About Us

About the Newspaper Publishers’ Association (NPA) & PANPA –the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association

ENGAGING, inspiring and raising the standards of newspapers across every level – rural, suburban, regional and metropolitan – that’s the vision of our industry association.

We are privileged to have the membership from every significant newspaper company in Australia and New Zealand, plus most English-language newspapers in South East Asia and the South Pacific.

We seek to connect our members with industry best practice.

Our association – the NPA for Australia-only related activities; and PANPA for all international activities – acts as an information exchange for the newspaper industry through the Bulletin newspaper, a weekly ezine, our website and a host of workshops and seminars.

Scholarships and bursaries are available to outstanding newspaper managers to encourage their further education.
We are embracing new directions and visions in newspapers and digital media. We’re doing it by investing in new methodologies, research and policy-positioning papers to guide and inspire our industry.

We are also about celebrating excellence. The annual Newspaper of the Year Awards and Advertising Awards highlight the best of the best and bring the industry together regularly, making these an important part of our community calendar.

We support the entire newspaper industry – from publishing and management, to marketing, advertising, sales and circulation, editorial, technical and print and production.

We are a not-for-profit association, founded in 1969.

How you can be involved:

Directors

Association directors hold senior management positions inside the region’s biggest newspaper companies, or major suppliers and partner of the industry – thus ensuring the association has the benefit and the perspective of all those who operate within the industry.

They have a wealth of experience across editorial, marketing, sales and printing and are committed to dedicating their time and energy to the betterment and development of the industry.

Directors meet quarterly and are expected to lend their expertise, providing valuable insight and leadership. Directors are nominated and voted upon each year at the Annual General Meeting.

For 2010, our Directors are:

All directorship posts are nominated and voted upon by the membership at the annual general meeting.

Taskforces

From time to time, the board and executive will combine to formulate taskforces to address a particular issue within the industry. These taskforces are made up of individuals who believe in working for the betterment of the industry. They are appointed by the board, and are given a specific role. These taskforces will reported directly to the board; and their policies or recommendations for action are considered by the board

Why Should I Be a Member?

That’s easy: You support the newspaper and digital publishing industries. You believe in the strength and value that an industry association brings to your business. You believe that having your industry represented in a consolidated fashion is more valuable than a fractured profile – especially when radio and TV work so hard to create their own united visions for their industries. You see the value in supporting scholarships and bursaries that promote professional excellence; you understand these initiatives help the industry innovate for the benefit of our readers and our advertising clients – and they contribute to building a stronger future for newspapers and their digital properties.

That’s about you… what about the association?

We are going through a transition. Our traditional business – just like yours – cannot resist the winds of change. Our association has been a publisher of an industry magazine with a restricted circulation, and the organiser of a major conference. Instead, we are now embracing a newspaper with a 3000+ circulation; we are devolving from a single major conference to a more flexible, demand-oriented focus on workshops.

Instead of asking our members for $1000 tickets in the post-GFC times, we have created a Future Forum that is free to all members.

We will give you access to the suppliers and global thought-leaders who can offer you new ways of doing business. We are committed to promoting our industry, creating an additional environment for professional excellence – allowing you to attract the best young talent into the industry – and keep them!

Through our members, we work towards improving the status of the industry in the eyes of the public. We work hard on issues such as championing the excellent environmental credentials of newspapers; and press freedom, wherever it is challenged – be that in Fiji, South Australia, Tasmania or within a sporting venue – yes, truly, all these locations have seen press freedoms challenged. And we fight hard to ensure that a fundamental pillar of democracy is maintained for the benefit of society as a whole. Nothing can be more important – even in these challenging times of technology change and commercial competition.

Types of Membership

PANPA membership form

Our business model is based on simplicity and accessibility for every newspaper.
We offer four types of membership.

Newspaper Members

Newspapers and publishers of newspapers. PANPA does not have newspaper group memberships. Groups are encouraged to have each masthead as a member to spread the benefits of membership as widely as possible.

Online Members

This category is designed for news-based websites that are produced by newspaper publishers. In the last couple of years, we have seen newspaper publishers launch sites without companion newspapers – a cost-effective way to enter new markets or consolidate existing strengths. If you’re wondering who these websites are, they include news.com.au; The Brisbane Times; Perth Now, Adelaide Now, stuff.co.nz, The National Times and The Punch. No doubt many more will arrive on the scene in the months and years ahead. You don’t have to be a newspaper publisher to be an online member, but you do have to run a website whose business model centres on quality journalism. If you are now wondering who decides what ‘quality journalism’ is, the answer is we do – the board of the association. Decisions to admit members to our association are ultimately decided by directors. We are as welcoming as we can be, but we are the custodians of our vision and values – and a membership list that reflects this is a vital component.

Associate Members

Suppliers of goods and services to the newspaper and printing industry, contract printers of newspapers, magazine publishers with an interest in the newspaper industry, graphics arts companies and agencies representing or supplying to the industry. The distinction between this membership and that of newspapers is more bureaucratic than practical. The association works to be a bridge between partners and suppliers, and the buyers of the industry. As examples, the association continues to work with companies such as Norske Skog (quality paper supplier), Oce (digital printing), Realview Technologies (online newspaper), WoodWing (iPhone app services), and Adobe (software provider for design and web conferencing) to be a case study for their technologies and show case them for the benefit of members and the industry at large.

Affiliate Members

Employees of member organisations who wish to take out their own subscription to the PANPA Bulletin; educational professionals; retired newspaper people can join as affiliate members.

Contact PANPA for all membership enquiries:
panpa@panpa.org.au
+61 2 8338 6300