In the US, the News Media Alliance (NMA) has announced a merger with the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) which brings together the two arms of the legacy print industry. The ‘merger’ under which the NMA will actually absorb the MPA is due to be ratified by NMA members in a Zoom call on May 6. The MPA, which dates back to 1919, has been rocked financially by industry recession and consolidation headlined by Meredith’s acquisition of Time Inc and its own absorption by Dotdash/IAC.
The NMA/MPA deal will prompt similar thoughts in the UK where the News Media Association (local, regional and national news brands) and the Professional Publishers Association (PPA, representing magazine publishers) lost 19% and 30% of their revenue respectively during 2019-20. PPA covers the spectrum from multi-media B2B through to specpubs and mass market magazines, so a combined legacy organisation might have more of a unifying mission: promoting the power of print to advertisers and its vulnerability to the would-be regulators of digital rivals.
The two UK bodies currently collaborate on multi-channel audience research and, together, have total revenue of c£5m and 20 people. Five years ago, the PPA alone had revenue of more than £6m. A careful merger with the NMA might create a more powerful lobbyist, save overheads, and still provide all the practical things expected of what are good trade associations. They, presumably, could retain both the longstanding brands and their leaders. The fact that Owen Meredith, CEO of the NMA, is also a former leader of the PPA might just help.
