INBA's Bob Roberts was at a meeting with 15 news organizations to go over the ground rules for media coverage of this weekend's NATO summit.  The department says "it is not the intent of Chicago Police to limit or otherwise interfere with coverage of protests and other events related to the NATO summit. The department anticipates that members of the media will be accompanying protesters."  It also does not intend to embed reporters with specific police units.

Bob's compiled a lengthy document that spells out procedures.  Download it here in Adobe PDF format.  Click "read more" (below) to view the entire document online.

INBA will hold its next Professional Development session on July 14 in Champaign.  The topic?  That's where you come in... head over to INBA's Facebook Page and cast your vote!

Here are the winners in for the 2011 SINBA Awards, announced at the INBA Spring Convention in Macomb on April 28th.  

 Illinois News Broadcasters Association (www.inba.net) seeks membership coordinator, whose purpose will be to boost membership and help Board of Directors better target areas of potential growth.

Join INBA in Macomb!

INBA's next convention will be held April 27-29 in at the Spoon River College Outreach Center in Macomb, IL.  

 In addition to several development workshops, we'll hold our annual Awards banquet, featuring awards from the Illinois Associated Press and the Students in the Illinois News Broadcasters Association.

Keynoting Saturday night will be Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride.

This year's Students in the Illinois News Broadcasters Association awards competition is now open.  The contest is open to undergraduate students at any Illinois college or university, or Illinois residents attending school out-of-state. 

Organizers are strongly encouraging electronic submission this year.  For guidelines, entry forms, and pricing, download this document.

Entries must be received by Friday, March 30, 2012.

Questions?  Contact Alex Degman at adegman@gmail.com

INBA will host its first Professional Development Workshop of 2012, focusing on the Illinois Supreme Court's recent decision to allow electronic recording of some cases on a test basis.

What does this decision mean for your station?  And what must we do, as electronic journalists, to make sure this experiment succeeds?  Those will be among the topics discussed on Saturday, March 3, 2012 on the ISU campus. 

Once again this year, INBA will award scholarships to four electronic journalism student members of the organization.  This year's awards will be for $1,250 each and may be applied towards tuition, fees, or other educational expenses.  Students must be members of a local SINBA chapter or student members of INBA.  Entry deadline - March 3, 2012.

You can download the application here. 

Students with questions should see their SINBA chapter adviser or contact Honors and Awards Chair Tanya Koonce at tkoonce@bumail.bradley.edu

INBA's Scholarships are funded through the financial support of the INBA Foundation, a seperate non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the ideals that INBA represents.  Many, many people have generously contributed to the Foundation's success through time, money, and scholarship auction items.  To all of you-- past, present, and future-- thank you!

The Associated Press moved a long-form piece on the Illinois Supreme Court's directive.  Read it at the SJ-R's website.

Reporter Phil Rogers of NBC 5 Chicago puts the Illinois Supreme Court's order into a historical context, including comments from Justice Mary Jane Theis.  Watch and read at nbcchicago.com.

(Thanks to the INBA members who continue to send links!)

INBA President Jennifer Fuller was interviewed across the state today for her insights on the new electronic media rules approved by the Illinois Supreme Court.  She spoke not only about the long journey behind but also what is ahead-- including plans for educating electronic journalists on best practices in the courthouse.  

Check out some of those interviews (we'll post more as they're available online):

WTAX - Springfield

WJBC - Bloomington/Normal

WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago

KFVS-TV Cape Girardeau