This week we sat down with Nabeel Mallick, the chair of University Media Board (UMB). For those of you who don’t know, Media Board provides forums of expression and delivers information through a variety of media forms to Case Western Reserve University students. The board acts as an umbrella organization in monitoring and reviewing the activities of its member organizations, which include The Athenian, Case Reserve Review, CWRU Film Society, Discussions, Ignite Television, Retrospect, The Observer and WRUW. UMB is fundamentally different from other groups in that its purpose is to oversee other organization’s media. While UMB serves as an advocate for many groups and movements, it is not an arbiter.

Improving Quality

Mallick says UMB is looking to move away from being the “lite, watered down version of other organizations, primarily by getting to know other organizations and their staff and making sure the people in media know their own and other people’s organizations really well.” UMB is aiming to be more cohesive in that manner.

Mallick noted The Observer’s recent recognition, winning eight awards at the Associate Collegiate Press’ Best of the Midwest Competition, and stated that UMB’s purpose is to make sure that each group has the chance to achieve the best level of quality they can try for, and for those who are already high achieving, making sure they can expand upon that.

Summer Initiatives

In the past, the two-semester system has proven to be restrictive in the digital age. The ease of interaction through the Internet, despite the summer off, has UMB pushing for higher quantity and quality of summer issues like The Athenian and Discussions.

Cross Media

UMB aims to encourage more crossovers in personnel between the types of media. The objective is to broaden the experience, cultivate the skills of members and benefit the board with members who have a wider range of skills and understanding when it comes to the media forms.

Auxiliary Committee

UMB has been working on presenting media as a whole to campus though the Auxiliary Committee.

“In the past, when a media organization wanted to interact with the rest of campus, they would do it on their own,” said Mallick. “The Auxiliary Committee would be a way for all of media to interact with campus aside from the individual contributions of the groups.”