MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION HELD AT LE CENTRE SHERATON HOTEL, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, ON TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2009, AT 7:00 PM

PRESENT:
Brian McCristall, President
Mike Williscraft, First Vice-President
Lana Meier, Second Vice-President
Abbas Homayed, Treasurer
Chris Ashfield, Corporate Secretary
Coleen Campbell, Chairman of the Board

STAFF PRESENT:
John Hinds, Chief Executive Officer
Tina Ongkeko, Managing Director, Community Media

1. CALL TO ORDER

President Brian McCristall called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM.

2. PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS

Brian welcomed those present to the association’s 90th annual conference and summarized the agenda for the meeting. He expressed thanks for their support throughout his term as president.

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Added under Other Business:
b) Nominating Committee
c) Appointments to co-management committee

MOVED by Mike Williscraft, seconded by Abbas Homayed THAT THE AGENDA BE APPROVED AS AMENDED. CARRIED.

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOVED by Mike Williscraft, seconded by Brian McCristall THAT THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON FEBRUARY 24, 2009, IN VANCOUVER, BE APPROVED AS CIRCULATED. CARRIED.

5. FINANCIAL REPORT

John Hinds presented the March 31, 2009, financial statement and noted the following:
• Awards revenue is down due to lower entry fees and sponsorships;
• In human resources, benefits are higher due to timing;
• Conference staff continue working to contain costs in light of the current economic conditions. Both CCNA and CNA can expect a net deficit of up to $10,000 per association.

6. ACTIVITY REPORT

John Hinds presented his written report and added the following:
• There have been no new developments in the lawsuit filed by JMG Enterprises, the former circulation auditor.
• Staff morale is good. We find that we are having to prove ourselves more and more day to day, which is a good thing.

A discussion took place regarding federal government advertising. John noted that the challenge has not been daily versus weekly, but rather that the government has been choosing radio and online over print. Also, agency buys at the regional level have been based on demographics and other characteristics.

7. CONFERENCE REPORT

Tina Ongkeko reported that community newspapers will be well represented at this year’s conference, making up over half of the delegation. Due to the economy, staff are currently looking at new options for the 2010 conference and are investigating the possibility of partnering with one of the regions.

8. COMBASE

John provided an update on the 2008 ComBase study. He reported that the preliminary results could not be reasonably explained (i.e., did not pass the “smell test”) and it was discovered that Leger had made a programming error in the questionnaire for approximately 30 percent of the markets. Of these markets, 22 had to go back into field. ComBase staff are currently looking at weighting as another possible issue and are working to get SMART Research (who did the weighting for the last national study) to reweight the data at an estimated cost of $10,000.00. Leger has told the ComBase board that they will do whatever it takes to make it right.

A discussion took place regarding the future of ComBase. ComBase’s original purpose was to put community media on the map, and it has done that. Going forward, the industry might need to look at another model. ComBase will release the 2008 study as soon as possible, but as Mike noted, it is far more important to get it right than to do it quickly.

9. BOARD MEETING AND AGM AGENDAS

A discussion took place regarding the agenda for the May 20 board and annual general meetings. It was noted that a draft policy regarding the employment status of executive committee members would be presented to the board for consideration, and that the nominating committee and CMCA committee will also be presenting reports.

10. OTHER BUSINESS

a) Letter from APF

John reported that CCNA has received a letter from the Association de la presse francophone expressing interest in CCNA membership.

MOVED by Abbas Homayed, seconded by Lana Meier THAT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE RECOMMEND TO THE CCNA BOARD THAT IT OPEN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE ASSOCIATION DE LA PRESSE FRANCOPHONE ON JOINING CCNA. CARRIED.

b) Nominating Committee

A discussion took place regarding the slate so far for the 2009-2010 officers. Elections will take place on May 20.

c) Appointments to Co-Management Committee

CCNA is currently represented on the co-management committee by past presidents Coleen Campbell and Lynn Hennigar. Brian reported that these appointments will be reaffirmed at the May 20 board meeting for the second year of the two-year co-management period.

11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the CCNA executive committee will be held in September or October, as determined by the incoming CCNA president.

12. ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:22 PM on a motion by Mike Williscraft.