Inland Press Association and Southern Newspaper Publishers Association will merge Oct. 1, after members of both voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger.
Last month, directors of both boards unanimously approved a plan to consolidate the two associations. Details of the plan were sent to members for a vote.
The first board of the new association will consist of nine representatives each from the current Inland and SNPA boards, as well as three R&D partners and four officers — a chair, president, vice president and treasurer.
Chris Reen, president of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, will be the new association’s first president. He previously served as SNPA president in 2017 and was co-chair of the merger planning group. Other officers will include Alan Fisco of The Seattle Times, Nat Lea of WEHCO Media, and Cory Bollinger of GateHouse Media and the Hoosier Times newspaper group.
The new association will be staffed by members of the current Inland and SNPA staffs. A national search is underway for a new CEO, which will oversee operations.
