NAA represents the interests of the newspaper industry before all levels of government. This site section provides greater insight into the issues that affect newspaper operations and newsgathering as well as NAA’s legal and regulatory priorities.
Featured Issue
NAA Launches New Environmental Hub
Focus on the environment and sustainability has increased dramatically in the last couple of years, particularly as it relates to reducing a company’s carbon footprint in response to concerns over global climate change. Newspapers have a long history as good corporate citizens and, over the years, have made changes in the way they do business that will have long-term benefits for the environment.
As a resource for the newspaper industry, the Newspaper Association of America seeks to help member newspapers and the newspaper industry move toward the goal of full sustainability. This site presents a snapshot of initiatives that reflect NAA members’ work toward sustainability, championing practices that help newspapers thrive economically while preserving and protecting the environment for future generations.
Visit www.naa.org/sustainability for more information.
Recent Issues
Media Coalition Applauds Reintroduction of Federal Shield Bill
A coalition of media companies and journalism organizations applauds reintroduction of the “Free Flow of Information Act” in the House of Representatives that would protect the public’s right to know by setting federal standards when journalists can be compelled to disclose the identities of their confidential sources. Read more.
FTC Releases Final Rule Regulating Prerecorded, Interstate Telemarketing Calls
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on August 20, 2008, issued a Final Rule amending the Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”) regarding prerecorded telemarketing calls. That is, calls that are part of an effort to sell a good or product, such as subscription renewals. Read More.
FTC Final Rule Amendments - Telemarketing Sales Rule (TRS)
NAA Memo - Summary of FTC Final Rule on Prerecorded Telemarketing Calls
Newspapers Need to be Ready for Intelligent Mail Barcode
The Postal Service’s Intelligent Mail® initiative seeks to provide end-to-end visibility and a seamless process for mail acceptance and delivery. Among this initiative’s goals are to reduce Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) mail, facilitate feedback about the mail piece and allow for mail service measurement. Intelligent Mail will also give businesses the ability to track the delivery of mail pieces through the entire distribution chain.
The cornerstone of the initiative is a standardized barcode, known as the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB), which includes the functions of the existing POSTNET barcode, used for delivery sortation, and PLANET Codes, used to track mail in the system.
The Postal Service has set an aggressive implementation date of May 2009, although it does not intend to give pricing incentives until November 2009. Still, mailers – including newspaper publishers – must gear up to meet the May 2009 deadline, a daunting task given the short timeframe and the significant technological complexities. The Postal Service will offer two options on May 2009: the basic service IMB and the more robust full-service offering.
For more information on the Intelligent Mail Barcode, see the Members’ Only section: http://www.naa.org/intelligentmailbarcode
THE FLATS SEQUENCING SYSTEM (FSS)
The USPS has seen its costs increase significantly for handling and processing of flat mail, which consists of large envelopes, newspapers, newspapers’ Total Market Coverage products, catalogs, magazines and circulars. This has resulted in higher-than-average price increases for flat mail in the past. While the newspaper industry generally supports the Postal Service’s efforts to reduce costs of handling and delivering mail, the plan will require significant preparation and entry changes for newspapers and other mailers of flat mail, in particular those mailers that send their flats as a high-density Standard Mail product.The Postal Service will rely on the Flats Sequencing System (FSS) to reduce its delivery costs, the largest portion of its overall labor costs. FSS is a large two-pass sorting machine that places flat mail in the exact order of a carrier’s delivery, reducing the need for manual casing of flat mail and improving carrier street time. The Postal Service projects FSS will generate operational savings of more than $600 million per year.
For more information about how FSS will impact the newspaper industry, see the Members' Only section: http://www.naa.org/fss