General Members are familiar general-interest newspapers published
in each community in the state. They make up the majority of the
Association's members. The requirements for General Membership are:
1. Paid circulation
2. General interest (not special interest newspapers for a specific
audience)
3. Have "Periodical" mailing privileges with the US Postal
Service
4. Publish at least weekly
Dues for General Members are assessed annually and are determined
by a formula set by the Board of Directors in 1987. This formula
is based on circulation of the newspaper (circ), its annual subscription
rate (sub), its page size in column inches (page), and its national
advertising rate (rate).
The formula is as follows:
(circ x sub x .001) + (0.5 x page x rate)
Associate Members are people or companies that have an interest
in the newspaper publishing industry, or they are publications that
do not qualify for General Membership. Typically, these include:
Suppliers, such as companies or representatives of manufacturers
of paper, presses, mailroom equipment, or front-end computer systems,
web developers, photo and advertising art suppliers, etc.
Advertising and public relations companies or representatives.
Publications that are published less often than weekly, are
offered free to the public, or have specialized editorial and
advertising content instead of local community general-interest
news and advertising. These publications must have a minimum of
25 percent news content to qualify for membership in ONPA.
Dues for Associate Members were set in 2003 at $350 per member
annually.
Collegiate Membership is offered to high school, community college,
college and university newspapers which operate similarly to General
Membership newspapers. Membership is in the name of the newspaper,
which may be issued daily, weekly, monthly, or as announced by the
students. The newspaper must contain news and information generated
by students and be distributed free or paid to students on the campus.
Dues for Collegiate Members are $50 per newspaper annually.
Honorary Membership is awarded by the Board of Directors to people
who have distinguished themselves in the Oregon newspaper industry
or who have rendered conspicuous service to the Association. Honorary
Members have lifetime membership in the Association and are not
required to pay dues.
Membership in any classification entitles the member to receive
ONPA publications, be listed in the Annual Directory, attend Association
and Foundation functions, and participate on committees. Only the
designated representative of each General Member may cast votes
in Association business and serve on the ONPA board. Separate news
contests are held annually for both General Members and Associate
Members. An annual advertising contest is open to all publication
members, whether General or Associate Members. Associate Members
may also serve on the Foundation board. Publications enjoying membership
are required to give a commission to ONPA for advertising they receive
through ONPA's advertising placement service (ONAC). Non-member
publications may also receive advertising placements from ONAC upon
agreement to recognize a stipulated commission with the order.
Newspapers must fulfill certain statutory requirements to be eligible
to carry legal notices for any government entity in Oregon. All
General Members in ONPA currently are qualified to carry legal notices.
Those requirements are contained in ORS 193 and can be viewed by
clicking here.
For further information about membership in ONPA, or an application
for membership, please contact ONPA executive director Laurie
Hieb (ext 25) at 503-624-6397.
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