Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Some tasks in life — updating your will or canceling underutilized digital subscriptions — often end up in the “Get Around To It” file.
So it is with modernizing an organization’s bylaws.
Few sane human beings spend their days reading the bylaws of anything. Buzzkill. Better to go outside and watch the grass grow.
Ask a friend to define “bylaws” and a likely response will be “forgotten legalese.”
Yet in recent weeks a committee and I have spent considerable time reviewing and updating the bylaws of the Missouri Press Foundation. Here’s why.
On a practical level, updating the Foundation’s bylaws is akin to vaccinating against future sickness. They help the organization stay healthy day-to-day in governance and decision-making procedures.
At their most basic, an organization’s bylaws spell out things such as when board meetings occur, who gets to vote at those meetings, and the responsibilities that come with board membership.
These basic governance guardrails need to be spelled out to avoid misunderstandings — to keep the organization and its meetings from going off the rails if you will. And if things do go south, bylaws can serve as the legal document used to mitigate nasty board disagreements, challenges to decisions and staffing issues.
Somebody needs to check on the bylaws periodically to make sure they reflect the realities of how an organization actually operates. Thankfully, a review of the Missouri Press Foundation’s bylaws showed that the patient is in good health. Few procedural updates of consequence were needed.
But there were other changes. Significant changes, to reflect the Foundation’s new sense of purpose.
For example, the opening sentences in the updated bylaws codify the Foundation’s newly revised mission: “to support local journalism in Missouri in partnership with local communities to improve civic life and keep Missourians informed.”
No confusion in the bylaws about what the Foundation is trying to do.
Go deeper into the “Purposes and Activities” section of the bylaw revisions, and you will see the living/ breathing roots of the Foundation’s work spelled out to:
- help local news outlets identify and develop new revenue streams;
-research how local news outlets can utilize new technology; and
-strengthen the bonds local news outlet have with the communities they serve;
MPF’s bylaws also now include a description of the newly-established Missouri Local News Partnership. This is the framework that will be used to identify, connect and evaluate all of the Foundation’s work on behalf of Missouri local news outlets.
And notice that phrase, “Missouri local news outlets.” It’s new to the bylaws, too.
A Missouri local news outlet, of course, includes the state’s more than 150 print newspapers. But a local news outlet can be, will be, and already is more than just ink on paper. It can include a website, a Facebook page, Instagram accounts or other emerging digital permutations we haven’t even seen yet.
Adding the phrase “local news outlet” to the bylaws recognizes the changing media landscape in Missouri while holding firm to the Foundation’s belief that local news is a key support beam beneath all thriving communities.
One more change was written into the bylaws. The Missouri Press Foundation now can establish an advisory board to help sort out future priorities.
An advisory board could be significant donors who want to help Missouri local news outlets survive. An advisory board could be convened to include experts in AI or community organizing. The board could be organized to help resolve local disputes.
The point is to make clear the Foundation is open to good ideas and innovations from many sources.
No, the Missouri Press Foundation bylaws aren’t scintillating reading.
But they do reflect new realities and new approaches to help sustain local news in Missouri for years to come.
