ASUCLA offers UCLA Student Media $200,000 credit line
By John Peter Cavender
March 3, 2014 2:37 a.m.
The original version of this article contained information that was unclear and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
The Associated Students UCLA board of directors passed a revised financial agreement at its meeting Friday that would provide UCLA Student Media with a $200,000 line of credit. The agreement, which underwent modifications since its initial drafting, no longer includes stipulations that could impede Student Media independence.
Student Media consists of the Daily Bruin, BruinLife yearbook, UCLA Radio and seven newsmagazines. It is overseen by the Communications Board, an independent subset of ASUCLA.
Student Media has run a deficit of about $100,000 for the past five years, said Arvli Ward, director of Student Media. This five-year deficit period has largely been the result of a drastic decrease in print advertising revenues, which has been reflected both locally and nationally, Ward said.
The agreement approved on Friday allows the Communications Board to choose how much of the $200,000 it withdraws at a time and mandates that the board pay an annual interest rate of 2 percent on the amount withdrawn. These interest payments will be due monthly.
The agreement went through two rounds of amendments since first being revealed by the ASUCLA Finance Committee on Feb. 18. Revisions included changes to a clause that would have allowed the ASUCLA board of directors to appoint enough additional voting members to the Communications Board to create an ASUCLA-majority representation if the Communications Board violated the terms of the agreement. The clause drew backlash from students and officials in Student Media, who feared the stipulation would compromise the organization’s independence.
Under the agreement approved on Friday, ASUCLA would send the Communications Board written notification if it violates any terms of the agreement. After receiving this notification, the Communications Board has 15 days to give ASUCLA a proposal outlining how it intends to fix its mistake.
If the Communications Board cannot develop a proposed fix or if it requires additional financial support, a joint meeting between the Communications Board and the ASUCLA board will take place to develop a solution both can agree on to support the ongoing operations of Student Media.
If the two boards cannot reach a solution in 30 days, the ASUCLA board of directors can halt some or all of the Communications Board’s spending. This control of spending can last until a plan to secure the loan’s repayment is approved.
About 30 members of Student Media attended Friday’s meeting for public comment. Many emphasized the importance of editorial independence. The majority of the group was members of the Daily Bruin. UCLA Radio members and the editor of the Al-Talib newsmagazine attended as well.
Bob Williams, executive director of ASUCLA, said the changes made to the agreement address Student Media’s desire for independence.
At the meeting, Erik Peña, chair of the Communications Board, said that the Communications Board took issue with the clause in the original draft of the agreement that would have allowed ASUCLA to appoint additional voting members to its board. He added that the amended agreement is much better.
The Communications Board has not met as a whole to discuss the agreement, Peña said.
The agreement currently has no end date, which is also a change from the original draft. The ASUCLA board of directors will set the time frame of the loan after the Communications Board has passed its budget for next year and its forecasted budget for the next five years.
Currently, Student Media owes ASUCLA more than $100,000. The ASUCLA board of directors also voted to extend the deferment of these payments until March 15, allowing the Communications Board time to vote on whether or not to accept the agreement. The Communications Board will discuss the agreement at their meeting Monday.
Clarification: Under the new financial agreement, the Communications Board will pay an annual interest rate of 2 percent on the amount they withdraw. These interest payments will be due monthly.
