"There is no replacement for visiting lawmakers in their own offices. It makes a real connection and isn’t difficult or intimidating. Members signed onto bills after visiting with me last year. Every industry is doing this except us. If there is one thing to do in 2023, it is to fly-in to D.C. with America’s Newspapers and be part of making a profound difference."

I have said time and time again how optimistic we all should be about where we are going in 2023 and beyond in U.S. News and at the AP as a whole. Today marks an important step in this process as we announce several promotions and hires of journalists who will all play an important role in our success as a unified all-formats team in the U.S. that works in concert to own the biggest stories of the day.

Register for the Mega-Conference before costs go up. You'll also want to reserve your hotel room before rooms sell out in our room block. Visit the Mega-Conference website to find the links needed to register as a conference attendee and to reserve your hotel room.

For our Solutions Partners: There are a limited number of sponsorship opportunities still available. Contact Patty Slusher for more information: pslusher@newspapers.org.

We hope you plan to join us March 8-9 in Washington, D.C., for the America's Newspapers Legislative Fly-In. If you haven't reserved your hotel room yet, please do that before Feb. 17.

Learn more about the fly-in and register to take part here.

This coordinated opportunity for our members to meet with their elected officials on Thursday, March 9, is an important opportunity to (further) establish a relationship with them and to ask for their support of our initiatives.

This six-part program focuses on the core topics that emerging leaders need to further their careers.

The America’s Newspapers Executive Development Program, funded in part by the Inland Press Foundation, gives the next generation of newspaper leaders the opportunity to connect and gain valuable insights from industry leaders and their peers. From revenue development, content, digital, finance and more, Executive Development participants will learn from the best the industry has to offer.

Applicants will be notified by Feb. 28 if they are accepted so they can plan and book their travel to the Mega-Conference, where the program will kick off. LEARN MORE and APPLY

America's Newspapers and the News/Media Alliance want to spotlight the best examples of innovation among newspapers at this year's Mega-Conference. All newspaper members of America's Newspapers and the News/Media Alliance are encouraged to submit their best examples of innovation for consideration in this year's competition for the Mega-Innovation Award.

There is no cost to enter. Help us identify the best examples of innovation in the newspaper industry.

America's Newspapers is honored to welcome a new Solutions Partner member!

ASK-CRM offers a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool developed and designed specifically for the media industry by seasoned media industry professionals. ASK-CRM integrates with any and all order entry systems to provide your sales team with current selling information.

ASK-CRM is currently deployed to nearly 300 weekly, daily and monthly publications, with distributions ranging from 2,000 to nearly 200,000. Accordingly, its client sales staffs range in size from a single account executive to more than 100. Regardless of your scenario, ASK-CRM offers a tool that streamlines media selling for everyone.

Robin Smith is founder and president and can be reached at robin@ask-crm.com.

Welcome to membership!

Newspaper editorial pages, as once we knew them, may be dying. God, I hope not.

For if a newspaper has brains, it will show up on the editorial page. If a newspaper has a heart, it will show up on the editorial page. If a newspaper has courage, it will be most evident on the editorial page.

All those things — brains, heart and courage — are ephemeral, impossible to measure, and impossible to teach in a journalism class.

Yet those things are the building blocks on which any news organization builds its relationship with its community, its audience. That relationship is built over many years. It’s a lot like a marriage. Seriously.