Constitution of the Dalhousie Gazette Publishing Society Purpose 1. The name of the society is the DALHOUSIE GAZETTE PUBLISHING SOCIETY. 2. The objectives of the society are: 2.1, To publish a student-run newspaper to report fairly and objectively on issues of importance and interest to students of Dalhousie, as well as the rest of the Halifax and Atlantic Canadian university community and community at large. 2.2. To provide an open forum for free expression of ideas and opinion, in order to stimulate meaningful debate. 2.3. To provide mentorship and training to student writers and journalists, through a skilled staff of university students and young professionals. Definitions 3. In these bylaws, unless there be something inconsistent therewith: 3.1, “society” means The Dalhousie Gazette Publishing Society; 3 3.3. “Dalhousie” means Dalhousie University; ‘council” means the Council of the Dalhousie Student Union; 3.4, “student union” means the Dalhousie Student Union; 3.5. “publishing year” shall mean the period from the first week of September to the last week of April. Issues may be published at any time throughout this publishing year, or outside of it at the discretion of the staff; 3.6, “section editor” means the head editor of a given content section of The Dalhousie Gazette. Sections are determined by the Society from time to time; 3.7, “manager” means a member of the Gazette's skilled production staff hired by the hiring committee, subject to the approval of the Publishing Board; 3.8. “Executive” means the group of people that consists of the the editor-in-chief, business ‘manager and section editors. At least one executive must be a Dalhousie student and a signing authority. This group will exercise executive authority over the Society at the behest of the Publishing Board, 3.8.1. The Editor-in-chief shall act as president of the society. 3.8.2. The business manager shall act as treasurer of the society. 3.8.3. A secretary will be nominated from amongst the section editors. 3.9, “conflict of interest” is when a member of the society is involved in multiple interests, such as a friendship or formal association with a candidate for hiring, which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other;~Publishing Board” means the Publishing Board of the Dalhousie Gazette Publication 3.10. Society and is the highest authority in the Society BL “newspaper” means The Dalhousie Gazette: 3.12, “staff” means the executive as well as the staff contributors. 3.13. “editor” means and indicates a section editor or an assistant editor Membership . All Dalhousie who pay a levy towards The Dalhousie Gazette are members of the society. and are able to vote in-person at all general meetings of the society by issuance of a ballot provided by the society. 4.1. Any other person holding office as an editor or manager of the society will hold status as an honourary member of the society, but will not be able to vote at general meetings of the society. All members of the society are eligible to contribute articles, photos or other content for consideration by the staff of the newspaper. Additionally, the staff may occasionally consider worthy articles from the larger community for publication, provided they are relevant to the journalistic goals of the newspaper, as set out in section two of this document. 42. All professional managers of the newspaper will be hired by the Hiring Committee. ‘Any member who has contributed to the paper may apply for a manager position, however, the Hiring Committee may hire the strongest managerial candidates, regardless of membership in the society. ‘Any member who contributes five articles, photos, comics, or creative submissions in any publishing year, or who has contributed ten articles, photos, comics, or creative submissions in total shall be considered staff contributors and will be identified as such in their bylines, unless they also hold a higher position (such as a columnist or beat reporter, as decided by the Section Editors) within the paper. Any staff contributor may apply for consideration for any Section Editor position, for sele via the Hiring Committee, providing that staff contributor will be a member of the Dalhousie Student Union or a King's Students’ Union member during the publication term when they will 4.3, 44, 45. 46. mn serve as an editor. 4.7. Any member may apply for consideration as Editor-in-chief for the next publishing year, for selection via Hiring Committee, providing that the member has been an editor within the last three years, and that the member will be a member of the Dalhousie Student Union or the King's Students! Union during the publication term when they will serve as editor-in-chief. ‘Additionally, no editor-in-chief may hold a position on the Dalhousie Student Union council, the Dalhousie Board of Governors, or the Dalhousie Senate during the publication term for which they are editor-in-chief. . In the event that vacant positions cannot be filled, whether because of a lack of required qualifications as per sections 4.6 and 4.9, or for any other reason, the Hiring Committee will determine the most suitable candidate, in accordance with section 17 of this document.Finances Thi year. 6. The Society must be audited by the Vice-President (Finance) ‘of the Dalhousie Student Union each academic year before receiving its levy. 7. There will be three (3) signing officers. These officers will be the chair of the Publishing Board, the Editor-in-chief, and the Business Manager. 7.1. Each cheque issued by the society must be signed by at least two signing officers. fiscal year of the Society shall be the period from May 1 to April 31 of the following calendar 7.2. Assigning officer may not sign a cheque made out in their name. 8. Salaries and honoraria will be determined by the Publishing Board based on consultation between the outgoing Editor-in-chief and the Business Manager at the beginning of the fiscal year, The Business Manager will submit a budget to the Publishing Board for approval within the first month of every semester, At the end of each semester, the Business Manager will submit an overview of financial transactions to the Publishing Board for their review: Meetings 9. The annual general meeting of the society shall be held each year before the second week of March, 10. A special general meeting ofthe society may be called by the editor-in-chief or the chair of the Publishing Board at any time and must be called if requested in writing by atleast 80 members of the society. 11. At least one week's notice of a general meeting, specifying the place, day and hour of the meeting: ghd: in the case of special business, the nature of such business, shall be given to members By an advertisement in the newspaper. 12. The date, time and place of the annual general meeting will be advertised at | advance, jeast two weeks in gs on all forms of social media that are used by 13. The Gazette must also advertise all general meetin; in the society website and in social media. the newspaper. A 48 reminder must also be issued or 14, At each annual general meeting of the society, the following items of business shall be dealt with: 141 minutes of the preceding meeting; consideration of the financial statements. including, balance sheet and operating statement and the report of the auditors thereon: 142. election of members of the Publishing Board 14.3, annual report ofthe editor-in-chief, which can be submitted t0 all members of the society electronically or delivered orally 15. The membership at a general meeting may: 15.1. amend the constitution in accordance with section 16 of this document; 15.2. conduct such other business ofthe society as the membership requires subject only to the provisions for impeachment as specified herein. All other business requires a majority vote to be formally ratified and adopted by the Society.16. NS business shall be transacted at any general meeting (annual or special. regardless of its reason. for being convened) of the society unless a quorum consisting of 25 members of the society is Present at the commencement of such business. 17. If within forty-five minutes after the time appointed for a meeting a quorum of members is not present, the meeting, shall be dissolved. Amendments to the Constitution 18. Amendments of more than five clauses of the constitution must be proposed amendment in writing to the Publishing Board and the Chair of the Publishing Board, at least three weeks prior to any general meeting. 18.1, The amendment will then be put before the membership annual general mecting and will be passed by a two-thirds vote. 18.2. At any general meeting of the society a motion for emergency amendment to the constitution may be made, in writing, to the chair of the general meeting and the editor-in: at any time. Each motion for amendment may not affect more then five specific clauses of the constitution. 18.2.1, Any motion, excluding changes to the bylaws, may be passed with a majority of the members present to vote as long a quorum is reached as pet section 13. hiet Hiring Chief, Business 17 AHiring Committee shall be formed annually to fairly hire the Editor-i Manager, the section editors, and the professional managers. 17.1 The hiring committee shall be struck annually at the annual general meeting. and will stand ad-hoc throughout the year should any hiring matter arise. 17.2 The hiring committee shall consist of: 17.2.1. The outgoing/current Editor-in-chief 17.2.2 The Chair of the Publishing Board. 17.2.3 The Dalhousie Faculty member on the Publishing Board, who will sit as a non- voting member 17.2.4 Two Dalhousie student members from the Publishing Board that are selected by the Publishing Board; 17.2.5 Amember-at-large that is elected at the annual general meeting 17.2.6 The current relevant section editor or staff member, who will sit as a non-voting, member. In practice, this means that if the hiring committee is considering applications for the position of news editor, the current news editor will sit on the hiring committee. The current relevant staff member will only sit on the hiring committee for the selection of that relevant position, 17.2.7 The Hiring Board quorum will be three voting members,17.3 In the event that the current editor-in-chief is a candidate for any position at the newspaper, the a majority vote of the Publishing Board will be used to break ties on the Hiring Committee. 17.4 In the event that a section editor applies for the same position, their ex-officio position on the hiring committee will remain vacant. 17.5 All hiring committee members who have a real or perceived conflict of interest must raise this with the executive before the committee meets and must remove themselves from the voting process for the position in question. 17.6 The make-up of the hiring committee shall be confirmed annually at the annual general meeting, and at any special general meeting where the committee is relevant, or where request for its make-up is made by anyone present. -al meeting may call on any member of the hiring committee to answer questions of conflict of interest. Should the answer be unsatisfactory, the member may make a motion for that hiring committee member to be replaced. This motion must have a seconder and must be approved via a two-thirds vote 17.8 In the event that an editor resigns or vacates the position or is terminated during the publishing year, the editor-in-chief shall reconvene the currently standing hiring committee and accept applications for the position. 17.9 In the event that the hiring committee cannot make a unanimous decision, then the candidate with the highest number of votes is selected. 17.7 Additionally, the body of an annual gener 18 For editor positions, the positions of Editor-in-chief and all manager positions, a call for applications must be posted on the home page of Dalgazette.com at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the hiring period. Publishing Board 19. There shall be a Publishing Board consisting of the following directors: 19.1 Four Dalhousie students elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Society: 19.2 A representative of the staff, elected by the editors by a majority vote. This representative must be a Dalhousie Student 19.3 Dalhousie or King’s faculty member elected by the editors through a majority vote. This director will be a member without a vote; 19.4 At least one member of the professional media, elected by the vote. This director will be a member without a vote; rs through a majority 19.5 The Editor-in-chief. This director will be members without a vote. 19.6 A chair, elected at a General Meeting of the society. The chair will not have a vote, except in the event of atic. The chair must be a Dalhousie student. ‘The Publishing Board shall meet at least three times during each the fall and winter terms, and as 20 immer term. An emergency meeting of the Publishing Board may be necessary during the su convened by the chair with appropriate notice. 21 A meeting of the Publishing Board may be held at the close of any annual or special general meeting of the Society without notice. Notice of all other meetings, specifying the time and place, shall be emailed by the chair to each member at least one (1) week before the meeting is to takeplace. Publishing Board Members are obligated to provide a phone number and/or email address Stu en yeaa i provide a phone number andor email addres sneral public, 22 All Publishing Board meetings shall be open to members of the Society and the unless a motion to go in cumera is approved via the procedures outlined in Robert's Rules of Order 23 Board members will be prohibited from failing to attend two consecutive meetings without & reasonable excuse. on penalty of dismissal from the board. 24. The Publishing Board administration of the S 24.1 ensure that the Society's finances are responsibly administered: tions as stated in the contract between the Society and ring the general all have responsibility for overseeing and ensut ‘ociety, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, shall: 24.2 ensure the Society fulfills its obligat the students” union: 24.3 investigate any formal charge of libel subject to litigation: 24.4 investigate and mediate formal complaints: ef, section editors, and professional 24.5 be responsible for dismissing the Editor-in-Chi managers on grounds of incompetence or dereliction of duty: 25. Quorum for meetings of the Publishing Board shall be a majority of the total board, including at least three voting members. 26 If Publishing Board members find themselves in a conflict of interes rest of the board and excuse themselves from voting, if the conti position in the newspaper. st. they must disclose it to the merits 50. 27. No Publishing Board Director May hold any other paid Managers 28 The Publishing Board shall provide each manager with a job description and contract outlining all society policies and expectations with regards to performance, discipline and compensation, ds well as any other contractual concems of the parties. The original, signed copy of this document shall be retained by the society. in the care of the editor-in-chief. A copy may be given to the manager in question 29 The Business Manager must be hired by the committee following the processes set out in section 17 of this document. 30 The Business Manager shall be responsible fo Serving as treasurer of the society: Consulting with the editor-in-chief at the beginning of the fiseal year on the budget, including salaries and honourat Being available for consultation to the editor-in-chief throughout the fiscal year for ¢ matters pertaining to the budget: 4. Keep records of all spending within the Society in accordance with DSU regulations; e. Actas a signing officer of the Society: f Be responsible for managing the Society bank account; Managing applications for Society Grants to the DSU, and aiding members in applying for individual Member Grants through the DSU;F Reading and understanding the DSU Grants Policy; '-_ having the budget approved by the Publishing Board uth Sections 3 '¢ paper shall have News, Opinions, Arts and Sports sections. 32 € The executive of the paper may agree to include other sections in the paper. a. The editor-in-chief may decide to hire an editor for any sections in the paper not listed in item 23 of this document. New editors must be hired according to the processes described in section 17 of this document. Editors 33 The Publishing Board shall provide each editor with a contract outlining all expectations of the Position with regards to performance, discipline and compensation, as well as any other ‘contractual concems of the parties. The original, signed copy of this document shall be retained by the society, in the care of the editor-in-chief. A copy may be given to the editor in question, a. Editors shall be signed to contracts for the duration of the publication year. 34 Section Editors shall be responsible for: ‘a. Providing content for their section of the Dalhousie Gazette; b. Submitting content to the Copy Editor via posting on an agreed filesharing system of choice, usually Dropbox, no later than Sunday at 3 p.m ¢. Coordinating and mentoring a group of contributors to whatever level they see fit, in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief: 4d. Editing their section’s content for matters of correctness, ethies, legality and in accordance with the Gazette Style Guide and the Canadian Press Style Guide: €. Upon finding any matter of ethical concern, or upon finding any content which does not operate according to best practices (be it in poor taste, libellous, offensive, racist, discriminatory or for any other reason), alert the Editor-in-Chief and act as a liaison between the Editor-in-Chief, Copy Editor and any given contributor; Before Monday at 5:30 p.m, of a production week, forward a list of necessary corrections from previous issue(s) to the Copy Editor, in written form and in accordance with Gazette correction style 35 Other editor positions may be hired, including Copy Editor and Managing Editor, These editors will have editorial responsibilities delegated to them by the editor-in-chief. 36 In addition to the responsibilities held with editors, the editor-in-chief shall be responsible for: ‘a, maintaining professional relations within the staff: b. maintaining amicable relations with other societies within the union; c. the content, layout, training of staff and general management of the newspaper: 4. calling regular staff meetings which will decide editorial positions, content and other matters conceming the newspaper, as well as chairing these meetings in a fair and democratic fashion: €. providing direction and guidance to the managers, and communicating expectations, changes and decisions to them in a clear and prompt manner: presenting a written annual report to the annual general meeting of the society: . ratifying The Dalhousie Gazette Publishing Society as a society of the DalhousieStudent Union betor h. keeping the a ptember 30 of each academic or yup to date: set out canny inte Siar and managers provided they violate the responsibilities : and ee arate ic cmoea see policies set out - delegating and assi al i igning all tasks within the Society so that duties are performed in a _inelyandeetve manne ithin the Society so that duties are performed in providing « Providing constructive and helpful mentorship to ll eitors and contributors should it be identifying ke ‘ lentifying key coverage areas and opportunities for the newspaper, and planning said ‘overage across sections when necessary: 1. acting to resolve internal eonficis ofthe nowspepet oF the society, and referring these to alhousie Student Union counselling when necessary, in ‘accordance with the discipline policy; n. acting as a public head of the society for political and recruitment efforts: championing the reputation and role of the Gazette within the Dalhousie ancl Halifax communities: Impeachment 37 An Publishing Board Directors and Chair may be impeached for consistently or seriously failing to fulfill any of the duties outlined in section 22 of this document, as well as for any serious violation of the discipline policy or the ethics code. 38 The editor-in-chief may be dismissed upon the recommendation of two-thirds of Publishing Board of the society. ra orator up for impeachment must be given the opportunity to speak at a general meeting before the vote on the motion to impeach. 39 The Publishing Board Directors and Chair may be impeached if a petition signed Py ne less than 125 reuistered members ofthe Dalhousie Student Union is submitted to any member of the Publishing Board. In this event, the Publishing Board will calla special general mesting with that must take place no less than one week and no more than two weeks after receiving, the petition. The meeting must be advertised on the Society as per the procedures outlined in these bylaws, Should two-thirds of present Dalhousie Student Union members present at the general rreeting uphold the petition, the editor-in-chief shall be impeached. 40 Inthe event that an editor-in-chief is impeached, an interim editor-in-chief shal be nominated by the Publishing Board within three days, and approved by two-thirds of that body. This ierim editor-in-chief should be announced online as soon as possible after selection. a Within four weeks of the impeachment, the chair of the Publishing Board must convene the Hiring Committee to select a new editor-in-chief. ‘Student Members to the Publishing Board 41 Four Dalhousie student representatives shall be elected to the Publishing Board by a plurality roe of the members of the Society atthe Annual General Meeting each year before the second week of March, 42. Dalhousie student representatives must be full-time or part-time Dalhousie students, and members of the Dalhousie Student Union, for the duration of their term on the Publishing Board. 43. The three elected Dalhousie student representatives shall not hold a paid position at the Gazette