Leaders from across the local news ecosystem gathered in New York City last month for the 2026 LMA Summit, an invite-only event designed to bring together Local Media Association and Local Media Foundation boards, collaborative program participants and key industry partners.
The summit began with LMA and LMF board meetings and a leadership dinner, followed by the broader programming at Google’s New York offices.
Attendees participated in an afternoon of programming with Google focused on innovation, audience insights and technology shaping the future of local media.
This is a collection of takeaways from LMA staff:
Julia Campbell
Our week in New York was one of those reminders of why this work matters. What I loved most were the conversations — leaders from across the industry sharing ideas and talking honestly about new strategies around AI, the growth of creator content, and how we can collaborate more deeply to build stronger local media companies.
There was a real spirit of curiosity and possibility during the events. The settings made it even more special. Spending time together at Google, USA Today and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism created pretty incredible backdrops for big thinking and real connection. I left feeling energized by the ideas and grateful to be part of a community that is still pushing forward and building what comes next.
– Julia Campbell, LMA/LMF co-CEO
John M. Humenik
In this day and age of remote work, one can forget the importance of in-person connection and collaboration. Although we connect virtually with colleagues and publishers, to be in person with everyone in NYC, from those who are a part of LMA/LMF to the Google employees, should not be taken for granted. To learn more about reaching Next Gen Audiences, new Google AI Tools, protecting press freedom, and so much more helps to keep me inspired while doing this work. I am also grateful for those opportunities and for the opportunity to work in person with BloomLab publishers looking to advance their philanthropic efforts.
– John M. Humenik, LMA/LMF Chief Strategy and Operations Officer
Frank Mungeam
A top takeaway from our LMA Winter Summit was the the speed with which our audiences are changing their habits around information-seeking and news consumption; and therefore the urgency for local news outlets to adapt and evolve their practices in three key areas: the story formats we use, the methods by which we deliver news audiences, and the way in which we redefine our value proposition in an AI-answers world. We heard from a vibrant panel of disruptive news ‘creators’ who use short-form video to engage audiences in a way that feels more transparent, authentic and trustworthy to younger audiences; we saw research from the NextGenNews2 report showing that social platforms are now the primary way younger audiences discover and share news; and we saw data and tools that reinforce the way AI powered search ‘answers’ will displace news search traffic. The path ahead is not easy, but key strategies are clear: Local news outlets need to diversify their story formats and distribution strategies, and in an AI disrupted world, lean in to AI in ways that enable newsrooms to not just operate more efficiently, but to create new story formats and new levels of customer personalization, emphasizing our core strength as trusted sources, holding the powerful to account, and putting the news in context.
– Frank Mungeam, LMA/LMF Chief Innovation Officer
Nina Joss
I am constantly inspired by the work our team is doing at LMA! Last week at the summit, I had the chance to visit many different collaborative sessions to see the smart ideas coming from all of the groups, from FIMS Lab and Bloomlab to the Broadcast cohort and LatidoBeat. I loved seeing everyone brainstorm together and get excited about new ideas. The presentation on reaching next gen audiences from Jeremy Gilbert was particularly interesting, as were all of the ideas coming out of our AI Discovery Day! It’s always exciting to be in spaces with news leaders who are ready to connect, innovate and collaborate together. Thanks to the LMA leadership team for putting together this event, and to our partners at Google and CUNY for hosting us!
As a Gen Z person in the journalism field, I was particularly interested in the presentation by Jeremy Gilbert on how to reach “next gen” audiences, as well as the creator journalism panel. These presentations made me think a lot about how my peers relate to the news, and how news organizations can harness new platforms and styles of communication to reach younger audiences. According to the research, these audiences want to feel like they know or can relate to the person sharing the news with them. Wren Woodson, a creator journalist from NEWSGIRLS, said her team’s audiences want to feel like they’re hearing the news directly from a friend, so they try to use that tone. While it would be a departure from the more traditional model of journalism – where the reporter is distant and invisible – I see a huge opportunity here for news organizations to look inside their own teams and experiment with more personal forms of storytelling, like vertical video.
It was also inspiring to hear from Joel Simon and a panel of journalists about protecting press freedom and reporting on ICE and protests in their communities. My main takeaway from that session was the idea that journalists should not separate the freedom of the press from the freedom of speech. If we want to protect these liberties, we need to see them as connected, shared goals.
– Nina Joss, Project Manager, Lab for Journalism Funding
Pinay Jones
For a more personal takeaway — and something that felt like a common thread across the summit programming, including our session, the AI Discovery Day, and even some of Google’s — I’d add that AI co-work is our new reality.
We’re moving beyond simply chatting with AI to actually charging it with responsibility, and that’s where things are headed. For me, that instilled a real sense of urgency — both personally and professionally — as I think about how best to support Black, local publishers from a tech standpoint.
– Pinay Jones, Project Manager of Technology, Knight x LMA BloomLab
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