America's Newspapers made its public debut Oct. 6 with an inaugural annual meeting in Chicago. The group is a merger of the Inland Press Association, founded in 1887, and the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, founded in 1903.

The combined association's first board president is Chris Reen, president and publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs. The search for a CEO to lead the group is nearing completion, according to a news statement.

"America's Newspapers has adopted a mission of redoubling the commitments of its legacy associations to explain, defend and advance the vital role of newspapers in democracy and civil life," the statement said.

The group launched a website, newspapers.org, and will be on Twitter @NewspapersOrg and on Facebook and LinkedIn.

The Des Plaines, Ill.-based Inland Press Association brought 1,100 members to the merger from all 50 U.S. states, Canada and the Caribbean. The association's revenue in 2017 was $791,000, down from $923,000 the year before.

Atlanta-based Southern Newspaper Publishers Association brought more than 500 print and digital newspapers and close to 90 R&D partners that supply goods and services to the newspaper industry to the wedding. SNPA's revenue in 2017 was $587,000, down from $605,000 the year before.

The much larger News Media Alliance (formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America) says it represents "nearly 2,000 diverse news organizations in the United States—from the largest news groups and international outlets to hyperlocal news sources, from digital-only and digital-first to print news." NMA reported revenue of $9.7 million in 2017.

MORE CEO DATELINE

• Trade groups urge top court to preserve DACA
• Apparel association calls out Amazon
• Report: Association at center of Trump Hotel investigation
• Warren proposes ‘excessive lobbying' tax on associations, corporations
• New association launches for agricultural commodity tech
• Net neutrality ruling sparks association praise, concern