(February 17, 2025) — Local Media Association is launching a second lab cohort aimed at finding paths to sustainability for family-owned and independent local media organizations, thanks to funding from Knight Foundation and Google News Initiative.
Directors of the LMA Family and Independent Media Sustainability Lab — FIMS Lab for short — and a team of expert consultants will work for at least one year with leaders of 10 family-owned and independent local media companies, immersing in business transformation strategies intended to build long-term sustainability and financial independence.
The new cohort of 10 media companies will join the original FIMS Lab cohort for joint group sessions, in-person meetings, and working sprints.
Local news media companies in the U.S. and Canada with at least $1 million annual revenue that can demonstrate they are family-owned or independently owned are encouraged to apply.
Qualified companies may include single-location/single-outlet organizations as well as family or independent media groups serving multiple locations. Also, media type does not matter: digital, print or broadcast media should qualify, as long as the companies are significantly focused on local news.
Applications are open now through 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Leading the FIMS Lab as full-time program director will be John M. Humenik. Serving as co-leads with Humenik will be Liz White Notarangelo, LMA co-chief executive officer, Julia Campbell, LMA chief business transformation officer, Jay Small, LMA co-chief executive officer and Judi Terzotis, CEO at Georges Media Group and former FIMS Lab participant, will join as a consultant and coach. The program directors will consult with Lab participants on product, process, operations, technology, revenue opportunities and general strategy.
“Family and independent media owners and leaders are deeply committed to serving their communities, but often lack resources. This lab is aimed at supporting them in transforming and evolving their businesses for long-term sustainability so they can continue to provide trusted local news and information,” said White Notarangelo, who also is a former publisher, 5th-generation media company owner and an original FIMS lab participant.
Industry-leading subject-matter experts also will serve as FIMS Lab coaches and consultants. In addition to receiving consulting support, each participating media company will receive a $10,000 stipend to conduct an experiment to grow audience or revenue.
“The strategic and collaborative aspects coupled with the focused coaching by the LMA team is a powerful combination,” Humenik said. “Lab participants will experience exceptional levels of insight and encouragement, especially at this critical time.”
FIMS Lab leaders will develop curriculum based in part on needs identified by the participating media companies. Lab focus areas will include:
- General strategic planning
- Business transformation
- Building sustainable advertising, branded content and marketing services portfolios, especially focused on digital.
- Consumer (reader) revenue and first-party data strategies.
- Rethinking local media as both product and service.
- Making the most of journalism funded by philanthropy.
- Optimizing technology application to strengthen revenue opportunities, make processes more efficient and better control expenses.
- Developing opportunities for participants to collaborate on topic-focused journalism projects with philanthropic funding.
Additionally, the FIMS Lab will provide a travel stipend for each participating media company to send its main stakeholder to an in-person, full-cohort meeting in New York in early April and Chicago, coinciding with LMA Fest in August.
The FIMS Lab team will respond to questions from prospective participants and interested parties. Please send them to john.humenik@localmedia.org.
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.
Want to know more about FIMS Lab? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
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