Declining membership and revenues motivate NPA to refocus its energies and priorities.

A re-examination of the role of the Newsletter Publishers Assn. in light of a decline in membership and a drop in attendance at its conferences has led to two important decisions by the NPA board:

* Refocus the annual December New York marketing conference to emphasize the role of electronic publishing and the role of the internet for newsletter publishers. The Dec. 5th to 7th meeting is now billed as "Electronic Publishing and Marketing Conference.

* Conduct a series of focus groups around the country to determine the best way that NPA can serve its members. The first two focus groups have already been held, in Washington on Sept. 14th and in Philadelphia on Sept. 22nd.

The strategic planning session, promoted by then-NPA president Helen Hoart and held back in March, has led the NPA board to see how it can better meet its members' needs.

Publishers want to see how electronic publishing and the internet fit into their operations, current NPA president James Muntz said, so "the New York conference is an answer to that demand." He predicted that the conference will be "a sell out so people should register soon.

The NYC conference is chaired by Marjorie Weiner, who promises that the program will include experienced internet executives outside the newsletter industry. (See p. 8 for fees and contact information.)

On the question of focus groups, Muntz said he hopes to hold another six sessions around the country. "We want to find out why members drop out of the association," he said. "We expect that a lot of good information will come out of these sessions that will help us to better serve our members."

The NPA, once an organization exclusively for newsletter publishers, now emphasizes that it serves "other specialized information publishers" as well.