The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association is a

trade group 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. Through collaboration between compani ...

serving newspapers in Pennsylvania. The PNA seeks to "advance the business interests of Pennsylvania news media companies" and protect the "free and independent press." It represents Pennsylvania newsmedia interests in the legislature, provides public educational services, and acts as an information clearinghouse.

Background

It was founded in 1925 as the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association (PNPA) by John L. Stewart, the publisher of two newspapers in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington, also known as Little Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia, is a city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

.Text on the John L. Stewart Tower at the former McIlvane Hall at

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origin to three Presbyterian m ...

The name was changed to Pennsylvania Newspaper Association (PNA) in the late 1990s to deemphasize the association's relationship with

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

. In November 2012, the name was changed to the present Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (NPA), "to better represent our membership and reflect the media companies that many of our members have already become." It is affiliated with the National Newspaper Association (NNA) and the

Newspaper Association of America A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports, ar ...

(NAA). The organizational structure is threefold, with two other entities complementing the association itself. The ''PNA Foundation'', an independent, non-profit corporation organized as a public foundation, provides PNA members with a wide range of low-cost and innovative training opportunities, typically offering as many as 40 seminars per year and training nearly 800 newspaper staffers in Harrisburg and around the state. ''Mid-Atlantic Newspaper Services, Inc''. (MANSI), the PNA's wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary, sells classified and display advertising into PNA-member newspapers.

Public advocacy

PNA is involved in promoting access to public records in Pennsylvania. The PNA helped advocate for recent changes to Pennsylvania's

Freedom of information legislation Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatis ...

Awards

PNA presents the " Keystone Press Awards" every year during the Keystone Awards Banquet. PNA bestows annual "Newspaper of the Year" awards, among other honors. When merited, PNA presents the "Bill Northrop Award for distinguished work supporting freedom of information." In 2002, PNA honored retired Publisher Bill Northrop of the Observer Publishing Co. in Washington, Pa. by naming this freedom of information award after him. The first recipients were state Representatives John Maher and Chuck McIlhinney. The annual

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

honors an individual who has "outstanding service and accomplishment spanning a career in journalism".

References

External links

Official website

''Headlines And Deadlines''
- PNA newsletter

Newspaper Association of America (NAA)
{{authority control Newspapers published in Pennsylvania Lobbying organizations in the United States Political advocacy groups in the United States American journalism organizations