Even in our consumer-driven, disposable society that celebrates youth and where people’s attention span is measured in seconds, longevity is still a valuable commodity. Any organization or business able to maintain and expand its mission, serve its members or clients successfully and create a dominant leadership position for 139 years is to be treasured. In the newspaper industry, that treasure is the National Newspaper Association (NNA) and its companion organization, the National Newspaper Association Foundation (NNAF).
After the Minnesota State Editors’ and Publishers’ Association was founded in 1867, its members formed the National Editors’ and Publishers’ Association, which is today’s NNA. Because the founding group was Minnesota publishers and not the newspaper magnates of the late 19th century, they wanted an organization focused on rural and community newspapers. That advocacy continues to be the foundational mission of NNA/NNAF.
Tonda Rush embodies the longevity of leadership in NNA. As a publisher in the early 1970s, her community newspaper was a member, and then she became the CEO of NNA in 1992. After leaving the NNA in 1997, Rush decided to practice law, and NNA was a client of the law firm she joined. She soon started an association management company and helped NNA through various transitions and physical moves during the first years of the 21st century. Today, Rush is retired but still donates approximately 10% of her time to NNA, primarily its legal hotline, where she and others assist members with federal, libel and newsroom issues.
“When the pandemic occurred and the federal government set up the Paycheck Protection Program, we immediately ensured our members knew how to apply for that program. Unlike many businesses, I don’t know of a single NNA member newspaper that closed. They continued to publish but lost advertising dollars. We saw to it that the Small Business Administration knew who our members were, and publishers knew how to access those funds,” Rush said.
To honor her many years with NNA, the organization announced the Tonda Rush Scholarship Fund in late 2023, with initial donations totaling more than $62,000.
Brett Wesner, president of Wesner Publications, represents another vital characteristic of NNA: community newspaper publishers serving on its boards and committees because they experience the same challenges as all members. His first elected position was NNA treasurer in 2019, and then he served as chair of the board for a two-year term in 2020-2021. During Wesner’s time as NNA chair, all the educational programs were moved to NNAF, so NNA could focus on public policy and government affairs. His contribution to NNA continues, and he is currently in an ad-hoc position as director of NNA’s Public Policy Oversight Committee.
“My focus is solely on public policy, which includes outreach to Congress and the federal agencies we monitor. We constantly monitor the Federal Register, the official journal of the federal government, to make sure we’re aware of any new proposals and oppose those detrimental to our members,” Wesner said.
“Our strength is that the members across the country are willing to call their members of Congress. In many cases, especially in rural districts, people know their members personally. That comes from the tradition and history of our members actively involved in advocacy.”
An example of public policy advocacy was creating an NNA program that makes it easier for any federal agency to buy advertising in member newspapers. According to Wesner, the NNA has provided free advertising for these agencies for decades. When the pandemic started, the government spent hundreds of millions on public outreach, but community newspapers received none of the paid advertising.
“All of those agencies can now do one-stop shopping with us. The agencies give us their message and the geographic area and demographics they want to reach. Within two or three days, we provide them with a list of every publication in their area of interest, and that list includes non-NNA members. The agencies have been delighted with the quality of our data. NNA does not take or add a commission on these ad buys,” Wesner said.
Masters of postal regulations
Of all the issues with which NNA assists its members, its proactive work with the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been the most important from the first days of NNA. Rural and community newspapers can’t provide timely deliveries to their subscribers without a reliable and affordable mail category for periodicals. (Read this month’s article, “Finding solutions for the challenges of United States Postal Service newspaper deliveries,” about many publishers’ problems with slow USPS deliveries.)
Max Heath was the “master” of USPS policy and its effect on NNA members for several decades. Matt Paxton, publisher of the Lexington (Virginia) News-Gazette, worked with Heath for many years, gradually assuming more of his responsibilities and eventually becoming the chair of the NNA Postal Committee in 2009. With Heath’s passing in 2021, the foundation named a new postal education program for him, the Max Heath Postal Institute.
2024 is the third year for the Institute’s “Understanding Periodicals Mail,” a comprehensive course for members so they too can become masters of the complexities of the current — and ever-changing — postal regulations and proposals. Members can earn the Newspaper Mail Master certificate by completing an exam for the various levels of the certificate. Postal consulting services are also available to NNA and News/Media Alliance members via the Postal Hotline.
“The overall outlook and change in postal service administration has directly affected newspapers. Having said that, we can do plenty to improve service with newspapers without changing the entire system. There are two different delivery systems for periodicals: In-county and out-of-county, where a newspaper is published. Among our members, in-county delivery is good because our members know their local postmasters. Out-of-county delivery is an absolute disaster,” Wesner said.
Lynne Lance, NNA executive director, is one of the members of the NNA Postal Team, which includes Paxton; chair emeritus John Galer, immediate past NNA chair and publisher of The Journal-News in Hillsboro, Illinois; and Interlink CEO Bradley Hill of Berrien Springs, Michigan.
“We conduct a series of webinars throughout the year, educating our members on how best to use periodical mail. We want our members to have the most efficient mail experience. Many community leaders have decided to become publishers so their local newspapers will survive. However, they don’t have a news publishing background and don’t know how to use periodical mail. Our program is where they can start,” Lance said.
Member-driven member benefits
Continuing the tradition of members serving on NNA and NNAF boards, Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, co-owner with her husband of the San Fernando (California) Valley Sun/el Sol Newspaper, was recently elected the new chair of the NNA board for 2025–2026. The Sun also shares a history of longevity with NNA, as it has been continuously published since 1904.
“As a publisher, I’m heavily involved in all aspects of our business. I also need to be involved with organizations like NNA that are working to keep our industry intact and to fight off any threats. Being part of an industry organization is a way to help myself. I’ve made contacts and obtained information that has been very helpful to me,” Diaz Aszkenazy said.
Being an NNA member and chair of the board has given Diaz Aszkenazy two opportunities to help herself and her fellow members. As chair, she can contribute to public policy initiatives in Washington, D.C., and talk to her local legislators as a community newspaper publisher. “I know them; they’re in our paper. I went to high school with some of them.”
Forrest Church, publisher of The Village Reporter in Montpelier, Ohio, bought his first newspaper in 2001 and consolidated various small, local newspapers into the Reporter in 2010. It serves two counties in Northwest Ohio and 14 communities. Although he wasn’t an NNA member, Church asked for and received help from Heath with Church’s nightmarish challenges of obtaining a periodical permit.
“Max Heath was one of my favorite people on the planet. He knew periodical permits inside and out. He certainly knew it better than the post office knew its requirements. He helped me, jokingly saying he was not supposed to help me because I wasn’t an NNA member. I responded, ‘You help me through this (postal permit) situation, and I’ll become a member of NNA,’” Church said.
The Intermountain (Colorado) Jewish News (IJN) is another publication with more than 100 years of service, primarily for the Jewish community. According to Shana Goldberg, assistant publisher, it has been an NNA member for decades. The Goldberg family acquired the newspaper in 1943, but the publication, originally called the Denver Jewish News, launched in February 1915.
Goldberg became the assistant publisher in 2014, first joining the family business in 2007 as the digital editor. IJN has a subscriber base of approximately 6,000, serving the greater Denver metro area, which includes Colorado Springs to the south and Boulder to the northwest. There are also subscribers in northern Colorado and other mountain states: Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Montana and Idaho.
Like Diaz Aszkenazy, Church and so many NNA members, assisting IJN with postal issues is also why Goldberg highly values her membership. “NNA has been instrumental in helping me develop better relationships with the Postal Service and organizing conference calls. I was on the NNA postal committee, where I learned how the whole structure works.”
“Because of how NNA has helped me, not only has our mailing improved, but I can also communicate better with our subscribers, so they understand why their newspapers aren’t delivered on time. That’s been great for our customer relations,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg also emphasized how much she values the good tips and insights about current issues in Publishers’ Auxiliary (Pub Aux), an NNAF publication and the oldest newspaper serving the newspaper industry.
Members also benefit from a long list of other NNA and NNAF programs and resources — from the annual convention (2025 will be the 139th) and its Great Idea Exchange session to training for news staff, business and operational resources, consultation and advice. Visit nna.org for more information.
“The organization has been remarkably resilient for 139 years. Its members are loyal and committed to their missions. NNA will best serve the industry by continuing to do what it’s been doing. We don’t blow our horn much, but just go about completing the work of helping members and representing them in Washington,” Rush said.
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
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