International Broadcasters Idea Bank Rules and Regulations
IBIB Rules and Regulations Rev. May 13, 2019
1) These Rules and Regulations are a supplement to requirements set forth in the International Broadcasters Idea Bank Bylaws and are the Rules and Regulations referred to in such Bylaws.
2) Each Member will be liable for a membership fee of $100 per year. Fees for new Members must be paid within one month of the date of admission. Invoices for annual fees will be issued by the Executive Director every December. Members admitted after February of the previous year, whose initial dues covered a portion of the new calendar year, will receive a credit for the overage, computed at $8.33/month. Member stations failing to pay their dues by January 25th will be Suspended; after February 25th will be Dropped.
3) Every two months as assigned by the Executive Director, each Member will be responsible for preparing and submitting via the Internet, a report detailing new ideas used by the Member’s Stations, and/or any other station in the member’s market, in the preceding or next 60 days. The Reporting Member (including on the daily LISTSERV® email exchange) on behalf of each Member, must be the decision-maker for the station(s): i.e. owner, general manager, or in some instances, the general sales manager. More than one person may participate, but the Reporting Member must be in a management/ownership position.
4) At the first of each month, the Executive Director will post a list of report questions on the Idea Bank website. You do not have to have a blockbuster idea in each category. Just one good one will make your report worthwhile.
5) Except as otherwise provided in this section below, only Reporting Members, the Attorney Member, the Engineering Members, Senior Members, and individuals with Emeritus Status, shall have the right to (i) be in the meeting room during Spring and Fall idea exchange conventions, (ii) participate in the Idea Bank LISTSERV®; and (iii) view the reports. At the discretion of the Board of Directors, any Member may bring as participants to the meeting room of the Spring or Fall idea exchange conventions any individuals employed at, or directly associated with, the Member’s Stations, provided that such individuals have no other media interests, are not otherwise employed in the broadcasting industry, and would not otherwise be in conflict with any other Member. Any individual employed at or associated with the Member’s Stations in a managerial or ownership capacity, upon request of the Reporting Member and at the discretion of the Board of Directors, may be included in the LISTSERV® upon the payment of any applicable additional fees which may be imposed. Any Member may share information obtained as a result of Idea Bank membership only with individuals employed at or directly associated with its Member’s Stations provided that such individuals are apprised of the confidentiality of the information and the Reporting Member himself or herself remains responsible for the confidentiality of such information. All Idea Bank reports, emails, the LISTSERV® content, discussions in the meeting rooms, names of members, and the membership list itself, are all considered CONFIDENTIAL information. No confidential information may be released to a nonmember without the written authorization of the issuing Member. Any Member violating this rule will be dropped from membership and will be ineligible for readmission.
6) The Executive Director will update the membership list each month. Reports must be posted by the 15th of the month in which your report is due. Stations that have done so shall be listed as “Active.”
7) Members who fail to file a report as indicated above will be listed as “Suspended.” Any station suspended more than once a year will be taken off the active list and the email LISTSERV® until a report is received. If a Suspended Member’s report is not posted by the 15th of the following month, the Member will be Dropped from membership and no refund of the membership fee will be given.
8) Members dropped from membership for the above reason can be eligible for readmission only by going through the same procedure as a new applicant.
9) If a Member cannot file a timely report for unavoidable business or health difficulties, the Executive Director must be notified of the problem in advance and will list the Member as “Active” on the membership list with the reason for the delay given in the ED’s report.
10) Opinions expressed in IBIB reports, or on the Internet, are those of individual members and cannot be considered to be the views of the collective membership or the IBIB.
11) An Annual Meeting and convention of IBIB members will generally be held in the spring once a year in a location where a Member can serve as host. Members wishing to host a spring convention should submit a proposal at the Annual Meeting at least two years in advance. Members will vote to accept competing applications. A fall convention will also take be held annually, the location to be determined two years in advance by the membership attending a fall meeting.
12) Convention hosts are expected to have the event financially self-sustaining, according to guidelines set forth by the Board of Directors. All aspects of each convention will be coordinated with the Executive Director. After every convention, financial accounting of all income and expenses must be provided, with any excess funds donated to the IBIB.
13) Members must not take any actions prohibited by the IRS, which would cause the International Broadcasters Idea Bank to lose its non-profit status.
14) Every Reporting Member, Attorney Member, and Engineer Member is required to attend at least one regularly scheduled spring or fall convention, or the St. Louis winter workshop, during any two consecutive years, or the Member will be dropped from membership. “[A]ny two consecutive years” is defined as any 24-month time period. The Board of Directors may waive this requirement for good cause shown upon appropriate application, therefore. Attendance by an employee or other representative of the Member’s Stations will not fulfill this attendance requirement. In addition, every Member is expected to vote on Idea Bank issues at the Annual Meeting, either in person or by delivering a Proxy.