Orange Media Network Advisory Board
Minutes, monthly meeting, March 14, 2023
I. Call to order
Vice Chair Alden Micklavzina called the meeting to order at 4 p.m.
Present:
Steven Sandberg, OMN assistant director
Vice Chair Alden Micklavzina, KBVR-TV
Naomi Kleinschmit, DAMchic
Lonni Ivey, DAS (Zoom)
John Larison, SWLF (Zoom)
David Seaton, At Large (Zoom)
Sukhjot Sal, Beaver's Digest
Dakshata Arora, INTO
Andres De Los Santos, KBVR-FM
Riley LeCocq, The Barometer
Maricruz Trenado-Frias, Prism
Jill St. Jacques, SWLF (Zoom)
Absent: Olivia Eiler, Student at Large, Mia DuMars, CFSL; Mya Kuzmin, board chair
Journalism adviser Jennifer Moody was in attendance to take minutes.
II. Updates from board members
Those present took turns giving brief updates on their areas of representation. Of note:
III. Finalize election questions
Election Nights will start at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 12, and will go until they are finished. No decision has yet been made on which medium's candidates will be assigned to which day. Board members are reminded to obtain a proxy (who is not running for a position) if they cannot make it.
Each candidate will have 10 minutes for questions. Discussion ensued on what to ask.
Andres noted that while candidates are often asked how they are at receiving constructive criticism, he is equally interested in how they give it. Sukhjot suggested having one of the questions be for the candidate to talk about their experiences in giving and receiving feedback.
Jill asked whether followups would be allowed. Steen said yes.
Andres asked about adding a question about delegating. Steven said he's often asked candidates how they handle competing priorities, such as two projects due at the same time, to see if they are comfortable asking for help. Board members, however, said candidates might be thinking of such a prompt in terms of homework, which is a personal priority, rather than a team project, which takes multiple people. Riley, Maricruz and Alden said they would like to see the question phrased, "As the leader of a team, how would you ..."
Board members discussed the use of the word "tension" rather than "conflict" or "disagreement" in terms of how a candidate might approach a problem either inside or outside of their team. In the Zoom chat, Lonni asked whether the question should be phrased as, "What is the first step you would take when tension arises between team members?" The board came to general agreement to use both the word "tension" and to include both the inside- and outside-the-team aspects of potential conflict, but phrased the question differently from the "first step" suggestion.
Steven asked how the group wanted to address the question of diversity, which board members said they wanted a question to do. Riley suggested, "How do you plan to include and uplift diverse voices in your medium?"
Riley said she also favors having candidates talk about their communication strategies.
Alden said he wanted to address burnout, but not as an assumption or a given. Maybe, "What strategies would you implement to minimize burnout in yourself and your team?"
The final list of general questions for all candidates:
Maricruz asked whether questions would be assigned to specific board members to ask. Board members decided to go around the table, rotating the first person to ask each question, unless the question is medium-specific.
Medium-specific questions:
Barometer: Define "newsworthiness," and how does it affect your coverage plans?
Prism: How do you get and keep volunteers?
Beaver's Digest: How can we define our voice and best serve the public?
FM: How would you get more community engagement?
DAMchic: How do you plan to communicate transparency about our modeling process?
TV: How would you gauge what a successful TV station looks like?
John said he fully supports the chosen questions. David agreed, saying they look good; clear and concise.
IV. Other business and adjournment
Steven reminded board members to bring snacks and water to election nights. The elections are open to the public, except for deliberation, which takes place in closed session. The vote, however, is public. Two separate votes will be held for Baro Summer and Baro Academic positions.
Alden reminded Steven to speak with the Memorial Union to keep the building open and the elevator running.
Sukhjot suggested board members take a moment with each candidate to introduce themselves. Steven agreed and reminded everyone to be friendly and welcoming, and to let all voices be heard, not just that of the leader of whichever medium is under discussion.
Sukhjot also asked whether time would be allowed for candidates to ask questions. Steven said yes, but reminded board members that if one candidate is allowed to go long, all of them must be.
Sukhjot suggested candidates be told a little about the board, who's on it, how it works and how voting will take place. Steven said he would do that in the invitation email to each applicant.
Applications will be made to board members as they become available. Applications will be closed as of midnight April 3 and will be moved to a folder where board members can see them.
There being no further discussion, Alden adjourned the meeting at 4:59 p.m.