Minister's Desk

El Fiji Grande

El Fiji Grande

Over 38000 km and counting
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Pronouns
he/him
TNP Nation
El_Fiji_Grande
Discord
El Fiji Grande (#3446)
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Opening Statement
October 14, 2018​

Good day, all. To begin, I'd like to thank @Brendog for all his hard work as Minister of Communications last term, and for introducing me to the Ministry. Without him, we wouldn't be where we are today.

This will be my first term as a Minister in The North Pacific. I'm very excited, as I've got a few big plans for the Ministry moving forward. I'll be using this thread as my desk throughout the term. If you have any comments, suggestions, ideas, concerns, or questions, feel free to post them here. I will do my best to reply as soon as possible, and I guarantee a response. Minor announcements may also be posted here.

The Northern Lights: In recent issues, there have been several repeated sections, such as the NPA Bulletin, WA Digest, RA Highlights, and Election Results. I believe these sections should be separated from TNL and be consolidated into a Foreign Update. The Foreign Update will be published entirely separate. TNL will retain The Spotlight for interviews, a gameside RMB/RP Reel, as well as in-depth analysis and op-ed commentary on TNP and broader NS news.

Northern Broadcast Service: There is huge potential in NBS Radio. I’ve already invested a lot of effort into a NationStates/TNP tutorial series, and have posted these to a new YouTube channel created for the Ministry of Communications. And I have big plans for NBS. At the minimum, I'll want broadcasts once every two weeks. However, I'll be aiming for two broadcasts per week throughout the entire term. I can't promise that, but I think that's a good goal.
I've also spent some time to compile a list (albeit an ambitious list) of future topics for NBS.
Interviews with government officials
Cabinet Town Halls
Start of Term Address
Delve into the past with legacy nations; discuss TNP history
Read TNL; read Foreign Update
Fireside chat from the Delegate
Discuss forum move to XenForo
RA Discussions
Town Halls with Wonderess
RMB RP Talks; Osean League Assembly
TNP University courses
Executive Staff tutorials
TNP midterm political discussion
Board game review
Debate show/Game show
Z-Day Apocalypse
TNP Trivia
Election Night
Greitbart News?
Music made by TNPers
NPA Bulletins/Awards Ceremony
Deputy Ministers:
I hereby appoint @Dinoium and @arietti as Deputy Ministers of the Ministry of Communications. I look forward to working with you this term! Additionally, should I go missing for more than 72 hours (which won't happen, btw), Dinoium will be my Designated Deputy, and shall assume the office until my return.
 
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Thank you kindly for the promotion! I'm excited to work under you this term and believe you will be a great minister!
 
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Just a brief announcement: as part of the effort to really make NBS active, I've decided to appoint a new deputy with a particular focus on NBS-related material. They will help with standard Ministry of Communications daily operations (like accepting, welcoming, and masking new members), but will be mostly responsible for the timely writing, scheduling, hosting, and broadcasting of NBS. It is my hope that they will help create the videos themselves.

So, with that said, I would like to bring on @Bobberino as my third Deputy Minister of Communications!
 
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Announcement:
Due to the fact that Ryasta/@arietti has violated TNP community guidelines and can no longer fulfill her duties as Deputy Minister of Communications, I am hereby dismissing her from the role.
 
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November Address
November 11, 2018​

Good day, all.

This month's issue of TNL falls far short of the standards I was hoping for. After speaking with Siwale and with other members of the Executive Council, we have decided to scrap this month's issue, take TNL off of a month-by-month system, and seek articles that are more insightful and engaging. Articles should be well researched, carefully worded, and have more to do with relevant topics that the whole of NS cares about, while still maintaining a focus on TNP.

This lack of content is a significant part of why TNL was held this far into November in the first place. I was embarrassed with the level of the content and found a legitimate reason - the image icons - to delay it. But no amount of editing is going to fix this, and new content is really needed altogether. It was foolish of me to have ever thought otherwise, especially given how poorly the opinion pieces - including mine - are written.

Part of the idea of bifurcating TNS from TNL was to make TNL substantially more interesting to read. My mistake was in not realizing that TNL without the TNS content amounts to very, very little, and that's what we're stuck with now.

TNS remains informative, but is definitely not substantial or insightful. It takes the most boring, unread sections from TNL and collapses them into their own paper. But TNS is simple to write, and takes little time. It's also can be easily improved by making the format of TNS less mechanical in nature and by fleshing each section out to include entertaining details. For the time being, the Ministry of Communications will continue to publish The North Star.

Due to the shift of the primary role of TNL as a foreign update to TNS, TNL no longer needs to be published precisely once each month. By extending the publication dates, I hope to improve the quality of the articles in TNL such that they approach lecture-grade insightfulness. This shouldn’t be a sign that it’s alright to slack off, rather, the opposite. Papers should be substantially researched, carefully worded, and well thought-through. Editing will take on a more iterative process. To improve our standards, it’s important that we begin writing articles well in advance, not poorly throw them together after the deadline has passed.

In summary, this issue of The Northern Lights will be scrapped. The North Star will still come out on time, preferably by November 15. NBS will continue as planned. TNL will move away from a monthly publishing date, and focus more on accurate, detailed, and complex articles.

Lastly, I'd like to note that I'm not blaming anyone for the fate of Issue XXVI, and take personal responsibility for the way things have gone. This address is meant to help us all improve and help make The Northern Lights more interesting than it has been in years.

Signed,
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El Fiji Grande
 
Thank you for the notification.

Makes sense to me the reasons for the change.

I look forward to seeing the eventual TNL Issue XXVI.
 
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As I stated earlier this month, the previous issue of The Northern Lights has been scrapped. This occurred after extensive conversations with Siwale and the rest of the Executive Staff. We agreed that TNL should be taken off of a month-by-month system, and that the focus of the paper should change from being an update both foreign and domestic to a paper that hosts lectures that are insightful and engaging. Most articles should still be about TNP, though a greater emphasis will be placed on guest writers (like Sopo) to contribute.

Despite the fact that the deadline has now been pushed significantly back, we need to start working on this now. This is an immense project; we are not seeking to repeat the mistakes of the last issue. The lectures to be posted in the next issue of The Northern Lights should be well-researched, carefully worded, and well-edited. You’ll need to start writing and researching them well in advance.

To help prevent situations where articles are only started after the deadline and cobbled together at the last minute, I am introducing a new system. Each active writer in the Ministry should be working on one article for The Northern Lights. If you have difficulty thinking of a topic, feel free to ask me or one of my deputies for help. As soon as you have started work on an article, post it as a draft on the Editor’s Desk, and continue to update this thread as you make changes. If you do not post your progress on your article to this draft, I will not know you have made any progress. This also applies to all other functions of the Ministry - including TNS.

To help jump-start this new system, I will speak with each of you personally, either via Discord or via forum PM to help get everyone started writing an article. Following that, I’d appreciate if everyone update me on their progress on a weekly basis. I will post a reminder each week to this extent.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about this new approach, please post them here. I’m happy to answer them.

Signed,
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~El Fiji Grande
 
Jimi19:
I gonna start my role as a minister of communication on jan 7 2019 el Fiji grande
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Um...
To be appointed Minister of Communcations, the Delegate muat appoint you. The Delegate elecitons are in the beginning of January but not that early.
 
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End of Term Address
January 12, 2019​

Ladies and gentlemen of the Ministry of Communications, it’s been an honor serving the region with you these past few months. While we did have a late start due to the forum emergency, I feel that we mostly achieved what we set out to accomplish. We have taken the repetitive and mechanical sections of The Northern Lights and formed The North Star, which now serves as our foreign update. TNL was received well by the community, and I am proud of the work we have done to reorganize and reinvent it. And despite a lack of technical expertise, we got NBS back on the road to success.

Yet there is much still to be done. The North Star should be held to a stricter monthly deadline and be complete early such that the Executive Council can proofread it and approve its publishing. The Northern Lights should aim to be published at least once (maybe twice) in the coming term. And NBS should be recorded much more frequently, with smaller, weekly shows. It is also of the utmost importance that more people host and record NBS shows such that the knowledge to do so is retained beyond our generation of TNPers.

For this to be possible, the Ministry needs to take recruitment far more seriously, and make this a focus of the next term. Additionally, each of our current members must be held accountable for work they promise to complete. To this end, I have created an official roster for the Ministry which includes participation records, current assignments, and contact information. And lastly, in an effort to help motivate members of the Ministry, the next term will need to finalize the points and achievements system my deputies and I have been working on, much like that which has been done in the Home Affairs Ministry.

And with all that said, this term is complete. Thanks for your time, and I hope this Ministry continues to grow and prosper throughout 2019 and far into the future.

Signed,
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El Fiji Grande
 
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Start of Term Address
January 12, 2019​

Good day all! It’s both an honor and a pleasure to serve as your Minister once more.

Administratively, there are a few things that will change this coming term. First off, there will now be an application process to be selected as one of my deputies. I encourage all who are interested in the role to apply! While my deputies will continue to aid in all aspects of the Ministry, their primary focus will be to publish TNS. Doing so will allow me to focus on the more important tasks of producing TNL and NBS without needing to worry about government reports and their distribution.

Additionally, the Communications Roster will also be used to keep track of progress on assignments and record Ministry participation. Hopefully, we can swiftly pair this with the points system to better reward high-achievers within the Ministry.

As I discussed in the End of Term Address before, Ministry recruitment efforts will be a focus this term. In my opinion, the best way to bring in new talent is to showcase the incredible work we are capable of. As such, the quality and frequency of our productions will remain a priority. That said, we as a Ministry can and should do more.

One thing that fell through the cracks last term was the idea to have many smaller feature NBS Shows in addition to our monthly news broadcasts. Staff members will be responsible for all stages of the production. It is my hope that by the end of the term, we can host weekly broadcasts.

Regarding TNL, it is my firm belief that our reinvention of the paper was a step in the right direction. Now that the Ministry is no longer in transition, the trick will be to keep up the good work and continue producing top-notch content.

And lastly, it is my aim to pass on the skills needed to run NBS and produce TNL to as many people as I can within the Ministry such that the progress we made last term is sustainable.

Keeping The North Pacific Fijitastic,
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El Fiji Grande
 
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Deputy Appointments
January 13, 2019​
Unlike last term, in which I just appointed deputies, this term I considered past performance as well as a Deputy Application to narrow down the options. With that brief note aside, I’d like to get straight to the point.

@Malphe, @Bobberino, and @Marcus Antonius are hereby appointed as Deputy Ministers of Communications for this term. Outstanding applications matched with a strong history of hard work make them clear choices for the job.

This term, the Ministry will be structured a bit differently than the last time around: each Deputy will have a clear task and set of responsibilities. They will still help in all areas, but giving each a clear focus will help streamline internal organization and hopefully allow us to get publications out more smoothly. While assignments may change over the course of the term, the initial idea is to have:
@El Fiji Grande (that’s me): I will serve to manage the Ministry, make sure all publications get released on time, act as producer for NBS, format TNL, edit TNL articles and TNS reports, mentor my deputies and regular staff members of the Ministry, and anything else I feel must be done for a smoothly-running Ministry.

@Malphe shall serve as designated deputy. Should I post a temporary leave of absence (or simply disappear for more than 72 hours), he will become acting Minister until I return. Malphe will also be responsible for The Northern Lights, and serve by encouraging others to write articles, proposing topics, writing a few himself, and editing. Malphe will also help Marcus Antonius learn the ropes on TNS.

@Bobberino will be responsible for helping make NBS a more regular occurrence. Bobberino will write NBS scripts, plan News Shows, schedule broadcasts, invite speakers, record Feature Shows, and maybe also help with the video-editing and publishing side of NBS. This is a huge responsibility, and I will do my best as Minister to help shoulder this burden.

@Marcus Antonius will be responsible for The North Star, and will serve by organizing Issue planning, writing and encouraging regular staff members to write reports, making sure each publication of TNS goes out on time, and by learning how to publish it. This will be his first time serving as a Deputy Minister, and as such he will receive guidance and mentorship to fulfill the role.
I would like to add that I hold no animosity to those who didn’t make the cut – just try again next time. I hope you decide to remain active within the Ministry regardless; we will need as much help as we can get in order to succeed.

To a great term,
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El Fiji Grande
 
It is sad to see I am no longer Deputy Minister of the Ministry I love but I believe this new leadership will lead this Ministry throught thick and thin. Thank you for letting me serving as Deputy for your previous term and congratulations all appointed!
 
Dinoium:
It is sad to see I am no longer Deputy Minister of the Ministry I love but I believe this new leadership will lead this Ministry throught thick and thin. Thank you for letting me serving as Deputy for your previous term and congratulations all appointed!
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Thanks for your service. Also, for keeping to your word and being humble.
 
Congrats to those appointed! It has come a long way since I was last minister.
 
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February Report
February 8, 2019​
As Minister of Communications, I think it is increasingly important for the Ministry to be transparent in its actions and communicate its goals to the public. As such, monthly reports on Ministry actions will be published here.

This term in office, it has been my goal to train my deputies and educate staff members of the Ministry of Communications in how to produce the content we publish. As such, at the start of the term, I assigned each of my deputies a set goal: @Malphe was to work on The Northern Lights, @Bobberino was to work on the Northern Broadcast Service, and @Marcus Antonius was to work on The North Star. So far, I am happy with the work my deputies have done on these tasks, but there is always more that can be accomplished.

This term we have:
  1. Submitted a call for articles to our staff writers for The Northern Lights - Issue XXVII, with an article deadline of February 10, 2019 to meet a publication deadline of March 1, 2019.
  2. Fully implemented the Communications Roster, a regularly updated file that displays current assignments within the Ministry.
  3. Planned for and published NBS News Show: January 19, 2019.
  4. Published an aftershow featuring Bobberino and El Fiji Grande on VC.
  5. Begun planning for a trivia game show to be hosted on NBS.
  6. Planned for and published The North Star - Issue IV, February 3 2019.
  7. Begun planning for The North Star - Issue V.
In the future, the plan is to accelerate plans to host more NBS broadcasts, and hold these events much more regularly - perhaps on a weekly basis. The Ministry will continue to publish TNS and TNL, and will make an effort to publish these papers on time. And lastly, we continue to seek constructive criticism from the community to improve our publications for the betterment of The North Pacific.

Signed,
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El Fiji Grande
 
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Points and Ranks
February 10, 2019​
In an effort to encourage participation in the Ministry of Communications, points and ranks will now be awarded to contributors. Noting that writing a report for The North Star (TNS) is more simple than participating in the Northern Broadcast Service (NBS), which itself is more simple than writing a lengthy article for The Northern Lights (TNL), points will be varied depending on which publications you contribute to. This is outlined below.

PublicationPoints awarded per report/show/article
The North Star (TNS)
1​
Northern Broadcasting Service (NBS)
3​
The Northern Lights (TNL)
5​
The Ministry will award term ranks to players who obtain certain numbers of points throughout a term. Ranks may be used as one criteria of many in the selection of Deputy Ministers. Term ranks and points will be reset at the start of each term, but a running total of all participation within the Ministry across multiple terms will be awarded in the form of Legacy ranks and points.

Term RankPoints RequiredBadge
Participant1-9
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Novice10-19
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Intern20-29
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Apprentice30-39
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Researcher40-49
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Journalist50-59
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Host60-69
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Professional70-79
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Producer80-89
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Expert90-99
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Master100-109
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Ace110-124
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Guru125+
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Legacy RankPoints RequiredBadge
Common0-9
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Uncommon10-24
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Rare25-49
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Ultrarare50-99
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Epic100-249
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Legendary250-499
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Heroic500+
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Additionally, it is important for the Ministry not to ignore the efforts of our staff members prior to this announcement, and as such, Legacy Points are retroactively awarded to all nations who have contributed to the Ministry since I took office back in Siwale’s term as Delegate. These points are denoted below, in accordance with the Communications Roster.

NationLegacy PointsLegacy Rank
Bobberino
16​
Uncommon
MadJack
11​
Uncommon
Marcus Antonius
7​
Common
Loz
7​
Common
Malphe
6​
Common
Deerfenland
5​
Common
Brendog
4​
Common
Hardonius
4​
Common
Darcania
3​
Common
Dinoium
3​
Common
Yalkan
3​
Common
All of that said, it’s important to note that this system is intended to be a reward for players who contribute so much of their time to the Ministry. It should not discourage other actions which are necessary for the Ministry to run smoothly, such as editing.

Signed,
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El Fiji Grande
 
I have some questions for the Minister.

Why are you accpeting people into the Ministry before they gain Residency or Citizenship (in terms of masking)? My only concerns when it comes to this is A) It's a famous policy by Ministers/Deputy Ministers when accepting applications is that they wait for them to gain masking and B) You might accidentially accept someone into the Ministry who's not in this region.

Will you be continuing the Leave of Absence and Removal Notice programs?

Will you be accepting any more Deputy Minister applications?

Will you be doing an optional mid-term review?
 
I'd be happy to answer them.

1. I've discussed this question with you before, so I don't know why you keep bringing it up. Citizenship is not required for Ministry participation. As you know, the Ministry of Communications is undergoing a paradigm shift in the way we operate, with a greater focus on recruitment and publication quality. While I have not deliberately accepted nations who are not yet citizens, I am not opposed to doing so.

2. Those threads are not so much programs as they are resources to Ministry staff members. When it comes to the removal notices, should I expel a nation from the Ministry of Communications, I will post why there. However, that is a rare occurrence, and under standard operations, nations typically inform me they no longer wish to be a part of the Ministry rather than the other way around. In those cases, I see no need to post a removal notice.

3. The application remains open here. I advise any nations interested to apply, or perhaps re-apply. I am always willing to consider the application of talented, responsible, and hard-working nations for the position. That said, I am happy with the Ministers I have, and see no clear need for additional deputies.

4. As you may recall from my February Report, I intend to release monthly updates on Ministry activities, though perhaps not to the day. You can expect another such report in the month of March.

If you have any other questions, do feel free to ask!
 
Thank you for answering my wuestions. I just wanted to point out one thing sith Question 1. I made Citizenship and Residency.

What newspaper would Interviews go in if they were to be continued?
 
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