Liz White Notarangelo became co-chief executive officer of Local Media Association and Local Media Foundation as of January 13, 2025. In her first days on the job, she provided insights into initial priorities in the new role, as well as bright spots and concerns in the industry overall.
Tell us about when you first got involved with LMA and what you have gotten most out of the organization
More than 15 years ago when I discovered LMA, I was excited to be surrounded by innovative people who would never dream of doing things the way they had always been done. So I spent the next decade learning from LMA leaders and members about new ideas and models to try through LMA programs, Innovation Missions, conferences and connections with other members. All of the strategies helped our company remain independently owned for much longer than we ever expected so that we could continue to provide trusted local journalism to our communities. As a bonus, LMA’s team, culture and members have always helped make this work feel fun!
What made you want to take on this role?
I love this industry, our innovative colleagues, our mission and how we all help each other. As a former publisher and fifth-generation family owner of a 156-year-old local media company in Connecticut, I have a deep respect for trusted local journalism and the tremendous impact it makes on communities.
But long-term sustainability is very challenging. So now, in my next chapter, helping people in this industry feels like a calling to me because I’d like to pay it forward after having so many people help me along the way. Our industry colleagues shared innovative ideas, advice, experiences, support and anything else I needed and my family’s company needed over the year.
Also, I’m very passionate about LMA’s mission to reinvent business models for news to support a healthy democracy — so much so that I’ve been on the LMF and LMA boards for eight years and my company was an LMA member for 15 years. And because I’ve participated in lots of LMA programs, I also have first-hand experience of how impactful the work LMA is to strategic and daily operations for local media companies.
It feels like a great fit, so I’m thrilled to join the LMA team!
What are your top priorities as you start 2025?
First, listening, listening and then more listening. It’s our job to understand the evolving needs of local media organizations, so I’d like to hear directly from as many people as I can in my first year.
Second, I also plan to jump in alongside our fantastic LMA team members to help implement our innovative programs, including the Lab for Journalism Funding, Knight x LMA BloomLab, Family and Independent Media Sustainability Lab and more. Our funding partners have provided critical support for these impactful programs and we are excited to continue to work with local media companies to implement them.
Third, I think it’s important for media leaders to remember to pause and celebrate wins. LMA has always been great about sharing the success stories of media companies with the rest of the industry. Although this business is challenging, there are also lots of reasons and accomplishments to celebrate, which helps keep teams motivated to continue to do this important work for our local communities. What gets celebrated gets repeated, so I look forward to keeping those celebrations going and helping LMA continue to share success stories with the industry.
What keeps you up at night about working in local media? What gets you up in the morning?
The fact that there continues to be less local news across the country as the business model changes rapidly, and thinking about solutions to help media companies as quickly as possible.
What gets you up in the morning to work in local media in 2025?
The hard working, innovative and collaborative colleagues throughout our industry that we get to work with to fulfill our mission to reinvent business models for news.
How do you see the role LMA plays in the industry changing/developing over the next few years?
The industry and the world will continue to change rapidly, and I see LMA’s mission enduring because reinventing business models for news for the long-term sustainability of local journalism will be an ongoing need for news organizations as the amount of local news continues to decline. What will change about LMA’s role will be how we fulfill that mission, whether it be through helping news organizations build new revenue streams, build philanthropy as a pillar for sustainability, develop strategies for AI and whatever needs come next. LMA will continue to help media companies innovate and implement cutting-edge strategies to support their long-term sustainability and to help them serve their local communities.