The voice of collegiate media and its advisers, College Media Association serves student media pros, staffs and programs with education, research and resources. CMA communicates and works with professional media organizations and education associations on the local, state and national levels.
Our Mission
College Media Association’s mission is to support student media programs and professionals through education and community.
Our History
College Media Association represents the people who advise the nation’s collegiate media newspapers, yearbooks, magazines and electronic media.
Founded in 1954 as the National Council of College Publications Advisers, CMA now has more than 600 members from coast to coast. It supports both new and veteran advisers of collegiate media programs with conventions, workshops, publications and national networking.
In 1948, Fred and Lucille Kildow, the directors of Associated Collegiate Press, initiated an organization of advisers whose students attended ACP meetings. After a few years of informal conferences, a small group of advisers met in Washington, D.C., and selected a name — the National Council of College Publications Advisers. November 19, 1955, was declared the birth date of NCCPA. Norman D. Christensen, of the University of Miami (FL), was elected the first chairman. Arthur M. “Sandy” Sanderson, ACP general manager at the University of Minnesota, was the first executive secretary-treasurer.
When Sanderson joined the University of Iowa faculty, the NCCPA headquarters moved there. It remained in Iowa City until 1964. From 1965 to 1982, John A. Boyd, of Indiana State University, served as executive director. From July 1982 until 2011, Ron Spielberger managed CMA headquarters at the University of Memphis. From 2011 – May 2015, CMA headquarters were operated under Executive Director Chris Carroll and a management team based at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. In November 2011, CMA changed its name to College Media Association to reflect its broader mission.
In June 2015, CMA moved its headquarters to New York, NY and is now managed under Executive Director James Brannigan.
CMA members maintain strong lines of communication through print and electronic media. CMA’s website and social media outlets inform members of trends and news. College Media Review, its flagship journal, is the leading academic journal on advising collegiate media, both print and electronic. The CMA list-serv gives members the opportunity to gain quick advice from colleagues and discuss breaking news and issues affecting collegiate media.