The Mississippi Press Association (MPA) is a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

located in the capital city of Jackson,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, which represents newspapers and newsrooms from

. It was founded in 1866 and is the sixth-oldest press association in the U.S.

History

The Mississippi President Association was founded in 1866, holding its first meeting in May in the statehouse in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. The founders were J. L. Power, P. K. Mayers, J. S. Hamilton, A. J. Frantz, J. J. Shannon, J. M. Partridge, B. W. Kinsley, F. T. Cooper, and E. M. Yeger. It is the sixth-oldest press association in the U.S. It celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2016. The association's first bylaws were chartered in 1980. The

for-profit Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessari ...

business

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

, Mississippi Press Services, was founded in 1978. It handles advertising buys for newspapers.

Organization structure

The organization is headquartered in

. 93 newspapers across Mississippi are full members, six newspapers are affiliate members, and six organizations are digital affiliates. Full membership requires weekly printing that must be bought. Affiliates do not meet the full criteria for membership but still receive some association benefits. The association provides scholarships to journalism students in Mississippi institutions and grants to journalism programs through a foundation established in 1983. It also hosts conferences and conventions, offers a legal hotline, a job bank for professional employment, a lending library, and newspaper awards.

Leadership

The current president is George Turner of the '' Greene County Herald'', and the current vice president is Peter Imes of ''

The Commercial Dispatch ''The Commercial Dispatch'' is the daily newspaper of Columbus, Mississippi, United States. It was created from the merger of two older papers, the ''Commercial'' and the ''Dispatch'', in the early 20th century. The first issue of the consolida ...

''. The first president was J.L. Shannon of '' The Clarion''. Erle Johnston of '' The Scott County Times'' was elected in 1949 as the youngest president ever of the association. In the 1890s, Kate Markham Power was the first woman to appear before the association. In 1977, Marie Harris Luke of the '' Daily Times Leader'' was the first woman elected to the board of governors and in 1980, the first woman elected president.

References

External links

Official web siteMississippi Newspapers
{{Authority control Newspaper associations Organizations with year of establishment missing Organizations based in Mississippi Organizations established in 1866 Trade associations based in the United States 1866 establishments in Mississippi