As part of a five-year succession plan announced last year, Local Media Association has promoted Jay Small from chief operating officer to co-chief executive officer. Small will lead the organization alongside current CEO Nancy Lane.
“We are bullish on the co-CEO model as the right choice for LMA and Local Media Foundation, and Jay could not be a better fit,” said Lane. “We worked with our business consultant and executive committee throughout last year to arrive at this point. Jay’s steady and thoughtful leadership style will serve us well.”
“LMA has been my life for the last 23 years and that’s why this succession plan was so important to me. We have been open and transparent about the process and will continue to do so,” Lane added.
As part of the plan, Lane will work half-time in this role, primarily focusing on fundraising to support the mission of helping local media companies reinvent business models for news through programs and labs such as the Knight x LMA BloomLab, Lab for Journalism Funding, Family and Independent Media Sustainability Lab, Branded Content Project and industry collaboratives. Lane will continue to lead Word In Black, which just incorporated as a public benefit company after being incubated inside of LMF since late 2020.
Small will oversee day-to-day operations including the projects listed above along with LMA conferences and events, member services, Digital Club and more. Julia Campbell will remain chief business transformation officer but will take on more operational duties. Frank Mungeam continues as chief innovation officer and Lindsey Estes as chief of staff. Over the next few years, the organization expects to continue with a co-CEO model when Lane transitions to a role as a senior advisor.
“We’re incredibly proud of the thought and effort that went into this succession plan,” said Catherine Badalamente, chair of the 2023 LMA board that oversaw the process. “Jay is the perfect choice to lead LMA as co-CEO, and we’re excited for this next chapter of his career. We’re also grateful to Nancy for suggesting we start this process five years out. And we’re very pleased that she will continue to be part of the leadership of LMA for the next few years.”
Co-CEO models are more common in the nonprofit world than in the for-profit sector. The board of directors believes this model will serve the organization well. The skill sets needed to run a trade association, charged with the business health of its members, are quite different from running a charitable foundation. The co-leadership model ensures that the skill sets needed to run both are in place.
“Our organization exists to help reinvent business models for news. It’s a big challenge but we can get there. We are an industry of innovators and doers who know what’s at stake,” said Small. “I’m eager and ready to help find paths to sustain essential local journalism. And I’m honored and thankful that the board and Nancy would give me the opportunity.”
The new structure went into effect on January 1, 2024.
“Our business consultant, Dr. Jennifer Madden, was incredibly helpful in this process,” said Badalamente. “We took the time to get it right. That’s a luxury many organizations do not have and why succession planning is so important.”
About Local Media Association/Local Media Foundation
Local Media Association brings all media together to share, network, collaborate and more. More than 3,000 newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, digital pure-plays, and research and development partners engage with LMA as members or constituents of our programs. As a 501(c)(6) trade association, LMA is focused on the business side of local media. Its programs and labs focus on revenue growth and new business models. LMA helps local media companies develop their strategies via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research and training.
Local Media Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable trust, serves as the innovation and transformation affiliate of LMA. Incorporating our four strategic pillars — business transformation, journalism funded by philanthropy, industry collaboration, and sustainability for publishers of color — LMF helps provide local media companies the strategies and resources for meaningful innovation and impactful journalism projects.
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