Texas Student Publications

Board of Operating Trustees

October 18, 2002

Minutes

Voting members present: Diane Beckham, Laura Cruzada, Brian Ferguson, Michael Hoffman, Jonathan Lee, Coleman Lewis, Shawn Rosenzweig, Doug Toney.

Voting members absent: Urton Anderson, Jef Richards, Rusty Todd.

Non-voting members present: Meredith Best, Ryan Hengst, Jason Hunter, Kathy Lawrence, Ryan Pittman, Trevor Rosen, Chris Tolle, Rachel Zoch.

Non-voting members absent: Teresa Brett, Alex Hammond.

Professional staff present: Mary Felps, John Foxworth, Evelyn Gardner, Jean Hogue, Steve Metze, Frank Serpas, Jerry Thompson.

Visitors present: Matt Machowiak, Kristin Stilwell.

The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. by TSP Board President Michael Hoffman.

I. Recognition of Student Awards.

MOTION NO. 1: Lewis moved to adopt the following resolution:

Resolved, that the Board commends and congratulates these staff members for winning the following

Southwest Journalism Congress 2002 awards:

The Daily Texan:

Jonathan Green for first place in Sports, Best Game Story,

Travis Richmond for third place in Sports, Best Sports Column,

Marshall Maher, Steven Stetson, Brian Welborn, and Jason Hunter for second place in Opinion, Best

Editorial,

Erin Steele for first place in Opinion, Best Review,

Erin Steele for third place in Opinion, Best Review,

Nathan Lambrecht for second place in Photography, Best News Photograph,

Andrew Loehman for first place in Photography, Best Sports Photograph,

Andrew Loehman for honorable mention in Photography, Best Sports Photograph,

Lee Ruckman for third place in Photography, One-topic Picture Page,

Brian Welborn for second place in Graphics and Travis Richmond and John Dawson for second place in

Graphics and Design, Best Sports Page

Lucy Quintanilla and Rae Ann Spitzenberger for first place in Graphics and Design, Best Infographic,

Lucy Quintanilla for second place in Graphics and Design, Best Infographic;

KVR News:

First and second place in best Newscast,

First place to Crystal Cotti for Best Non-feature,

Second place to Vicki Pierra and Mark Kurtz for Best Feature,

Third place to Adam Agardy for Best program,

The Cactus Yearbook:

First place for Best Yearbook,

First place for Best Cover,

First place for Best Introductory Copy,

Second place for Best Infographic,

Second place to Rachel Turner for Best Academic Copy,

Second place to Niti Dalal for Best Campus Life Copy,

First place to Kalal Michelle Giniger for Best Sports Copy

First place to Chris Davis for Best Special Events Copy,

First place to Nathan Lambrecht for Best of Book Black and White Photograph,

First place to Yin-Yi Liu for Best Color Photograph,

First place to David Fink for Best Academic-setting Photograph,

First place to G. Daniel Lopez for Best Campus Life Photograph,

First place to G. Daniel Lopez for Best Sports Action Photograph,

First place to G. Daniel Lopez for Best Sports Feature Photograph,

Second place to Meredith Best for Best Section Design,

First place to Courtney Layton for Best Story Package Design,

Second place to Meredith Best for Best Spread Design.

The motion passed.

II. Report of the Executive Committee.

The executive committee did not meet prior to the Board meeting due to a lack of quorum.

A. Production Equipment Request. Serpas and Lawrence reviewed the request of $6,000 from the TSP reserve account for the purchase of a new plate processor.

MOTION NO. 2: Beckham moved to approve $6,000 from the TSP reserve account for the purchase

of a new printing plate processor. The motion passed.

B. Photography Film Scanner Request. Lawrence reported this item no longer needed Board discussion and action.

C. Monthly Financial Report. Hogue discussed the monthly financial report with the members of the Board.

III. Approval of the TSP Board Minutes for September 27, 2002.

Hoffman noted that Todd, and not Hoffman, reminded members of the Board of the recent death of long-time Texan Editorial Adviser Ron Gibson.

MOTION NO. 3: Ferguson moved to approve the Minutes of the September 27, 2002, TSP Board meeting

as amended by Hoffman. The motion passed.

IV. Monthly Reports.

A. Director. Lawrence referred to her written report. Gardner explained the current national advertising situation whereby 360-Youth has purchased all three major national sales firms. National advertising, as of September 30, was down from last year but slightly ahead for October. Lawrence reported the Texan web host has defaulted on their payment. The company owes TSP $35,000 and currently UT attorneys are handling the situation. Further, Lawrence said the company will continue serving as Texan web host as it will take several months to negotiate a new contract with a different provider. Pittman said he would like to see another provider enlisted but not at the risk of service interruption. Rosenzweig offered to research professional newspapers on how TSP might make the Texan web site more lucrative and will submit a report of his findings at the next Board meeting. Ferguson requested the discussion end and continue at the next Board meeting.

B. The Daily Texan. Hunter referred to his written report. Pittman referred to his written report and added the staff has installed a new system for copy editing. The new system is used by many commercial newspapers and should improve efficiency. Further, he said the house ad situation on days of 12-page newspapers has improved and staff reaction to guest speakers in the newsroom has been positive.

C. Cactus Yearbook. Best referred to her written report and added the deadline for page sales is scheduled for November 1 and the first page deadline to the yearbook printer is scheduled for November 4. Further, she said the reaction to the no-charge organization coverage in the yearbook has been very successful.

D. Peregrinus Law School Yearbook. Zoch referred to her written report. A meeting with representatives of the law school was held but the results are still unclear.

E. KVRX Radio. Hengst referred to his written report and added the new web master for the station has worked out well.

F. KVR Television. Tolle referred to his written report and added men’s athletics has requested the station cover two men’s basketball games. The staff is currently planning a telethon to raise money for the station.

G. Texas Travesty. Rosen referred to his written report. Further, he said the next issue will be published on October 24 and a large publicity event is planned for later in the month.

H. Peer Review Committee. Lewis referred to his written report. Further, he said an internal UT audit was being conducted by UT auditors and a meeting will be planned later with the Vice President for Student Affairs to discuss the peer review process.

V. Peregrinus Fee Request.

Ferguson discussed his proposal with the members of the Board. He requested to amend his motion to change 2002-2003 to 2003-2004, and to reflect the amount of the request would not exceed $9,000.

MOTION NO. 4: Ferguson moved to direct the TSP Board President to form an ad hoc committee to

prepare a one-time Student Service Fees Committee request for the 2003-2004 Peregrinus for an amount

not to exceed $9,000. Any such request will be subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of

the Board and the Board as a whole. The motion passed.

MOTION NO. 5: Toney moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed.