News Leaders Association (NLA)

What News Leaders Association (NLA) does

The News Leaders Association (NLA) was a nonprofit professional membership organization serving journalism leaders in the United States, formed in late 2019 through the merger of the American Society of News Editors (ASNE, founded 1922) and the Associated Press Media Editors (APME). The organization provided leadership development, newsroom diversity advocacy, First Amendment and press freedom programming, and journalism awards. Core programs included the Emerging Leaders Institute for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (training 200+ midlevel and senior leaders since inception), the annual newsroom diversity survey (administered since 1978 with 429 participating organizations in 2019), Sunshine Week, and a portfolio of journalism awards including the News Leader of the Year, Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership, and Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship.

Name

News Leaders Association (NLA)

Legal name

News Leaders Association

Website

https://newsleaders.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The News Leaders Association (NLA) was a U.S. nonprofit professional membership organization serving journalism leaders, offering leadership training, diversity advocacy, and journalism awards. Formed in 2019 from the merger of ASNE and APME, NLA dissolved by June 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Journalism Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Team & Group Executive Coaching (Leadership Teams) (EDABANAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK), Thought Leadership & Executive Visibility (BPAFADAG)

Keywords

• Journalism leadership association
• Newsroom diversity programs
• Professional journalism membership
• News editor training
• First Amendment advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: NLA operated as a nonprofit professional organization funded primarily through membership dues from journalism organizations and individual journalism leaders

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The News Leaders Association (NLA) was a nonprofit professional membership association serving journalism leaders across the United States. It provided leadership development programs (notably the Emerging Leaders Institute for DEI), conducted the annual newsroom diversity survey, and administered prestigious journalism awards recognizing excellence and diversity in news media. The organization also advocated for First Amendment rights, open government (via Sunshine Week), and journalism ethics, before dissolving by June 2024 and transferring its programs to peer nonprofit journalism organizations.

Product overview

The News Leaders Association (NLA) was a nonprofit professional organization for journalism leaders, formed in 2019 through the merger of the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Associated Press Media Editors (APME). The organization focused on leadership development, journalism ethics, First Amendment advocacy, and diversity in newsrooms. NLA dissolved by June 2024, with its programs transferred to other nonprofit journalism organizations: the NLA Awards became the Poynter Journalism Prizes, Sunshine Week moved to the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project, and the diversity survey and leadership training programs were redistributed. The organization offered programs including the Emerging Leaders Institute for Diversity Equity and Inclusion, the annual newsroom diversity survey (initiated in 1978), and the Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship Award for journalism educators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• News Leaders Association Membership
• Emerging Leaders Institute for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Annual Newsroom Diversity Survey
• NLA Journalism Awards Program
• Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship Award
• Sunshine Week Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% of NLA members voted to approve dissolution in November 2023

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Journal-ismscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 November 2024Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship award assumed by Journal-isms, a nonprofit dedicated to chronicling diversity in the media industry. The $1,000 award honors educators encouraging journalism among students of color.
• Poynter InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2023NLA Awards program transferred to Poynter Institute following NLA dissolution. Awards were renamed Poynter Journalism Prizes, continuing the prestigious 45-year tradition of ASNE and APME awards recognizing excellence in journalism.
• Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project (University of Florida)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2023Sunshine Week program transferred to the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at University of Florida, continuing this decades-old tradition of promoting open government and freedom of information.
• Google News LabcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for data visualizations of annual diversity survey results, providing interactive graphics and visual archives dating back to 2001. Google News Lab produced data visualizations available at googletrends.github.io/asne2019.
• Democracy FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in creating a more comprehensive and data-driven diversity survey that catalogues newsroom diversity numbers for U.S. print and online publications.
• Knight FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey supporter of the annual diversity survey, helping fund survey operations and data collection for tracking newsroom diversity progress.
• Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to promote diversity in news media through improved coverage, hiring, business practices and training programs that equip journalists with leadership skills.
• University of Virginia Department of Media StudiescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAcademic research partner conducting the annual diversity survey. Survey research conducted by Meredith D. Clark, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, with survey administration by Kara Fitzgibbon, Ph.D. at the Center for Survey Research.
• Donald W. Reynolds Journalism InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of News Leader of the Year Award and inaugural award sponsor. Provided support for journalism leadership recognition programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Broad incumbents

• Nieman Foundation for Journalism (Harvard): Nieman Foundation offers journalism fellowships, training, and convening for journalism leaders — a broader, academic-affiliated incumbent whose leadership development programs overlap with NLA's training mission.
• Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: A broader, established press-freedom nonprofit providing legal support, advocacy, and First Amendment resources to journalists — overlapping with NLA's advocacy and Sunshine Week programming but at greater scale.

Others

• Knight Foundation: Knight Foundation is a major journalism funder that supported NLA's diversity survey and broader journalism ecosystem. Included as a key ecosystem partner whose continued funding strategy directly affects journalism associations like NLA.

Direct peers

• Poynter Institute: The Poynter Institute is the most direct peer — a journalism-focused nonprofit that provides leadership training, ethics programs, and industry resources. It now directly houses the NLA Awards (renamed Poynter Journalism Prizes) and is the natural institutional successor for NLA's training mission.
• Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education: The Maynard Institute focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion training for journalists and is a direct partner of NLA. Their overlapping DEI training mission makes them the most natural programmatic peer for NLA's Emerging Leaders Institute.
• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ): SPJ is one of the most established journalism membership organizations in the U.S., serving individual journalists with ethics advocacy, training, and awards — directly comparable to NLA's membership-based service model for journalists and editors.
• Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA): RTDNA is a membership association for broadcast and digital newsroom leaders, providing training, advocacy, and awards — directly comparable to NLA in serving news editors and providing First Amendment advocacy.
• Online News Association (ONA): ONA is a membership organization for digital journalists, offering training programs, annual conferences, and awards. Comparable to NLA in the membership/professional development category but focused on the digital news segment.
• American Press Institute (API): API is a nonprofit focused on journalism education, leadership development, and news industry research — closely overlapping NLA's leadership training and industry-research mission.

Emerging players

• International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF): IWMF is a journalism-focused nonprofit supporting women in media through awards, training, and emergency grants. Comparable in training/awards programming, with a more focused mission segment than NLA's broad editorial leadership scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NewsLeaders
• Facebookfacebook.com/NewsLeadersAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/news-leaders-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about News Leaders Association (NLA)