Saturday, April 11, 2009

MAPBA By-Laws

Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters Association
By-Laws

------------------------------ARTICLE I Procedures-------------------------------------------

These being the properly adopted By-Laws of the Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters Association (MAPBA), they shall serve as the rules and regulations for the government of the Association.

-----------------------------ARTICLE II Procedures-------------------------------------------

The name of this Association shall be the Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters Association. Its purposes are to advance the practice of journalism through the media of radio and television, to cooperate with The Associated Press in order to make available an accurate and impartial record of the news, and to serve as liaison between the representatives of the radio and television stations in Mississippi that are members of The Associated Press and the management thereof in attainment of these ends.

----------------------------ARTICLE III Procedures-------------------------------------------

Sec. 1. Any staff person of a licensed radio and/or television station domiciled in Mississippi who is engaged in news gathering activities and who is designated by the station shall be eligible for membership in the Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters Association, provided the station is a member of the AP cooperative.Sec. 2. Each AP member radio station (AM and FM being separate stations) and each AP member television station in Mississippi shall have one vote in all Association affairs presented to the Association at-large by the Board of Directors or by an Association member.

--------------------------ARTICLE IV Meeting of Members------------------------------------
Sec. 1. The Board of Directors may call a meeting of the members of the Association at any time upon not less than 21 days written notice to the members. There shall be no required number of members of the Association in attendance at any such meeting in order to constitute a quorum.Sec. 2. The MAPBA shall conduct an annual conference during one of the spring months. The site and date of the conference shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Members may petition to the Board to have the conference held in their cities.

-------------------------ARTICLE V Board of Directors----------------------------------------

Sec. 1. The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of nine (9) Directors, to be elected as prescribed by these By-Laws, and, ex-officio the AP Bureau Chief or his/her representative, and for a period of one year the last retired MAPBA President. No Director shall be elected to the same office for more than two consecutive terms unless he/she becomes President of the Association and then may serve no more than three terms.
Sec. 2. Board members shall be elected for two-year terms and the terms of half of the Board’s membership shall expire each year.
Sec. 3. The MAPBA Board of Directors shall be elected by the majority of the members voting at the annual conference. The membership shall elect at least one Director to represent radio stations and at least three Directors to represent television stations. The remaining Directors, including the President, Vice President, and Immediate Past President, are at-large Directors and may come from either medium.
Sec. 4. The membership shall elect one board member to serve as Vice President of the Association. He/she shall be an at-large board member and may represent either radio or television.
Sec. 5. The Vice President of the Association shall be deemed the President-elect and shall automatically ascend to that position after one year. The President shall act as Chairman of the Board of Directors and shall serve for a term of one year. In the event the Vice President is unable to ascend for any reason, the membership shall elect a president. In the event the Vice President assumes the presidency before a meeting of the general membership, the Board may appoint a Vice President to serve until an election can be held.
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the Vice President, in the absence of the President, or his/her inability to act, to service all powers and discharge all duties of the presidency. The AP Bureau Chief or his/her representative shall act ex-officio as Secretary-treasurer of the Association.
Sec. 7. Should a vacancy occur on the Board of Directors, the President may, with the approval of the Board of Directors, appoint from the general membership a Director to fill the unexpired term.
Sec. 8. The Board of Directors shall have the power to establish committees and to promote the objectives of the Association.
Sec. 9. The Board of Directors shall hold an annual meeting on a date to be designated by the President for such business as may come before the meeting. Other meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at such times as the Board considers appropriate. The President may when he/she deems it necessary, or the Secretary shall, at the request of three (3) members of the board, call a special meeting of the Board upon seven (7) days notice to all its members.
Sec. 10. A majority of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum of the Board.

--------------------------------ARTICLE VI Committees --------------------------------------

Sec. 1. The President shall appoint committees as may be necessary to facilitate the work of the Association and to evaluate the performance, hear grievances or make suggestions for improvement of the state wire report.

--------------------------------ARTICLE VII Awards------------------------------------------

Sec. 1. The MAPBA shall present awards at its annual conference to the year’s broadcast news work in Mississippi consistent with the categories designated by the majority of the Board of Directors.
Sec. 2. The MAPBA news awards shall be judged by professionals in broadcast journalism – usually by a panel of AP broadcasters to be picked in secret by the AP Bureau Chief in another state in which there operates an Associated Press Broadcasters Association.
Sec. 3. The Associated Press shall present an award annually to the radio or television station in Mississippi showing consistent news protection during the year prior to the annual conference. The award shall be called the James S. Saggus Award, in honor of the long-time Associated Press newsman who died in 1995.

--------------------------ARTICLE VIII Amendments to By-Laws-----------------------------

These By-Laws may be amended by the Board of Directors at any meeting of the Board by an affirmative vote of a majority of all the Directors of the Association. Any changes must be reported to the membership of the Association at an annual meeting and the membership may, by a majority vote, reject any amendments.

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