CONSTITUTION AND RULES
As approved by the Annual General Meeting of the Society held on the 13 December 2019 and updated following the AGM on 3 December 2020.
NAME
The name of the Society is the British Society of Magazine Editors.
2. OBJECTS
The objects of the Society are to:-
(a) Offer a platform for the views of editors of magazines or magazine websites or digital magazines published in the United Kingdom on all matters related to the magazine industry.
(b) Encourage the highest level of professional and ethical standards by magazine editors.
(c) Arrange discussions, member events, forums, awards and other events that reflect the current needs and concerns of members of the Society.
(d) Contribute to the growth and public knowledge of and interest in magazines generally.
(e) Maintain a relationship with the Professional Publishers Association Limited.
(f) Make donations for charitable or educational purposes from the funds of the Society as deemed appropriate by the Committee.
(g) Work with educational institutions/tutors on accredited journalism courses and also schools to mentor and encourage students.
Neither the Society nor its members individually or collectively as members of the Society will engage in any trading activity.
3. MEMBERSHIP
All membership is granted at the sole and absolute discretion of the BSME Committee.
(i) Editor Membership is open to editors, content directors, editors-in-chief and editorial directors of magazines in print or online published in the United Kingdom. It is also open to those with the equivalent senior title.
(ii) Associates Membership is open to deputy editors, managing editors, art directors, assistant editors and section heads. It is also open to approved bloggers and former editors, former editors-in-chief, former editorial directors and former content directors. Associates Membership may also be granted to other senior editorial personnel.
(iii) Independent Membership is open to editors and senior editorial staff from brands whose financial and creative decisions are made by the same person/people and who publish no more than a few core titles.
(iv) Academic Membership is open to accredited Course Tutors.
(v) Corporate Membership is open to companies signing up 10 or more ‘Editor’ members.
(vi) Honorary Membership of the Society may be conferred by the Committee at its sole and absolute discretion on any person who the Committee considers has made an extraordinary contribution either to the Society or to the magazine industry.
(vii) There shall be no maximum number of members of the Society.
(viii) All applications for membership shall initially be approved by the Chair subject to the subsequent approval of the Committee and the names of all new members together with that of the magazine or magazine website or digital magazine they serve or served and their qualifying position with the magazine or magazine website or digital magazine shall be put to the next meeting of the Committee for approval and shall appear in the Minutes of that Committee meeting.
(ix) The Society will keep a list of all members of the Society and members will be responsible for informing the Society of changes of address, magazine or magazine website or digital magazine and position with the magazine or magazine website or digital magazine.
(x) All members of the Society will be entitled to vote at Annual or Special General Meetings of the Society or for any Awards established by the Society under clause 9 hereof.
(xi) Any decision as to entitlement to membership of the Society or voting rights as a result of membership of the Society will be in the absolute and final discretion of the Committee.
(xii) With the exception of Honorary Members, all Members of the Society will pay an annual subscription by cheque or credit/debit card at a level or levels to be set at an Annual General Meeting of the Society and such subscription level or levels will apply until amended by a subsequent Annual General Meeting of the Society.
(xiii) Membership subscriptions shall be paid for each calendar year and if any member shall fail to pay a subscription within 28 days after it has become due the Society shall send the member a notice in writing requiring payment of the subscription within 14 days. If the member shall fail to pay the subscription within that 14 days the Committee shall be entitled to terminate the membership without further notice.
(xiv) The Committee shall have power to expel any member who shall offend against the Constitution and Rules of the Society or whose conduct shall in the opinion of the Committee render the member unfit for membership of the Society. Before any such member is expelled the Committee shall give the member 14 days' written notice to attend a meeting of the Committee and shall inform the member of the complaints made and the member shall not be expelled without first having an opportunity of appearing before the Committee and answering the complaints. Expulsion shall only be effective if at least two-thirds of the Committee then present vote in favour of the expulsion.
4. THE COMMITTEE
(i) The management of the Society shall be entrusted to a Committee consisting of the Chair, Vice Chair and 13 other members of the Society comprising a committee of 15 members of whom at least the majority shall be full members of the Society. The Committee shall have the power to appoint an Administrator/Secretariat for the Society. This appointment shall be on an annual basis and the person shall be an Honorary Member of the Society for the duration of the appointment.
(ii) The Committee shall have full power at any time and from time to time to fill any vacancy among the officers and Committee. Notice shall be given to members at the first available opportunity to put themselves forward. The final decision will be made by the Committee and appointments shall be recorded at the following AGM. Members of the Committee will serve for a maximum of 5 years from the date of their election. The 2 officers shall be elected by the Committee and shall usually serve for a period of 12 months.
(iii) At the end of their term, members of the Committee may not stand for reelection for a period of 12 months.
(iv) If a member fails to attend the Committee for more than 3 consecutive meetings then they shall, unless the Committee decides otherwise, cease to be a member of the Committee but may subsequently stand for re-election.
(v) In managing the Society the Committee will act in accordance with the Objects of the Society and in furtherance of this may appoint sub-committees of the Society and approve expenditure by the Society.
(vi) The quorum for a Committee meeting will be 8 members voting on any issue. A member may give a written authority to the Chair for the Chair to act as the member's proxy at the meeting. If the Chair considers an issue on which the Committee has to vote is a major issue then that major issue may not be taken at the Committee meeting unless at least 48 hours' written notice of the issue has been given to all members of the Committee.
(vii) Where a meeting is not quorate, any decisions may be sent to non-attendees for approval. Once a total of 8 members have responded, action may be taken on that decision.
(viii) Should a Committee Member go on Maternity or Paternity Leave, the Committee reserves the right to co-opt additional member/s onto the Committee for the duration of the Leave.
5. THE CHAIR
(i) The officers of the Society including the Chair will be elected annually by the Committee from amongst the members of the Committee.
(ii) The Chair must be a full member of the British Society of Magazine Editors at the time of the election to the Chair by the Committee and will serve for a period of 12 months from 1 January following election.
(iii) Where possible, but without binding the Committee, the Chair elected will be the Vice Chair at the time of election.
(iv) The Chair will preside at the Annual General Meeting and any Special General Meetings and all meetings of the Committee but in the event that the Chair is not present within 15 minutes after the time appointed for the relevant meeting or has signified an inability to be present at the meeting the Vice Chair will preside or in the absence of the Vice Chair the relevant meeting will choose one of their number to preside at the meeting.
(v) The Chair will ensure that Committee meetings are held at least 6 times between each Annual General Meeting.
(vi) The Chair and the Committee will ensure that the administration and financial affairs of the Society are conducted efficiently and that events are held on a regular basis in accordance with the Objects of the Society and where necessary the Chair or members of the Committee will act as spokesperson for the Society.
(vii) The Chair will liaise with those members of the Committee or any subcommittees involved in the judging of any awards established by the Society under clause 9 hereof and will chair the final judging sessions of such awards and host the awards ceremonies.
6. THE VICE CHAIR
The Vice Chair will deputise for the Chair in the absence of the Chair in respect of all the Chair's duties.
7. FINANCES
(i) The financial year of the Society will be the calendar year. The accounts to be compiled by the BSME accountant and presented to the next Annual General Meeting of the Society. At any time the BSME may appoint an external accountant to examine, without carrying out an audit, the underlying records and report to the Committee satisfaction with the accuracy of the records and that the accounts produced are in accordance with accounting records maintained by the BSME Administrators.
(ii) Any change to the Society's banking arrangements shall be reported to the Annual General Meeting.
(iii) The Chair, immediate Past Chair and Financial Administrator of the Society shall be signatories to the bank account with two signatures being required for each bank transaction. The Financial Administrator shall have authority to do internet banking on behalf of the Society and shall obtain approval from one of the two other bank signatories before undertaking an internet banking transaction in excess of £2,500.
(iv) The membership subscriptions and any other funds of the Society may only be used in accordance with the Objects of the Society.
8. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
(i) The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held each year and, where possible, in conjunction with a function of the Society.
(ii) All members of the Society will be given 28 days' written notice of the Annual General Meeting informing them of the agenda items and any proposed resolutions.
(iii) The agenda for the Annual General Meeting will include the Chair's report on the previous 12 months, the Committee's aims and objectives for the ensuing year, the financial report including a statement of accounts for the last financial year, the proposed membership fee for the ensuing calendar year, approval of the Committee and appointment of an independent accountant for the coming year.
(iv) Full members of the Society attending the Annual General Meeting may suggest policies or proposals and other activities for the Committee to take up on behalf of the Society but pursuit of these matters will be by the Committee with no voting on them at the Annual General Meeting.
(v) A Special General Meeting of the Society may be convened at any time by the Committee.
(vi) A Special General Meeting may also be convened within 28 days on the requisition of one-fifth of the full members of the Society at the time. Such requisition must state the purpose for which the Special General Meeting is required.
(vii) All members of the Society may vote at General Meetings.
9. AWARDS
(i) The Society may establish and run existing and/or new awards.
(ii) All awards will be organised and managed by the Committee who will appoint any sub-committees required in connection with such organisation and management.
(iii) No members of any judging sub-committee or final judging panel may adjudicate on their own magazine/s or magazine website/s or digital magazine/s at any stage of the award process.
10. DISSOLUTION OF THE SOCIETY
If at any General Meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the Society shall be passed by a majority of the full members present and at a Special General Meeting held not less than 42 days thereafter of which not less than 28 days written notice shall have been given to each member of the Society and at which that resolution shall be confirmed by a resolution passed by a majority of two-thirds of the members voting thereon, the Committee shall proceed to realise the assets of the Society and after discharge of all liabilities of the Society shall divide the same equally among all the full and associate members of the Society.
11. AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION AND RULES
No alteration or addition to this Constitution and Rules shall be made except by a resolution carried by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present at a General Meeting the notice of which shall have contained particulars of the proposed alteration or addition.
British Society of Magazine Editors
4 Conway Road
London
N14 7BA
Tel: 020 8906 4664
Email: admin@bsme.com
December 2023