Time to Define the Future

The last few months have been difficult for associations, trying to determine what to focus on with fewer people and resources. And assessing the impact of jettisoned resources and staff on the membership.

It was clear last in 2007, that the newspaper association was going to be making some difficult decisions; focusing on a select set of directives and not be the one-stop resource center it had evolved into through the 90's. Members who have relied on the association for technical support and print related operations have been sent to other resources - it seems that after years of cost cutting for newspaper operations, the single source to assist members in print related issues has also been outsourced.

Time will tell if the new focus will transition into an ultra sleek, efficient and focused organization. One thing is certain, the new slate must be relevent to the industry and projects must have results. The industry can't afford for the organization to come up empty on impact and results, especially since the focus areas were of their choosing.