15 Top Takeaways from Media Transformation 2018

I returned from Kansas City last week mentally and physically exhausted, but also inspired by the compelling presentations, workshops, discussions and exciting LMA announcements – all focused on business models that will sustain local journalism. 

We had 170 attendees representing a diverse cross-section of the local media ecosystem. More importantly, the audience was represented by 50% women, up from 28% at last year’s event. This was made possible by a Google News Initiative sponsorship that provided 50 scholarships. 

We had so many first-time attendees at this event. It was wonderful to meet new people and to learn about their challenges and how we at LMA can help. 

It was refreshing to see newspaper, TV and radio executives working along with our valuable R&D community on common industry problems. 

The takeaways were many, here are my top 15 in no particular order:

1.    “Only 17% of leadership positions in media are held by women; we must do better” – Ginger Neal, Senior VP Advertising, San Francisco Chronicle, as she kicked off the Women in Local Media Summit

2.    “Start with a ‘stop list’ so there will be room to do innovative things. It’s intellectually dishonest to expect staff to just do more without removing nonessential tasks” - Frank Mungeam, VP Digital Audience Engagement, TEGNA (keynote presentation)

3.    We announced the creation of a Local News Resource Center funded by the Facebook Journalism Project, Instagram and CrowdTangle. Emilie Lutostanski has been hired as the director. The first task is the creation of an LMA social media manager’s club, modeled after the highly successful chief digital club. Email Lindsey Estes (lindsey.estes@localmedia.org)to nominate someone from your company. 30 spots are being funded by Facebook. 

4.    “Working with purpose and having benefits and compensation is not enough to keep your best employees if the organization’s vision is off. Permanent flexibility is a must to keep talented women at various stages in their careers.” – Brian Baker, Partner, US Digital Workforce Leader, Mercer

5.    “Women are outquoted by men by a factor of 3 to 1” – Francesca Donner, Director, Gender Initiative, The New York Times. 

6.     “A paywall itself is not a strategy. You must have a business plan & invest.” – Louis Deering, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Minneapolis Star Tribune

7.    We announced a strategic partnership with the Local Media Consortium to develop new economic opportunities and sustainable business models that support local journalism. We’ll work closer together on many initiatives and combine our 2019 fall events into one large event focused on Media Transformation. 

8.    “Be open and transparent when asking people to support your journalism/buy a membership” – Jim Brady, CEO, Spirited Media

9.    We announced the creation of a chief diversity club in partnership with the Google News Initiative. It will be led by Ryan Browning, Principal, Mercer Innovation Hub. We are looking for individuals who are charged with diversity and inclusion efforts at their company to join these bi-monthly video calls. Email Lindsey Estes (lindsey.estes@localmedia.org)to nominate someone from your company.

10.  “When someone enrolls in a newsletter from Billy Penn, that starts a 'personal clock' running for that user, and in two weeks they receive an invitation to 'become a member' of the site” – Jim Brady, CEO, Spirited Media

11.  ‘Taking the same content and shoving it onto audio platforms is not a strategy” – Steve Goldstein, CEO, Amplify Media

12.  “News matters to us as a company. Google cares deeply about journalism. We believe deeply in spreading knowledge to make life better for everyone. It’s at the heart of Google’s mission. It’s the mission of publishers and journalists. Put simply, our futures are tied.” – David Brooks, Head of News & Local Media, Global Partnerships, Google

13.  “We hire for persistence, tenacity and insatiable curiosity” – Frank Mungeam, VP Digital Audience Engagement, TEGNA (keynote address)

14.  We announced a strategic plan for diversity and inclusion with KPIs to back it up: 50% of the LMA and LMF boards will be comprised of women by 2021 (it’s 33% today); 50% of conference speakers at LMA-owned events will be women by 2020 and 6 board positions will be filled by under-represented individuals by 2021. 

15. “50% of search will be done by voice by 2020” – Steve Goldstein, CEO, Amplify Media

It was a big week for LMA with three major announcements. Our partnerships with the Google News Initiative, the Local Media Consortium and the Facebook Journalism Project will go a long way in helping us with our mission – to help local media companies discover new and sustainable business models. 

The biggest announcement of all will come in the next week. Our chairman of the board, Matt Coen, referenced it when he turned the gavel over to our new chairman, Mark Poss. A big, bold and ambitious project will be officially announced in the next 7-10 days. It involves the creation of a $48MM business model accelerator. Our board of directors has been diligently working on this concept for the past 13 months. We can’t wait to share more details. Stay tuned!