NEPA/NENA to merge in July

The New England Press Association and New England Newspaper Association will merge in July. The new organization will be called the New England Newspaper and Press Association. The organizations will be based out of the NEPA office in Dedham.

Morley L. Piper, the executive director of NENA, stated today in an email:

"I know you will look forward to working with the new organization. We all expect it will do well and be a critical help to the regional newspaper business. We at NENA appreciate all the support, confidence, assistance and most of all the friendships we have made over the years which will endure. We have come to the end of an era but it is the beginning of a new one. We hope very much our beleagured but beloved newspaper business will fare well as the economy improves."

In many ways, this is both good and bad news. It's good news because the two organizations will be stronger working together. It's not so good because there will probably be fewer awards and more competition for those fewer awards.
Here's hoping the new organization will continue to thrive in the future.