APSE members,
The Regions Committee has proposed the consolidation of APSE’s regions, from eight to four regions.
There are many reasons for the proposal, but high among them are inactivity, greater ease of communication, travel and financial constraints and a changing focus.
On July 9, at the opening meeting of the APSE summer conference in Las Vegas, after 10 days posted on the website for review and comment by the general membership, per the APSE bylaws, the proposal will be discussed by those present. On July 12, at the closing meeting of the conference, the executive committee will vote on the proposal.
Please email any feedback to outgoing APSE president Jorge Rojas at jrojas@theathletic.com and/or incoming APSE president Naila-Jean Meyers at naila.meyers@gmail.com.
The change in region designations will require changes in the bylaws by the Executive Committee vote. Three proposed bylaw changes appear below the proposal.
If the measure passes, a determination on the consolidation of region chairs and vice chairs would be made by the Executive Committee, with any necessary region elections to follow.
Thank you,
Jorge Rojas, APSE president
Proposal for needed changes to APSE Regions
New Region Structure
In an effort to streamline regions, we propose reducing the number of regions from eight to four.
Proposal for 4 Regions
- Northeast (12 +D.C.): Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia.
- Southeast (12): Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia.
- Midwest (13): Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
- West (13): Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
* It is at the discretion of the executive committee to add members outside the United States as part of a separate (fifth) region, or to include them with one of the four regions.
Current Regions
- Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania.
- Atlantic Coast: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia.
- Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee
- Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
- Great Plains: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma.
- Southwest: New Mexico, Texas.
- Northwest: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming.
- West: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah.
How the Region year would operate
Chairman of the Membership Committee (currently Jason Murray) or a member of that committee designated by the chair will operate a calendar that tracks region, commissioner and student meetings. This is already currently in place.
Meetings structure: The requirement for Region meetings will be once per year
- Region Chair will organize and build panels for Region meetings, with assistance from Vice Chair, as well as Regions Committee and Membership Committee leadership as needed.
- Although in-person or hybrid (in-person with Zoom access for other members) are fine, we realistically expect virtual to be the rule and fully acceptable to APSE.
- Advance information for Region meetings will be posted on the APSE website and in the newsletter, shared via APSE’s branded social media accounts, and distributed via email to all Region members.
A Region meeting should consist of:
- at least 2 panels/sessions
- Career development panel/session where young or rising journalists can trade ideas on advancement, state of the industry, and how they can help each other. The Vice Chair should play a leading role, and the Career Advancement Committee chair can help with this.
- Virtual meetings can take place over multiple days in order to lessen the burdens of members to take time off from work that they cannot negotiate with their supervisors. For example, session 1 can be Monday from 9 to 10:30 am, session 2 can then be Thursday from 2 to 3:30 pm. Or both sessions can be on the same day. Whatever works best for the members.
- A summary of the meeting will be written by Region leadership and shared with national officers, who will distribute through digital and social channels to all members.
Membership lists: APSE will create a master list of members, with Region subsets, then add to that list notable newspapers not currently included. Region chairs and vice chairs will work with the Regions Committee leadership (Michael Kates, Jason Murray and Gary Potosky) on outreach. So there will be a national list, and four Region lists.
Region Leadership
Each Region would have a Chair and a Vice Chair, and elections will function the same as the current format – two-year terms, ascension from Vice Chair to Chair.
Role of Region chair: Works directly with the Membership Committee chair on …
- Building membership lists (also working with Regions committee chairs)
- Creating and running Region meetings
- Communicating regularly with universities and student chapters in the region
- Recruiting and enlisting new student chapters
- Keeping Membership Committee chair updated on meeting schedules
- Reporting summaries of Region meetings to national officers
Role of Vice Chair: Works with Region chair on …
- Building member lists via direct outreach to members and non-members to encourage involvement
- Attending and assisting in the running of Region meetings
- Communicating regularly with universities and student chapters in the region
- Recruiting and enlisting new student chapters
- Leading sessions with young or rising journalists during Region meetings
- Preparing to ascend to Region chair
Proposed bylaw changes with regard to APSE Regions
Under 4. DUTIES (Section I, paragraph 2):
Old
I. Regional chairs and vice chairs. Chairs serve two-year terms and are succeeded by vice chairs.
Terms of the Atlantic Coast, Southeast, Southwest and Western regional chairs expire in odd-numbered years. Terms of other regional chairs expire in even-numbered years. Time of succession coincides with succession of organization officers. Duties of regional officers are described below.
The method of election of vice chairs, which occurs every two years unless it is necessary sooner because of resignation, will be determined by regional membership with the approval of the APSE president.
New
I. Regional chairs and vice chairs. Chairs serve two-year terms and are succeeded by vice chairs.
Terms of the Southeast and West regional chairs expire in odd-numbered years. Terms of Northeast and Midwest chairs expire in even-numbered years. Time of succession coincides with the succession of organization officers. Duties of regional officers are described below.
The method of election of vice chairs, which occurs every two years unless it is necessary sooner because of resignation, will be determined by regional membership with the approval of the APSE president.
Explanation: Changes names of the regions.
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Under 4. DUTIES (Section I, paragraph 5):
Old
A regional chair or vice chair must be a working APSE member from the region. If a regional chair or vice chair transfers to another region or is no longer working for an APSE member organization, such regional chair must resign. The position will be filled as prescribed above.
New
A regional chair or vice chair should be a working APSE member from the region. If a regional chair or vice chair switches jobs or moves to another region or is no longer working for an APSE member organization, such regional chair must resign. The position will be filled as prescribed above as soon as a seamless transition can be made, as determined by the president, with the advice of the Executive Committee.
Explanation: Call this the Erik Hall bylaw. While the officers agree that it is good for a region or vice chair to work/live in the region, we think the timing of the transfer from the chair to the vice chair should allow for common sense. Erik wanted to continue as Southeast chair through the winter meeting, and John Devine had a project and wasn’t ready to take over. We might someday vote to completely eliminate the need for a chair or vice chair to cede power, but if the president and the Executive Committee are convinced that someone can continue to be effective in their role, there should be some leeway.
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Under 7. APSE REGIONS:
Old
Member organizations shall be placed in the following regions. Member organizations outside of North America will be placed in regions by the Executive Committee.
A. Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania.
B. Atlantic Coast: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia.
C. Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee
D. Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
E. Great Plains: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma.
F. Southwest: New Mexico, Texas.
G. Northwest: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming.
H. West: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah.
J. Canada: All provinces, and any other regions the Executive Committee may choose to include.
New
Member organizations shall be placed in the following regions. Member organizations outside of North America will be placed in regions by the Executive Committee.
A. Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia.
B. Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia.
C. Midwest: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
D. West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
* It is at the discretion of the executive committee to add members outside the United States as part of a separate (fifth) region, or to include them with one of the four regions.
E. Canada: All provinces, and any other regions the Executive Committee may choose to include.
Explanation: Changes the number and breakdown of regions.
