Former Newspaper Society president, Adrian Jeakings, will chair the new body
A merger between the Newspaper Society and the Newspaper Publishers’ Association today sees the formation of a new “united voice” for the UK’s £6 billion national, regional and local news media sectors.
The newly formed News Media Association (NMA) will be chaired by former Newspaper Society president Adrian Jeakings and will represent the interests of its member publishers on a range of issues from press freedom and public sector competition to routes to market and copyright and IP.
“Free speech and independent news are the building blocks of a healthy democracy,” Jeakings said in a statement issued on Monday.
“Newspapers embody this by holding the powerful to account, exposing corruption, and giving a voice to the unheard.
“Newsbrands – national, regional and local newspapers in print and digital – are by far the biggest investors in news in the UK, accounting for more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of the total spend on news provision. The NMA will provide this important sector with a clear voice on the issues which affect it.”
Murdoch MacLennan, Telegraph Media Group chief executive and outgoing Newspaper Publishers’ Association chairman, added: “Newspapers have a huge audience of 42 million adults every month in print and online who rely on our publications for trusted news and information.
“I am confident that the industry has a long and vibrant future ahead of it and that the NMA will play a central role in helping the sector develop and prosper in an era in which news is being consumed across more platforms than ever before.”
When the NS was launched in 1836, the trade association represented both local and national newspapers but in 1906 the NPA was formed as a separate organisation to represent the nationals. Although the two associations have worked closely together over the years, the NMA formally reunites them for the first time in over 100 years.
