MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

In general, all members must publish or broadcast, film reviews under their own names or bylines. “Student” memberships must meet the age requirement of eighteen years of age. To preserve membership in good standing, members must pay annual dues and participate in the NTFCA annual award opinion poll. Members must qualify under at least one of the three membership categories listed below:

 

  1. PRINT: Reviews must include the member’s byline and appear in one or more recognized publications with a minimum circulation of 3,000. Members must release a minimum average of 3 reviews per month or 36 individual reviews annually and must remain current. It is the intent of the NTFCA that members give a rating and/or opinion within their review of all films. A short synopsis (under 200 words) is insufficient to qualify as a “review”. When a publication contains reviews by more than one reviewer, an individual contributor must publish at least twenty-­five reviews annually to meet the minimum membership requirements.

 

  1. BROADCAST: Members must broadcast on a regular basis, either on commercial, public radio and/or television. The member must customarily broadcast commentary on newly released films in one or more segments each week.

 

  1. INTERNET: A member must publish on a site of professional quality as determined by the committee. Each member must post reviews averaging at least three per month containing at least 250 words per review for a minimum of 90 days (3 months) prior to membership. They must remain current by publishing, on average, at least three film reviews per month thereafter. If a site hosts reviews by more than one reviewer, to be considered for membership, each individual reviewer must meet the above requirements.

 

MEMBERSHIP ANNUAL DUES

Every January, but preferably at the annual meeting, all members will have to pay their yearly membership dues, currently at a rate of $10 per year. Any new members joining during the year will be obligated to pay membership dues on a prorated basis. Any new members joining between January through April will pay a full yearly amount. Any new member joining between May and September will pay half of the amount of the yearly dues. Any new member joining between October through December will pay no dues at the time, but will be obligated to pay the full normal dues amount the following January. All monies collected will be expended on the costs of, but not limited to, establishing and maintaining the association website, preparing and disseminating screening and release calendars, and costs associated with year­-end film ballots and awards. The Board President also may authorize the expenditure of funds for “reasonable” costs for the Annual Meeting / Awards Event.

 

AUXILIARY MEMBERS

This category is created for those individuals who routinely assist regular members (their sponsor) with research, drafts, or provide similar assistance on a regular basis. Dues for auxiliary members are $5 annually due by January 1st of each year. They normally will be accompanied to screenings by their sponsor, though on some occasions, such as conflicting screenings, etc., they may attend in the sponsor’s absence. They may hold neither elected office nor vote in any election of officers or award balloting. New members will serve a 6 month probation period, after which, their body of work will be reviewed by the membership committee.

Any employee or representative of a promotional company that represents movie studios or is a media representative for an entertainment venue can apply to be an auxiliary member. The membership dues will be waived for such representatives. Those applicants will need to send an e-mail to Vice-President Donald Ford at dford1576@hotmail.com and put in the Subject Line “NFTCA Auxiliary Membership Application”. The e-mail should contain the representative’s professional information, the company or venue they work for, and their contact information.

 

MORALITY CLAUSE

If any member commits any act or do anything which might reasonably be considered: (i) to be immoral, deceptive, scandalous or obscene; or (ii) be arrested for or have valid accusations for acts that are considered violent, immoral, or obscene in nature, (iii) to injure, tarnish, damage or otherwise negatively affect the NTFCA, that member can be dismissed from the organization. A member can be dismissed or suspended by a 51% approval by the NTFCA leadership. If a person is excused from the organization and the accusations are later found to be unfounded or dismissed, the member can be re-instated by a 51% approval from the NTFCA leadership.

 

RULES OF CONDUCT

  1. Film Critics must be professional at all times during press events and not do anything that would have a negative impact on the North Texas Film Critics Association.

 

  1. Film Critics will be respectful of other critics when it comes to race, gender, sexuality, and lifestyle.

 

  1. Film Critics will not be late and show up in a timely manner to all press or promo screenings without notifying in advance the PR rep who is hosting the screening.

 

  1. Film Critics will NOT talk during screenings so as not to disturb other critics or guests from enjoying the film.

 

  1. Film Critics will refrain from derogatory language that might be offensive to others during a screening.

 

  1. Film Critics will maintain professionalism on social media and not use their social media accounts to create controversy, hate speech, or offensive views. Critics represent a brand and social media activity should not cause a negative impact on their outlets and the North Texas Film Critics Association.

 

  1. Members of The NTFCA shall be professional during any event they attended as press or getting invited to the event due to their press credentials. Members will not ask for photographs with, autographs from, or special favors from the talents during those events.

 

  1. Film Critics will respect all film embargoes and not release their reviews until after the embargo has passed, which is set by film studios and the publicity company representing the film.

 

  1. Film Critics will refrain from spoilers in their reviews. but if there are spoilers, critics will have a warning label before the spoilers are revealed so readers or listeners can turn away before major plot points are revealed.

 

FIRST WARNING – Verbal Warning by NTFCA Leadership

SECOND  WARNING – Written Warning by NTFCA Leadership

THIRD WARNING – Vote for Expulsion with 51% of the vote by  NTFCA Leadership

Application for Membership in the North Texas Film Critics Association

To apply for membership, please send an e-mail to the Vice-President Donald Ford at dford1576@hotmail.com. Please put “NTFCA Membership Request” on the subject line. Please include:

  1. A small summary about your current and past media work
  2. The current UMV or monthly visitor amounts to your sites.
  3. A link to your current website.
  4. Links to a couple recent movie reviews from your outlet.