The General Assembly appoint Rev. M. Iver Martin as Media Officer in terms of Act 1, Class 2, 2002 and endorse the following Job Description for the post:
1 The Media Officer shall be a minister or elder of the Free Church of Scotland.
2 The Media Officer shall be appointed by and be ultimately responsible to the General Assembly. He shall be appointed on the recommendation of the Communications Committee. The appointment shall be for a period of three years. At the end of this period the Communications Committee shall have authority to renew the appointment. The maximum term of service for the same individual in the post shall be nine years.
3 The Media Officer shall be an effective communicator, comfortable in dealing with members of the press and other media, and a competent writer in popular style.
4 The Media Officer shall be a consultant to every Assembly Committee and Board, with the right to attend their meetings, and shall report regularly to the Communications Committee, to whom he shall be immediately responsible.
5 The Media Officer shall work closely with the Communications Officer, the Assembly Clerks’ Department, the Church Offices, the Conveners and Chairmen of Church Committees and Boards, and the Editors of the Church’s magazines.
6 The Media Officer shall be responsible for responding to inquiries from the media (which should all normally be referred to him) either by dealing with these himself, or by referring them to people with suitable expertise or knowledge within the church. To this end, in consultation with the Communications Officer, he shall keep an up-to-date list of those who may be consulted on a variety of issues.
7 The Media Officer shall be responsible for receiving and obtaining news items from Congregations, Presbyteries, Boards and Committees, framing press releases and, in consultation with the Communications Officer, releasing these to the media.
8 The Media Officer shall attend the meetings of the General Assembly and the Commission. He shall issue press releases leading up to and during the General Assembly in order to communicate to the public matters of importance to the Church and society. He shall do this in consultation with Chairmen and Conveners of Boards and Committees. He shall liaise with members of the press during the Assembly. He shall also obtain details of the Moderator Designate (nominated normally in October) and issue a press release.
9 On any matters of a legal or disciplinary or other sensitive nature, the Media Officer shall consult with the appropriate Church officer or body before issuing any statement. In particular, where there may be any doubt about a matter, he shall consult with the Moderator, the Assembly Clerk, the Convener of the Board of Trustees and the Chief Administrative Officer.
10 The Media Officer shall be responsible for overseeing the Free Church Website and Forum (or other such message boards), in consultation with the Communications Officer, who shall be responsible for the design and updating of the Website.
11 The post shall carry a remuneration consistent with that of Committee Clerks. The expenses of the Media Officer in attendance at meetings of the General Assembly and Commission of Assembly, together with reasonable expenses, such as use of telephone, stationery and printer consumables, necessarily incurred in carrying out the work of Media Officer, shall be met out of the Communications Committee budget, on application to the Chief Administrative Officer.
12 Act II, 2002, is hereby repealed.