Newspaper & magazine associations are a great resources for publications and advertisers alike. They can provide publications with new sales tools, training, research, group ad sales and more. Additionally, associations like NAA & MPA compile valuable statistics that can be used by both sales teams and advertisers to analyze the effectiveness of print advertising in certain categories. To check out the regional and national associations, click on any of the links below - to view a complete list of national & international, DMOZ has compiled a great directory.

National Associations
AAN - Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
AFCP - Association of Free Community Newspapers
MPA  - Magazine Publishers of America
NAA - Newspaper Association of America
NNA - National Newspaper Association
NNPA - National Newspaper Publishers Association
SNA - Suburban Newspapers of America

State/Regional Associations
Alabama Press Association (APA)
Arizona Newspapers Association (ANA)
California Newspaper Publishers Association
Community Papers of Florida (CPF)
Iowa Newspaper Association
IPA - Inland Press Association
MFCP - Midwest Free Community Papers
Minnesota Free Paper Association (MFPA) 
Missouri Press Association
NENA - New England Newspaper Association
New Jersey Press Association (NJPA)
NYPA - New York Press Association
Ohio Newspaper Association (ONA)
PNNA - Pacific Northwest Newspaper Association
SNPA - Southern Newspaper Publishers Association
WNPA - Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Not all news in the print industry is bad - this article from MediaPost outlines some of the successes small newspapers are still experiencing. Among the reasons for their continued success is the ability to maximize on the local scope of their publication - to provide excellent content to their local readers and deliver the highly targeted local readership to their advertisers.

Working with advertisers who target locally everyday, we can testify to the existent demand for local print advertising. Local merchants whose target customers work or live within a relatively close distance to their business depend on saturating their local market with their advertisements to promote their business to prospective and existing customers. Many of these advertisers tell us that their local newspaper is the first place that comes to mind as the best place for promotion - in front of radio, television and online.

To find out about the full-range of reasons some small weekly newspapers' circulation are actually growing, Click Here to view the full MediaPost article.

As a regular feature of the Print Observer, we will be posting MediaBytes - brief Q&A's with some of the publications and advertisers that work with MediaBids. For this first post, Brian Gay, Executive Director of the MFCP (Midwest Free Community Papers), answers a few brief questions about his publications, the print industry and the web.

Q: (MB) How did your association get started? Who are the member publication's typical readers?
A: (MFCP) Midwest Free Community Papers and Midwest AdNet (MFCP and MAN) is an association of free local papers serving areas in 10 states in the Midwest. MFCP was formed 53 years ago when publisher came together to discuss common concerns and to share advice and experiences about this new industry. In the early days, theses papers were owned and operated as small family businesses. Often the only vacation the family got was attending the association meetings. Being from the Midwest our member publications reach many C & D markets. In some communities, our papers are the only widely distributed source of local news. As an industry we view advertising as news that people want to read. Almost all of our member papers have circulation audits. The numbers are extremely good for MFCP.

Q: (MB) How has the web impacted your sales and circulation?
A: (MFCP) Our papers have not seen a drop in circulation like the paid papers have because as the population grows we add new circulation area. The goal is to cover 100% of the market served. The web has had an impact on the papers. The publishers see some erosion of ads going to the web. Many of them have web sites and promote that to their readers.

Q: (MB) Without using a specific advertisers name, give us an advertiser’s success story that they had as a result of advertising in your group of publications.
A: (MFCP) We have many success stories. However the one that stands out in my mind is a small company that buys furs from trappers. For the last 9 years we have been running ads in 20 to 25 papers letting the trappers know when the buyer will be in their town. This small business has experience substancial growth because of these ads.

Q: (MB) What is the greatest challenge faced by your publications?
A: (MFCP) Like many companies, finding quality employees is a constant challenge. This is especially true when hiring sales people.

Q: (MB) Are your publications making any notable changes in 2008?
A: (MFCP) We continue to be extremely flexible and are constantly searching for new opportunities. In 2008, MFCP will be developing several new programs to help our members utilize the web more.  

To view print advertising opportunities with the MFCP, please Click Here.