: Full membership also shall be open to college and university journalism professors who had five years newsroom experience prior to joining academia.
Art. III Sec 2: Associate membership shall be open to all other media-related professionals if their goals and purposes are consistent with this Constitution and the spirit of NABJ
Art. III Sec 3: Student Membership shall be open to high school students and anyone currently a full-time equivalent student at an accredited college or university

CAABJ Constitution:
Art. II Membership, Sec. 2 Associate membership shall be open to journalists employed in public information areas, to journalists employed in an academic field, i.e. college or university professors, high school journalism teachers, or those working journalists who after being employed at a newspaper, television or radio station, magazine or wire service decide to further their education. In addition, associate members shall be open to free-lance journalists who can prove that they spend more than half their time producing gathering disseminating or distributing news.
Student membership shall be open tfull-time who is a fulltime student at an accredited college or university

Questions to consider: 1. Should free-lance journalists have full membership? 2. Should college professors have full membership under certain conditions? 3. Should we allow other media related professionals to have full membership? 4. Should high school students be allowed a student membership?

OFFICERS:
NABJ Constitution:
Chap 2. Art I Sec. 1:Titles of National Officers. The officers of the organization shall be President, Vice President/Print, Vice President/Broadcast, Secretary, Treasurer and Parliamentarian

CAABJ Constitution:
Art. III Sec. 1:The CAABJ shall have as officers a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and parliamentarian.

Question to consider: Should CAABJ include a position for Vice-President/Broadcast?