Dear CMA members:

College Media Advisers has changed its name to College Media Association.

The change means that those who lack the title of adviser, but nevertheless advise student media, are welcomed into our organization of professionals who help students improve their media operations. It means that CMA has become more inclusive and could broaden its membership because of that inclusivity.

The name College Media Advisers implied that we might not offer services, information or importance to someone who was not an adviser. That’s simply not the case. CMA strives to serve all who work with college student media – professionals and faculty in advertising and business, broadcast, digital and editorial.

It also means CMA can keep its brand and will not have to change its logo.

For years, those who lacked the title of adviser have mentioned that they often felt as if they didn’t belong in CMA. CMA’s name change is similar to professional organizations that already have made such a change. The Radio Television News Directors Association last month became the Radio Television Digital News Association. The Associated Press Managing Editors earlier this year became the Associated Press Media Editors. Those groups changed their names to be more inclusive of members as well.

CMA’s board of directors decided, with the changing media landscape, that the time had come to make the change.

The new name will allow CMA to better define its role in the changing media world. Under the new name, we can become one voice for all college media professionals.

CMA didn’t make this move lightly. The board announced it was considering such a move and the CMA listserv was abuzz with comments about the proposed name change, the majority of them positive. At the National College Media Convention in Orlando, the CMA board took two straw polls – one at the Advisory Council meeting, the other at the membership meeting. In both cases, the votes overwhelmingly favored the name change.

The change also is not without precedent. The name College Media Advisers was adopted in the early 1980s. Before then, though, CMA was known as the National Council of College Publications Advisers.  

Our services remain the same. The focal point of those services is CMA’s new website. I invite you to visit collegemedia.org daily to find updated content, the CMA directory and even videos. By logging on, you can communicate with your peers easily and learn about upcoming conventions and events. It also contains CMA’s Code of Ethics that we all need to help us survive those tumultuous times that we face.

On the website, you can create a profile so that others will know how to contact you. You can even post a photo to allow members to see who you are. The details are available on the website’s home page.

While CMA has changed its name, its mission remains clear – to provide services to all who advise college media. Those services you know and have used in the past will not disappear. CMA hopes to offer more services to its members in the future. The board and I will listen to you and to what services you want.

We’ll just do so with a revitalized, inclusive vision – and a new name.

Thank you for your CMA membership. Let’s work together to make sure that college media continues to thrive on campuses throughout the United States and beyond.

Sincerely

David Swartzlander

CMA President