Re: Bulletin Proposals: Response from Anner Whitehead

[Robt R Pries <rpries@sbcglobal.net>]

I would point out that the bulletin advisory board
never, ever limited the descretion of the editor. As
one who served for its very short existence i can tell
you that we offered nothing but support including the
fact that I wrote an article on a topic that Bruce
felt he needed. Disharmony had nothing to do with the
functioning of the committee but concerned inacuracies
in boiler plate and presentations to the board that
required correction. I believe an editor should have a
great deal of descretion on material but should should
be flexible enough to correct errors. The bulletin is
not one man or womens personal venue but the
exposition of the Iris Society. As such it needs to
reflect a great deal of diversity. Bruce did a very
good job satifying many interests and is to be
commended. It is only a relatively tiny number of
incidents when an error was noted that he did not
accept criticism. His leaving was his choice not the
committee's and suggesting that a committee can not
function is false. It would be impossible for the
whole board to respond to every issue. A committee can
and should function to make the editor's life easier.


--- William Plotner <gardens@molalla.net> wrote:

> Here, here to Anner,
> 
> all good points bust especially this
> one..."Regarding discretion, I suggest
> you eliminate the Bulletin Advisory Committee. The
> Editor should find
> his/her own advisors, and should bring his/her
> business to the greater Board
> for insight and discussion, like  any other Officer
> of the Society. "
> 
> As to the past white space complaints...tis is more
> a responsibility of the
> publisher and layout people that the editor.
> 
> All My Best
> 
> Will
> William Plotner
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <ChatOWhitehall@aol.com>
> To: <AISdiscuss@aisboard.org>
> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 10:25 AM
> Subject: [AISdiscuss] Bulletin Proposals: Response
> from Anner Whitehead
> 
> 
> > Greetings.
> >
> > Ms. Plank said: "Earlier this week I notified [. .
> .] the AIS Board of
> > Directors that I had received a letter of
> resignation from [. . . ] Bruce
> Filardi.
> > I returned a letter accepting his resignation with
> regret."
> >
> > I am profoundly disappointed at this lamentable
> turn of  events.
> >
> >
> > Bruce Filardi has been a fine editor, passionate
> and  mercurial to be
> sure,
> > which is not  unusual with dedicated, intelligent 
> creative people.
> Considered
> > as a group, the Bulletins issued under his 
> direction have been fresher,
> more
> > attractive, sounder in their information, and 
> more interesting than
> others I
> > have received in the course  of my AIS membership.
> There has been abundant
> > meat, and other  food for thought, as well as much
> beauty.
> >
> > As you seek to resolve this problem, I caution you
> that although there
> are
> > many persons who might produce one excellent issue
> of a  publication,
> truly
> > sound editors, individuals capable of  sustaining
> a publication over time,
> are
> > not thick on the ground; indeed,  they are rather
> rare. When found they
> must be
> > cherished, and  cultivated.
> >
> >
> > President Plank has asked whether one found her
> summary of various
> private
> > discussions interesting, and helpful. I can
> respond yes, to  the extent
> that
> > any summary has interest and utility as compared 
> with the primary
> documents it
> > summarizes. Now, I wish to speak to several 
> points from her two notes,
> and I
> > intend to speak plainly.
> >
> >
> > FIRST:  The problem with the notion of having a
> series of guest  Editors,
> > persons undertaking to audition for the job in
> effect, is that under  the
> Bylaws
> > the Editor of the AIS Bulletin is not just a
> worker  bee, much less a
> worker
> > bee obliged to remain biddable and  docile
> regardless of the conditions of
> his
> > or her service, or the  prevailing tone of
> discourse.
> >
> > Within the hierarchy of the Society, the Editor,
> and the  Administrative
> > Officers as well for that matter, are close to the
>  stars. They are not
> the hired
> > help, they are not pack animals,  and they are due
> all the respect of
> their
> > positions. I say this  because I believe there has
> been a tendency in some
> > quarters to  forget it.
> >
> > Now, as all here no doubt remember, the AIS Editor
> is 1) an Officer of
> the
> > Society, 2) an ex-officio member of the AIS Board
> of Directors, with full
> > voting privileges. It would be difficult, I think,
> not impossible but
> difficult,
> > to reconcile this with the concept of a "guest" 
> Editor, for it is clearly
> the
> > intent of the Bylaws that an Editor  shall enjoy
> the power, privilege, and
> > discretion fully  commensurate with his or her
> enormous responsibility.
> >
> > Regarding discretion, I suggest you eliminate the
> Bulletin Advisory
> > Committee. The Editor should find his/her own
> advisors, and should bring
> his/her
> > business to the greater Board for insight and
> discussion, like  any other
> Officer
> > of the Society.
> >
> > I urge you not to seek to  micromanage all else
> you bog down, loosing
> sight
> > of  important goals in a confusion of trivia and
> personalities. You must
> avoid
> > strangling the life out of processes which must
> remain fluid. I also
> suggest
> > you contemplate this notion of accountability
> which appears to be  so much
> in
> > the air. Observe who actually delivers, and ask
> yourself how  much
> > supervision is actually beneficial or necessary. I
> can tell you that
> while Membership
> > Secretary I found it uniquely galling to have to
> fend  off interference in
> my
> > affairs from parties notorious for  not giving due
> diligence to their own
> jobs.
> >
> > SECOND: Anent this idea of reprinting articles
> from Section or Regional
> > publications: This is not a bad idea per se,
> indeed a Bulletin piece  of
> mine was
> > initially published Regionally and found wider
> favor thereafter,  but such
> > should not, I believe, be a major means of
> obtaining  material for the AIS
> > Bulletin. Quite aside from the fact that it seems 
> barely possible that
> the AIS
> > membership, all of whom are members of Regions and
>  many of which are
> members of
> > Sections, does not want to encounter the  same
> tired copy over and over
> again
> > in lieu of something fresh and  interesting to
> read, the task of rounding
> up
> > interesting  copy is definitionally one of the
> duties of any Editor.
> >
> > The AIS Editor needs to develop his or her
> resources so as to have  high
> > quality original copy available for the Bulletin
> on an ongoing basis.
> > Understanding this fact, and demonstrating
> dedication to this  process
> should be one of
> > the first qualifications for the  job.
> >
> >
> > THIRD: Whereas it is, no doubt, very well for the 
> Editor to listen
> 
=== message truncated ===

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