Anyone reading this stupid blog will already know the twisted details behind the Great LDF Auction Switch of 2009. But if you don't, here's the slightly spun summary from SPJ President Dave Aeikens.
Many angry kilobytes of email have been sent to various groups of SPJ board members, committee members, and chapter presidents. Here's a quick summary of what's gone down.
On July 9, I emailed Aeikens and copied the Executive Commitee...
I've been asked a question, and I don't know how to reply. I'm hoping you or the others copied here might.
In your update of the last executive board meeting, you wrote, "This year's Legal Defense Fund Auction will be for one year be used to raise money for the Terry Harper Memorial Fund, which will create a lasting tribute to him."
I've been asked, "What's the Harper Fund going to do, specifically?" I don't know. Do you?
I'm sure you've heard by now that some folks aren't happy with this decision. I understand their concerns, even as I might actually support the decision:
1. Changing the nature of the auction without knowing/announcing exactly what the money will be used for.
2. Asking for donations for an LDF fundraiser, then changing the rules on the donors.
3. Making the change so late in the game, but still not telling the membership. (It's not in the latest issue of Leads.)
I have questions myself: Is it common for such decisions to be made by the executive committee without consulting the rest of the board first? Or the LDF committee? This seems like a big change, and even just polling the board and other stakeholders might've at least gained you some buy-in.
Aeikens replied promptly, defending the decision pretty much like he did in his letter. On July 18, Rachael Nielsen, the president of the NYC chapter, sent this...
To the SPJ Executive Committee:
The Deadline Club is writing to urge the SPJ Executive Committee to reverse its ill-considered decision on the 2009 Legal Defense Fund auction. On June 27, the Executive Committee voted to give the proceeds of this year’s convention auction to the Terry Harper Memorial Fund, thus suspending this year’s Legal Defense Fund auction. The LDF committee chair was told by SPJ President Dave Aeikens that the LDF chair and SPJ staff should contact all donors to the LDF auction and inform them of the change. In short, the Executive Committee changed the recipient of the auction proceeds – from journalists requiring legal defense to Terry Harper’s memorial fund – after donations already had been solicited and made. That raises ethical concerns and possibly legal concerns, because it has the appearance of a funding diversion, and it flies in the face of common sense, because it undoes the work of the LDF committee. What’s more, SPJ still hasn’t announced what the Harper Memorial Fund will be used for, meaning that donors don’t know exactly how auction proceeds will be used.
In addition, the Executive Committee made this decision without consulting SPJ’s full LDF committee or the LDF committee chair, and the Exec Committee informed the LDF chair of the decision only after the vote, according to LDF committee members. That is just inexcusable. For the past several years, the SPJ leadership has said that committees serve at the president’s “discretion.” Yet, our bylaws (http://doiop.com/spjbylaws.pdf , page 5) say “the president is authorized to appoint and assign duties to committees that the president deems necessary” — to give the SPJ leadership flexibility, not to allow it to throw out committee work. A similar internal communications problem occurred in 2007, when then-SPJ leadership decided to add SPJ’s name to an amicus brief supporting National Geographic without consulting the chair of SPJ’s Freelance committee (http://doiop.com/spjblog , comments section). It is time for SPJ’s Executive Committee to value the input and time of committee members, which is the only way to attract and retain talent on our national committees.
Because of the poorly handled communications, the disregard for SPJ’s volunteers and the disregard for basic fiscal common sense, the decision to give LDF auction proceeds to the Harper Memorial Fund needs to be reversed. We believe there are better ways to honor Terry Harper.
Sincerely,
The Deadline Club board, by resolution at its meeting on July 18, 2009
Since the board and other stakeholders were copied, I expected some of them to reply — we're loud-mouthed journalists, after all. Besides the RD of her region, no one did. So I replied to Rachel and copied everyone...
As an SPJ board member -- although one of the newest and lowliest -- I agree with every point in your letter. Except for the biggest one.
I don't believe we should go back to an LDF auction. It's too late.
Changing back now would cause even more auction friction. But I hope some good can emerge from this poor decision-making process.
To be crystal clear, I haven't declared for or against the auction switch itself. My beef is with the way it went down, which mostly meshes with your critique...
1. The executive committee made such a major decision without even a courtesy email to the rest of the board or the LDF chairwoman.
2. It's weird to change a longstanding auction without simultaneously announcing exactly what the money will be spent on.
3. The executive committee seems politically tone-deaf. Trust me, Rachel, I've discussed this in previous threads to the same folks you just emailed. I have yet to convince some (many?) of them that it's important *how* you do things, not only what you do. This same decision might've been rendered without the ensuing controversy, if all the stakeholders were first consulted and then properly informed.
I also believe that many on the executive committee don't think there *is* any controversy. It's only a few loud voices, they say. They might be right.
But those few voices belong to active SPJers. As you wrote so well, if we don't involve them, there'll be even more uncontested races for senior SPJ posts.
If you've read this far, can I buy you a drink? If you're heading to Indy next month, perhaps you and me and anyone else who's interested can meet in the hotel bar and chat.
I'm not interested in kvetching about personalities or plotting a coup. But I think there are things we can do within our own spheres of influence. The last thing SPJ needs right now is another one of its famous low-level civil wars. But if we bring together all the loud voices, maybe we can make them sing instead of shout.
Sorry for the crappy metaphor. Feel free to email me individually, or call my cell anytime.
After that, there was some back and forth about calling a board meeting. Yesterday, Aeikens reiterated that he felt most SPJers have "moved past this." Given SPJ's history, I kinda doubt it. We shall see.
