- India Press Club of North America and its chapters are a professional organization with the aim of improving journalistic standards.
- The headquarters of the club shall be in New York. A working office can be located at any city to suit the convenience of the General Secretary and the President of the club.
- To this Constitution, the term Journalist means a person ACTIVELY associated with any newspaper establishment or news agency or TV/RADIO channel or on an online media under the below ‘CRITERIA’ and who legally resides in North America.
- Active media people, who are legal residents and meet the ‘criteria’set forth below this bylaw will be the members. They must have at least two years’ experience as an active media person. Members must pay the membership fee of $100.00 for every 2 years; First two years of membership will be considered as ‘associate members’ and will not be allowed to vote or become officials of the club.
(i) All applications must be done online and once applied the application will go to the National President, Secretary and Advisory Board Chairman and in turn it will be send to the chapter for NOC, then Advisory Board will gather every 3 months to review the application and approve the membership.
(ii) All members must be loyal to India Press Club of North America and give up any allegiance to other similar organizations
(iii) Any member who has not paid the membership fee cannot be an official of the chapter or national executive committee
(iv) Any member who is absent for chapter meetings consecutively three times officially must submit a reason to the chapter president or secretary for the membership continuity, which will be decided by National Advisory Board of IPCNA.
(v) The membership fee goes to the chapter.
- The entire membership of the Club shall be reviewed every two years by the executive. The National Advisory Board and the Committee will scrutinize the application before approval.
- A person may cease to be a member on retirement or voluntary retirement or a change of profession.
(i) The advisory board and executive together can dismiss or disqualify a person from the membership of IPCNA if he/she is found to be working with other similar organizations without prior approval from IPCNA boards (Advisory and Executive).
- The Executive committee of the Club shall initiate the Chapters in various cities or states, but final approval by Advisory Board and a letter must go with primary approved members from the chairman to the new chapter officials. Only BOARD is qualified to make this decision. Chapters must follow IPCNA bylaws.
(i) There shall not be more than one Chapter in one city. No Chapter shall be formed with less than 5 members
(ii) Chapter must follow all the guidelines of bylaws of the National Organization
(iii) Chapter must use the name of India Press Club of North America and the respective city’s name will be assigned by the Advisory Board of IPCNA
(iv) Chapter must have the same structure as the National Org. one President, one Vice President, one Secretary, one Treasurer, one Joint Secretary and one Joint Treasurer with an option of a single Auditor if needed.
(v) If a chapter wants to send out a press release, they shall have to inform the National President and Secretary beforehand.
- Each Chapter shall have its own rules for functioning with relevance to the conditions in the area, but not in violation to the8. 8. Each Chapter shall have its own rules for functioning with relevance to the conditions in the area, but not in violation to the bylaws, provisions and aims and objectives enjoined in this Constitution.
- Officials should be elected for the chapters first and then for the national committee every two years in November-December. As far as possible, elections should be held in consensus, avoiding contests. New officials shall take charge in January.
- The Club shall have as its office bearers a President, a Vice-President, a General Secretary, a Jt. Secretary, and a Treasurer. The presidents of the chapters will become regional vice presidents automatically. It will also have an Advisory Board.The members of the board will be the retiring presidents and secretaries. The immediate past president will be the chairman and the immediate past secretary will be the vice chairman. The current president and secretary will be members. Advisory Board will conduct the election/selection. It will scrutinize the membership. It will also be responsible for constitution amendments. In the event of a national official being removed by the Advisory Board or retired or leave voluntarily then the Advisory Board will check the qualification of the next person in line prior to the appointment.
- Those holding the post such as President, Vice President, General Secretary, Jt. Secretary, Treasurer can hold the same post only for two consecutive terms at a time. Only those actively and directly working for a news media alone will be eligible to be elected as national officials. People indirectly associated with media are not eligible. At the chapter level, the president and secretary shall be a person actively and directly working for an active news media.
- President: The President shall be the head of the Club and shall supervise and control the activities of the Club and its day-to-day work. He/She shall preside over all Executive Committee Meetings, General Body Meetings, Special Conferences and conferences and meetings of subcommittees when necessary.
- Vice-President: In the absence of the President, the Vice-Presidents shall help the General Secretary and other office-bearers in the discharge of the duties of the President.
- General Secretary: The General Secretary shall maintain the records of the proceedings of the Union’s meetings and activities and sign bills and vouchers. He/she shall also ensure proper maintenance of a register of members of the Club and records relating to various assets and projects and negotiations involving the Club.
- Jt. Secretary: The Jt. Secretary shall assist the General Secretary in the discharge of his/her duties and shall generally function under the guidance and directives of the President and the General Secretary.
- Treasurer: The Treasurer shall operate the bank account of the Club and shall help in maintaining the accounts and funds of the Club.
- The Club can be dissolved by a specific resolution passed by a two-third majority of the total membership at an extraordinary general body meeting/conference of the Club specially convened for the purpose, provided that 30 day’s clear notice is given for such a meeting/conference and the dissolution resolution is circulated to all Members.
- As an organization based on friendly cooperation, the Advisory Board can take decisions for the smooth running of the organization in an emergency.
To become a member of IPCNA, here are the ‘criteria’:
News Editors:
News Editors of any Active Media outlet
Journalist or Writers or News Reporters:
One news report written and submitted monthly to any media outlet on an ongoing basis
Anchors | Reporters | News Readers:
One anchoring or reporting or news reading per month of news or any event for media outlet on an ongoing basis
Cameraman:
One camera coverage for any news event or any television program per month for a media outlet on an ongoing basis
Video Editors:
Minimum one editing of a program on monthly basis for media outlet on an ongoing basis
Producers | Directors | Operation Managers | Production Coordinators:
Minimum one production per month for any media outlet
In addition, you are eligible to apply for IPCNA membership:
if you own the media outlet and actively do any of the above