Pulication Board Minutes 10-26-09

State Hornet Publications Board 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 • Green & Gold Room, Third Floor, University Union

Draft Minutes In attendance: Nick Burnett, Tom Carroll, Holly Heyser, Adalto Nascimento, Lisa Oman, Todd Wilson 1. The board unanimously approved the Sept. 28, 2009 minutes 2. Reports A. Editor in Chief Todd Wilson reported that: i. The newspaper has been devoting full resources to coverage of the homicide and shooting at the American River Courtyard, both for online and the upcoming print edition. He noted that the Hornet has been receiving kudos from professional journalists for its online coverage. ii. Many editors are going to the Associate Collegiate Press journalism conference in Austin, Texas, later this week, but that he would be staying behind to monitor coverage of the homicide and shooting. B. Faculty Adviser Holly Heyser reported that: i. The Jamie Gonzales Memorial Scholarship Fund, started in honor of former Hornet editor Jamie Gonzales, who died of rectal cancer at the age of 25 on Oct. 14, 2008, stands at a balance of $3,345, far short of what’s needed for an endowed scholarship. Tom Carroll suggested working with public relations professor Tim Howard, who may be able to help generate interest in the fund. ii. The Hornet’s new printing company is working fairly well, though there have been numerous problems with billing. However, the company has rectified all billing errors promptly when errors have been brought to its attention. iii. The Hornet had experienced a problem with theft of its weekly marketing signs early in the semester, but that appeared to be an isolated incident. The newspaper has worked with Alysson Satterlund, the new director of student activities, to ensure its signs comply with regulations, including a requirement for contact information to be included on signs. C. Budget Advisory Committee Chair Lisa Oman reported that: i. The Budget Advisory Committee met on Oct. 13 and will meet again on Nov. 30. ii. The Hornet has not yet received any student fee revenue for the year, which is contributing to negative cash flow. iii. Most accounts are current, and the only overdue accounts are from last semester – worth $4,893 total – and have already been written off.

iv. The BAC will be developing a policy this year for use of its reserves. 3. Budget – review of ad sales trends, spending and savings trends and discussion of options: Heyser noted that ad sales had stabilized at about 68 percent of average for year to date, and the Hornet’s projected ad revenue shortfall now stands at $54,000 to $70,000. One month ago, the projected shortfall was $60,000 to $80,000. With eight issues done, she had enough information to determine that the Hornet may be on track to save more than $10,000 on its print contract. That and other identified savings put the Hornet on track to spend nearly $34,000 less than budgeted. That puts the projected budget shortfall at $20,000 to $36,000. Oman noted that the Hornet’s student fee revenue is likely to be $3,000 more than budgeted, shrinking that projected shortfall to $17,000 to $33,000. The Hornet’s reserve fund sits at $140,000. The Publications Board has already designated $25,000 of that – a rollover from the end of the 2008-09 fiscal year – to support this year’s budget, leaving $115,000. The board agreed that it is willing to tap that reserve fund to cover the anticipated deficit, as currently anticipated, and that no additional cuts beyond already-identified savings would be necessary. Nick Burnett also noted that the level of tracking, disclosure and transparency at the Hornet now, compared with five years ago, is excellent. 4. The board adjourned until its next meeting at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23, in the Green & Gold Room of the University Union.