Dennis Theobald, Editor-in-Chief
After a lengthy debate extending over two days, Provincial Executive Council (PEC) of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) decided to continue print publication of the ATA News while the organization improves its ability to communicate to its members and the public using all media.
The estimated net cost (based on 2007/08 figures) of printing and distributing 19 issues of the ATA News is 11 cents per copy (a cost that remains the same as in 1989). The annual expense to members is approximately $3.24 per capita, representing 0.3 per cent of annual Association fees.
PEC’s decision was based on information that was not available to the Annual Representative Assembly when it passed a motion last May to reduce the ATA News budget line to zero, effectively cancelling the print publication of the newspaper.
In making its decision, PEC considered the following factors:
• Several ATA bylaws that require the distribution of information by means of a publication delivered to all members
• The cost of producing and distributing information and notices, otherwise communicated through the ATA News, to teachers on an ad hoc basis
• Contractual obligations with advertisers and loss of revenues, some of which offset part of the cost of publishing the ATA News
• The difficulty of matching the functionality, robustness and quality of the ATA News in an online format in the short term, particularly as the Association moves to redevelop its Internet infrastructure
• Continuing concerns about the ability of many members to access the ATA website without having to use equipment or connections provided by their employer, an issue of particular relevance in rural and remote areas
• The existing ability of school representatives to adjust the number of copies of the ATA News delivered to their schools in response to teacher demand (see "Distribution of ATA News")
• The role of the ATA News in establishing the presence of the ATA with active, nonactive, associate and retired members, and in enhancing the influence of the Association with external audiences
• New research findings indicating that, in all demographics, users see online and print media as complementing rather than substituting for each other and that newspaper readership has increased even as Internet use has increased
(www.ciponline.ca)
PEC directed staff to prepare an action plan for "implementing an enhanced online edition of the ATA News with consideration made for members who do not have access to adequate Internet services."
Finally, PEC directed staff to prepare a plan for a comprehensive communications audit. The audit will include the development of a proposal for redesigning the Association’s public website.
PEC’s actions will preserve the capacity of the Association to communicate to its members in a cost-effective manner and maintain an important benefit of membership in the Association. At the same time, PEC is enabling the Association to take purposeful and well-planned steps to enhance its Internet presence and its capacity to use all media to promote the interests of teachers and of public education.
Distribution of the ATA News
Receiving the ATA News is a right and an important benefit of membership in the Association for each active member. School representatives are encouraged to distribute copies directly to teachers in their schools. The number of copies delivered per school can be adjusted to reflect teacher demand. To request an adjustment, school representatives should contact Koni Macdonald, ATA News business manager, at Barnett House. Telephone: 780-447-9436 in Edmonton and area; toll free: 1-800-232-7208; e-mail: koni.macdonald@ata.ab.ca.
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