New Voice of the News Media Industry Launched in UK

A united voice of the £6-billion local, regional and national media sector in UK has been launched called the News Media Association (NMA), as reported by NewsMediaUK. This association is an outcome of the merger between Newspaper Society (NS), the trade body for local and regional papers and the Newspaper Publishers’ Association (NPA) that represents national publishers.

NMA chairman and former Newspaper Society (NS) president Adrian Jeakings said: “Free speech and independent news are the building blocks of a healthy democracy. 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.”

This association will represent the interest of its member publishers on a range of issues affecting the news media industry to include press freedom and public sector competition routes to market, copyright and IP. Murdoch MacLennan, Telegraph Media Group chief executive and outgoing NPA chairman, said: “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.”

According to Guardian UK, under the umbrella of NMA will be the Independent Publishers’ Forum that was previously a part of the NS and the launch of NMA will provide independent news brands with a more powerful voice on issues that matter to the sector.

Looking back NS was launched in 1836 as a trade body representing both local and national newspapers, following which NPA was formed separately to represent the nationals. Through NMA constituted now, both the bodies will work together and reunites the entire news media industry in UK after 100 years.

NMA chief executive David Newell believes that, "Press freedom is under attack on multiple fronts and defending this fundamental right to free speech will be central to the NMA's mission. The new organization will work to clearly articulate the position of the news media industry on this and other important issues which affect the industry."

By: Savita V Jayaram