The Local Media Association podcast, “Keep It Local,” debuted this year, but we have enough episodes in the can to have a good idea of which topics resonated most with you.

It’s no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability topped that list.

To decide which episodes were the “biggest,” we looked at listens and combined them with YouTube video views. These three stood out, and they’re in no particular order:

How newsrooms can win on Giving Tuesday — and keep the momentum all year long

Local newsrooms have a unique opportunity this year to turn community trust into tangible support on Giving Tuesday, the global day of generosity that follows Thanksgiving.

In this episode of the Keep It Local podcast, Local Media Association Director of Fundraising Initiatives Kristyn Cooper said Giving Tuesday represents “a day dedicated to giving for community and collective impact.”

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3AtDhjwvlowLeIQs52HiWG
🎧 Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-newsrooms-can-win-on-giving-tuesday-and-keep/id1808196993?i=1000736177522
🎧 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmTdLhZ4Zd4

Special link: LMA / LMF links for Giving Tuesday 2025

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AI meets local news: Rust Communications’ PubGen.AI CMS promises efficiency and revenue growth

On this episode of Keep It Local, Local Media Association’s Ryan Welton spoke with Jon Rust, president of Rust Communications, Sho Rust, CEO of PubGen.AI, and Michael Machiah, co-founder, about the company’s push to bring artificial intelligence into the heart of newsroom operations.

The Rust family, publishers of the Southeast Missourian and 14 other newspapers, partnered with PubGen.AI to create an AI-powered content management system designed specifically for journalism.

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5nNjqMhwtby7tpnYcom39O
🎧 Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-pubgen-ai-is-reinventing-the-newsroom-cms-with-ai/id1808196993?i=1000728955563
🎧 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjcQc93xFWM

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Why The Baltimore Times sees AI as a friend, not a threat

At a time when many newsrooms fear artificial intelligence, The Baltimore Times is leaning in. Led by Local Media Association Digital Innovator of the Year Paris Brown, the publication is proving how small, community-focused outlets can use AI, AR and VR to extend their reach, deepen trust and better serve audiences.

On this episode of the Keep It Local podcast, hosted by the Local Media Association, Brown explained why the 40-year-old paper views AI as a partner for innovation rather than a replacement for journalists.

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1qmxxDqRyC1DCLj2SWYP37
🎧 Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-the-baltimore-times-uses-ai-to-build-trust/id1808196993?i=1000724594524
🎧 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72OdRMywkKE

Editor’s note: If you listen to “Keep It Local,” we’d love to hear from you. Your 5-star reviews of the podcast help it get discovered by other newsrooms — and if you’d like to be a guest on a future episode, we’d love to hear from you, too.