Applications are now online for the 2010 INBA Scholarships.  This year, up to four scholarships will be awarded to student broadcast journalists at $1,000 each.  Applications must be postmarked by March 3, 2010.

Join the Illinois News Broadcasters Association for its Spring 2010 Convention, April 16 - 18.  This year INBA returns to Oak Brook for three days of professional development, journalism education, and camaraderie.  We'll also honor both professional and student excellence with the Illinois Associated Press Awards and the SINBA Awards.

A new version of the INBA JobFile is uploaded each weekend. It features hundreds of journalism and media-related job listings from across the Midwest. New to the JobFile?  Take a moment to visit the registration page and subscribe to this free service from INBA and the Chicago Headline Club!  Each week you'll get an e-mail notiffying you when the latest edition is ready.  The service is open to anyone-- both members and non-members.

Are you already a regular reader of the JobFile?  Then consider supporting this important work by joining INBA today. 

Members are welcome to attend the next INBA Board of Directors meeting.  It will be held Saturday, January 16, 2010 at the WILL-TV studios in Urbana.  The meeting starts at noon.  Click here for directions.

Update:  The agenda for the meeting is available here in Adobe PDF format.

More than two years of INBA's electronic newsletter, TuneIN, is now online, exclusively for INBA Members.  To access the archive, log in to the site and use the "Members Only Section" navagation, which will appear on the left of this page.  Enjoy!

We've added a new section to the INBA Forum for discussing proposed changes our Bylaws.  You can get there by clicking the "Forum" link at the top of the page.  A reminder to members-- you must be logged into the site in order to post comments.

The Illinois News Broadcasters Association wrote Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez Monday that it “strongly protests” efforts by Alvarez to force Northwestern University’s Innocence Project to give up notes, off-the-record interviews, grades and even e-mails related to the project.

“The students are working as investigative journalists,” said INBA President Melissa Hahn, who said they clearly should be covered under the Illinois Reporter’s Privilege Act, which offers a broad definition of reporters, news mediums and sources.

“Journalism is too important to our society to be invaded and inspected by law enforcement and prosecutors,” she wrote in the letter to Alvarez. “So the act should apply to these students.”

INBA Members elected five officers and six directors to the Fall 2009 Convention in Peoria.  Meet them on the INBA Board page.

Members and friends of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association met in Peoria over the weekend of October 2, 2009.

Old friends had a chance to catch-up.  New friends came to meet new people. All came to learn to be better storytellers. We also honored those who dedicated themselves to keeping the public informed and making broadcast journalism better.  The convention was a success thanks to the hard work of Emily West and H Wayne Wilson, convention co-chairs.  A special thank you goes to Lee Milner, who once again selflessly recorded the convention in pictures.

Nearly two dozen past leaders of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association assembled for lunch in Peoria during the Fall 2009 convention. It was an extraordinary gathering made possible through the hard work of H Wayne Wilson, convention co-chair.

Pictured here from left to right are: (seated) Mark Magliari, Gay Martin, Alan Crane, Ann Anderson, Char Daley, Clark Kelly, Michelle Eccles, Molly Hall, Brian O' Keefe, Ken Kosek, (standing) Ben Kiningham, Bill Wheelhouse, H Wayne Wilson, Bill Taylor, Ben Stone, Jim Gee, Bob Roberts, Lyle Dean, Ken Keller, and Ernie Slottag. (Not pictured-- Jay Groves, Don Newberg, Chuck Hippler).

Click on the picture to view the larger image.

Photo: Lee Milner