National Newspaper Publishers Association

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), formerly the National Negro Publishers Association, is an association of African American newspaper publishers from across the United States. It was established in 1940 and took its current name in 1956. Its headquarters was in Louisville, Kentucky.^[1]

History

The NNPA was founded in 1940 when John H. Sengstacke, the second publisher of the Chicago Defender, organized a meeting with other African American publishers intended for "harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism". Sengstacke succeeded in realizing a dream that his uncle, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, had for many years. Fittingly, Abbott died on the morning of the inaugural conference on February, 29, 1940.^[2] The younger Sengstacke was selected as the first president of the NNPA, and D. Arnett Murphy, the son of John H. Murphy Sr., who published the Baltimore Afro-American, was selected as the eastern vice president. In 1956, the trade association changed the name to the current moniker.^[3]

Lyndon Johnson meeting with NNPA members in 1965

"In 2000, the NNPA launched NNPA Media Services — a print and web advertising placement and press release distribution service."^[4] Since 2014, Dr. Benjamin Chavis has been the president and CEO of the organization.

Black Press USA

In 2001, NNPA created an electronic news service, Black Press USA, which enables newspapers to provide real-time news and information to its national constituency.^[5] In 2003, Larry Muhammad reported for NeimanReports that Black Press USA "is a project of the Black Press Institute and handled by XIGroup, a Web development firm co-owned by Joy Bramble, publisher of The Baltimore Times, an NNPA member publication."^[5]

Membership

In 2023, the NNPA is composed of more than 160 African American newspapers in the United States and the Virgin Islands^[6] with a combined readership that exceeds 15 million people.

References

1. Lancaster, Emmer Martin (1966). "A Guide to Negro Marketing Information".
2. Ethan Michaeli, The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America, pp. 232 (2016).
3. "THE NNPA". National Newspaper Publishers Association. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
4. "Credo of the Black Press". National Newspaper Publishers Association. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
5. Muhammad, Larry (September 15, 2003). "The Black Press: Past and Present". Neiman Reports. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
6. "NNPA Current Members". National Newspaper Publishers Association. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 2023-04-18.

External links

• National Newspaper Publishers Association web site
• NNPA history, NNPA website
• The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords, PBS
• The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords, California Newsreel
• Black Press History short article on the NNPA website
• Patrick Washburn, academic biography

Further reading

Books:

• Pride, Armistead S. and Clint C. Wilson II. A History of the Black Press. Howard University Press, 1997.
• Washburn, Patrick. A Question of Sedition: The Federal Government's Investigation of the Black Press During World War 2. Oxford University Press. 1986.