The MPA is taking steps to make membership more affordable for all Maine newspapers.

The association’s Board of Directors voted in November to reduce dues by $50 for every member paper in 2013, then spend the coming months considering a new dues structure to propose at the Fall Conference in October.

The MPA, whose new fiscal year will start Jan. 1, is now preparing invoices based on members’ local open ad rates, which have been the basis for membership dues since the mid-1990s. The total for each paper will automatically be reduced by $50. Invoices will be mailed out by the end of December.

Starting in January, the board will use members’ circulation numbers to consider new formulas that make membership dues as equitable and inexpensive as possible while supporting the MPA’s services for members and advocacy for the state’s newspaper industry. If you have ideas for a new dues structure, contact the MPA at mainepressmail@gmail.com.