Media Board > Constitution

Media Board Constitution

Purpose

The primary purposes of the Media Board shall be to oversee the operation of the Cornell student media, to assist in the protection of their freedom of speech and expression, and to monitor their finances. For purposes of this document, student media or media shall refer to The Cornellian (the student newspaper), KRNL (the student radio station), and The Royal Purple (the student yearbook). Media Board shall also serve as a forum for discussion between the media heads and Student Senate and as a resource, a sounding board, and an advisor for the Cornell media.

Outline of the Constitution

• Article I: Functions
• Article II: Membership and Duties
• Article III: Bill of Rights
• Article IV: Finance
• Article V: Amendments
• Bylaws

Revised 3/7/03. Approved by the faculty 4/15/03

Article I: Functions

The Media Board shall:
Section A: Review and recommend funding for all financial policy decisions affecting the student media. Approved budget proposals shall be made by the media heads to Student Senate.

Section B: Appoint the chief executives and business managers of the media (The Cornellian, The Royal Purple, KRNL-FM).

Section C: Advise the management of the media on correct journalistic and fiscal practice.

Section D: Ensure, along with the Student Senate and the Faculty, that freedom of speech and freedom of the press, consistent with the principles set forth in the Statement of Rights and Freedoms of Students at Cornell College, are not abridged.

Section E: Ensure that KRNL-FM meets all requirements for federal license.

Section F: KRNL, Royal Purple, and Cornellian constitutions shall be reviewed periodically as the need arises.

 

Article II: Membership and Duties

Section A: The Chair of the Media Board shall be the Director of College Communications, ex officio, and shall have the duties of the Chair as listed in the Faculty Handbook, p. 6. A Student Vice-Chair is elected from the membership at the beginning of each academic year to set the monthly agenda with the Chair and to conduct the meetings. In the case of a meeting called by any three members (Bylaws, Article I, Section A), the agenda is set by those members even if the Chair or Vice-Chair is not part of that group.

Section B: The Media Board shall include the following voting members:

1. editor(s) in-chief of The Royal Purple and The Cornellian and the general manager of KRNL-FM. When any one medium has more than one person in the highest executive position (e.g., co-editor of The Cornellian), all of the chief executives shall be members of the Media Board with only one (1) vote per medium.
2. the Student Senate president or designate Senator will represent the student body.
3. one faculty member nominated by the Committee on Committees to serve on the Committee on Student Life as a representative of Media Board and elected by the faculty to serve a one-year, renewable term.
4. one member from the professional staff of the Office of Student Affairs, ex officio, appointed by the Dean of Students.
5. the Vice President for Business Affairs, or designate, ex officio.

Section C: Media Board shall include the following non-voting consultants:

1. faculty and/or staff media advisors.
2. business managers of The Cornellian and the Royal Purple and the KRNL station manager.

Section D: The Vice President for Business Affairs, or designate, shall serve as the media financial advisor to assist the business managers of each medium in establishing and maintaining sound fiscal practices.

Section E: The chair shall appoint a secretary. Copies of the permanent records of the committee shall be deposited with the faculty secretary in West Science Building. Copies of the records shall be posted online and made available to all Board members and to the President of Student Senate.

 

Article III: Bill of Rights

Section A: Media Board shall not take action abridging the freedom of speech or the freedom of the press of the media.

Section B: Each medium shall choose its own staff advisor from the faculty or professional administrative staff. If a media head chooses to find a new advisor at the end of the school year effective the following fall, he or she shall inform the current advisor by the second Friday of Block 8.

 

Article IV: Finance

Section A: Before the end of September, each medium's business manager shall submit to the Media Board in a standard format an adjusted budget for the current academic year and a financial statement for the previous academic year.

Section B: All funds shall be deposited with the Business Office of the College in the Student Activities Fee Account, and all disbursements shall be made through that account.

Section C: The Media Board shall review and recommend to the appropriate body of the College the funding of major financial policy decisions affecting the student media, such as honoraria, equipment purchases, and significant budget deviations, including supplemental funds requests, and such requests will be shared with Student Senate.

Section D: Monthly financial reports shall be made two days prior to each Media Board meeting to the financial advisor in a standard format.

Section E: Prior to the Student Senate deadline and in consultation with newly hired media heads, media heads shall present for approval to Media Board a proposed budget for the following academic year. The media heads shall then present and discuss these recommended budgets with Student Senate.

 

Article V: Amendments

Section A: Written copies of the proposed amendments shall be distributed to the members of the Media Board at least ten days in advance of the date upon which the Media Board is to vote upon them.

Section B: Amendments shall be passed upon a two-thirds vote of the Media Board and subsequent approval by the Student Senate.

Section C: Since the Media Board is a committee of the College, all amendments must also be approved by the faculty, usually upon a motion from the Committee on Student Life.

 

Bylaws

Article I: Rules of Procedure

Section A: Meetings shall be called by the Chair, or by any three members, by giving five days written notice to the membership, the only exception being in case of emergency. Written notices of meetings shall include major items on the agenda. The first meeting shall be held within two weeks of the beginning of the academic year.

Section B: A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of voting members except that this number may be diminished by one person for every two persons absent on a College-approved program.

Section C: Meetings shall be open, unless two-thirds of the voting members present vote to meet in executive session. The minutes of all meetings, open or closed, shall be available to the College community.

Section D: If supplemental funding needs arise between regularly scheduled Media Board meetings, the media head should inform the chair and student vice-chair before submitting it to Student Senate for action. If deemed necessary, the chair and vice-chair will consult with the business office representative to determine if the request can proceed without further Media Board discussion. E-mail is an official means of communication.

Article II: Media Head and Business Manager Appointments

Section A: The appointment process for media heads and business managers shall be called and publicized by Media Board before or during the first week of the seventh block and shall be conducted within two weeks after applications are due.

Section B: All current voting Media Board members shall be eligible to vote for the three media heads and business managers. Sitting members of the Media Board who are seeking office as a media head or business manager shall abstain from voting for that position.

Section C: All enrolled students returning the semester following an election shall be eligible to run for a media head or business manager position.

Section D: Applications for media heads (Cornellian editor-in-chief, KRNL general manager, Royal Purple editor) and business managers (The Cornellian business manager, KRNL station manager, Royal Purple business manager) shall be made available at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the interview process and shall be returned to the Chair no later than the specified deadline. A completed summary of activities, a letter of application prepared according to the required specifications, and a list of three references shall be necessary for candidacy.

Section E: All current Media Board members shall serve as the interviewing panel for each media head and business manager candidate. Sitting members of the Media Board who are seeking office as a media head or business manager must abstain from the interview process. Each member of Media Board will be allowed to vote for one candidate for each of the three media head and business manager positions. This voting shall take place immediately following the conclusion of the final interview.

Section F: Appointments shall be posted within 24 hours of the conclusion of the process.

Article III: Absentee Staff Member Honoraria Policy

Section A: KRNL: If a staff member is gone for two weeks or longer during a block, another staff member shall assume his/her duties and receive his/her honoraria for that block. If a staff member is gone for less than two weeks during a block, he/she shall receive a portion of his/her honoraria for that block at the discretion of the General and Station managers. (May 2005)

Section B: The Cornellian: When a staff member is absent for less than a block, the Editor(s)-in-Chief is responsible to take care of the absent member’s duties, or to find a temporary replacement for the position for no pay. When a staff member is absent for more than a block, the Editor(s)-in-Chief is responsible to find a temporary replacement who will be paid the absent staff member’s honoraria for the amount of time he or she is absent. This may include any current staff member, including the Editor(s)-in-Chief, willing to take on the extra responsibilities.(September 2005)

Section C: Royal Purple: When an individual is gone for a single block during blocks one through five, his/her honoraria shall remain unchanged, with the assumption that that person will complete assigned tasks in a timely manner. In the case of an individual staff member being off campus during blocks six and seven, the honoraria shall be reduced on a pro-rata basis, one-ninth for every block that the staff member is unavailable. If staff members are off campus eighth or ninth block, they shall lose two-ninths of their honoraria for each block they are absent. The honoraria shall be re-appropriated to the Editor-In-Chief, or whomever completes the work of the absent staff member.

Honoraria will be paid only to editors who complete their sections by the deadline set by the editor-in-chief. Editors will be paid in full within two weeks once the editor-in-chief deems their work complete and satisfactory. Incomplete sections will be finished by the editor-in-chief without pay for that section—unless, as noted above, the section editor was off-campus for one or more blocks. (November 2005; updated November 2007)

Article IV: Additional Business Manager/Station Manager Responsibilities

Section A: Cornellian and Royal Purple business managers and the KRNL station manager must attend all mandatory meetings organized by the Senate Appropriations Committee. (January 2010)

 

Revised 1/25/95. Approved by the faculty 2/7/95. Revised 3/7/03. Approved by the faculty 4/15/03. Signed by President Garner 5/12/03.

Bylaws updated 10/1/04 (Added Section D to Rules of Procedure).

Bylaws updated May 2005 (Added Article III)

Bylaws updated January 2010 (Added Article IV)