By Lonny Cain
NINA President

Tough times force tough questions onto the agenda of trade organizations, and NINA is no exception.

One of the quandaries facing the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association is financial. We need solid membership commitment in order to keep our pledge to journalism students via scholarships and to individual members with low-cost advance-training workshops and annual conferences.

The key word is membership. We know that tough times have forced some members to ask the tough question: How important is membership in NINA?
NINA does not put out your paper every day, but we like to believe we have contributed something important to the many editors and newsroom teams that get the job done. Our organization thrives on the time and talent volunteered by professionals in Northern Illinois newsrooms. From that we can operate on a small budget but offer big rewards.

It is important to understand that our mission becomes even more important when times are tough. We know papers are tightening training budgets, cutting staff and news holes. This dents and bruises newsroom morale and quality. At times like this, it becomes more important to show you care about your newsroom and the product that gets tossed on the doorstep every day or each week.

Newsrooms are not blind to the economic needs of a newspaper. They understand, especially this year, what happens when the bottom line starts to bleed or turn a little pink. But don't be fooled. Even when times get better, our challenge to entice and capture readers will not get any easier.

So what better time is there to take a hard look at the product we create? How can we improve the writing, the design, our mission on smaller pages with less ad linage? How can we entice and train young people into a profession that's busy licking its wounds?

All these needs are primary targets for journalism organizations on all levels. It all comes down to problem-solving, brainstorming, sharing ideas that work, training and more training. This is what you get from fellow journalists, workshops and seminars. Is it not the best time to take this away?

There are good organizations in Illinois. The Illinois Press Association and Inland Press Association provide excellent services on a grander scale. However, do not overlook the role NINA can play:

• NINA covers a smaller territory but remains ready to serve many newspapers in Northern Illinois.
• We offer excellent workshops that are close to home and easily affordable, which is important even when times are not tough.
• We recognize and reward the talent of writers, photographers and editors on smaller papers.
• We are dedicated to helping the future journalist, beginners and veterans in the newsroom.
• All these benefits also are available to individuals who can join for a small annual fee if their newspaper does not belong.

Should your newspaper actively support these goals? Can NINA help your paper and your staff? What do you save by not joining and what can you gain by participating? I'd like to think the answers to these questions aren't really that tough after all.

Lonny Cain is managing editor of The Daily Times in Ottawa, Ill. Contact him at (815) 433-2000, or lonnyc@ottawadailytimes.com.