Newsletter Bylaw #48 – Woodsworth Housing Co-operative

WOODSWORTH HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE INC.

NEWSLETTER BY LAW (No. 48)

A By law relating to Newsletters of Woodsworth Housing Co operative Inc. (the “Co operative”)

PASSED by the Board of Directors of the Co operative at a meeting properly held on September 1, 1999, and  CONFIRMED by at least two thirds of the votes cast at a general meeting of members of the Co operative properly held on September 23, 1999. Confirmed again on  September 30, 2010 as part of the adoption of the consolidated by-laws.

1. PREAMBLE

1.1 Members of the Co–operative may produce newsletters on behalf of the Co–operative by following this By–law or with the approval of the board of directors of the Co–operative.

1.2 This By–law applies mainly to the regular newsletter known as The Weekly.

2. PURPOSE

2.1 The purpose of The Weekly is to provide news and items of interest and importance to the members of the Co–operative, including:

(a) notices from the Co–operative to all members;

(b) announcements of meetings and events;

(d) news and information about the Co–operative and about the co–operative movement;

(e) news and information about the neighbourhood; and

(f) letters, suggestions, announcements, notices and advertisements from members.

2.2 The purpose of The Weekly is also to be a forum for the exchange of views and opinions of members about the Co–operative and life in the Co–operative. This includes criticism of both the Co–operative and the decisions of the board, committees and staff, as well as responses.

3. ORGANIZATION

3.1 Each issue of The Weekly shall be produced by a team of volunteers from a group of members who are willing to regularly or occasionally participate in typing, editing, lay out, printing, collating and distribution.

3.2 There shall be one or more Editors. To become an Editor, a member must apply to and be approved by the Chair of the Editorial Committee. New Editors will be announced in The Weekly and reported to the next meeting of the Editorial Committee. An Editor shall be in charge of each issue of The Weekly. The Editor is primarily responsible for deciding on content and layout of the issue and for ensuring that there is a production team for the issue.

3.3 Where there is more than one Editor, they shall co operate in rotating responsibility for each issue. They shall consult with each other as necessary about the regular production of The Weekly and issues that arise.

3.4 There shall be an Editorial Committee as follows:

(a) The Editorial Committee consists of those members of the Co–operative who are interested in The Weekly and agree to participate in meetings of the Editorial Committee.

(b) The Editorial Committee will meet periodically to discuss how The Weekly is serving the Co–operative and make decisions to improve that service, if necessary.

(c) The Editorial Committee will consider issues raised by a member of the Committee or referred to it by an Editor, a member of the production group, the board of directors or a member of the Co–operative.

(d) The Editorial Committee may request an Editor to resign and may recommend to the board of directors that an Editor be removed.

(e) The Chair of the Editorial Committee shall be elected at a general meeting of the Cooperative.

4. ACCOUNTABILITY

4.1 The publisher of The Weekly is the Co–operative (an Ontario co–operative corporation).

4.2 The board of directors of the Co–operative is ultimately responsible for The Weekly. The board shall make decisions from time to time on issues which relate to the production of The Weekly. These include:

(a) consideration of the removal of an Editor;

(b) disputes or issues referred to the board by an Editor or the Editorial Committee.

4.3 An editor who is dismissed has the right to appeal to the GMM.

5. CONTENT

5.1 Subject to this Article, any submission to The Weekly from a member, director or staff of the Co–operative will normally appear in an issue as soon as possible. The Editor in charge of an issue is ultimately responsible for whether or not a submission appears in that issue. If time permits, an Editor should consult with other Editors, the Chair of the Editorial Committee or one or more members of the Editorial Committee regarding a possible rejection.

5.2 An Editor must reject a submission or require changes if:

(a) the submission appears to be defamatory and could expose the Co–operative to a lawsuit for libel; or

(b) the submission is harmful to another member, staff, the Co–operative or the Co–operative movement.

5.3 The Editorial Committee may make decisions about types of submissions that will be rejected or restricted in some way. Such decisions must be published promptly in The Weekly.

5.4 If a submission is rejected for any reason, the person who submitted it will be advised in writing of the reason for the rejection.

5.5 Any member may criticize an Editor’s decision to include or reject any item. That criticism may be made as a letter to The Weekly, for publication, or to the Editorial Committee or the board of directors, for consideration.

6. TRANSITION

This By-law repeals and replaces the Terms of Reference and Guidelines for “The Weekly” from October 11, 1990.

Consolidated up to April 2010 and adopted by the members on September 30, 2010.