For Dallas Voice publisher and CEO Leo Cusimano, the business case for local media begins with something journalism organizations spend a lot of time talking about — but perhaps not always in the context of revenue.
Trust.
Dallas Voice has published for more than 40 years, serving the LGBTQ+ community in North Texas. Cusimano has been with the organization for 34 of those years, first as advertising director and, for the past 13 years, as publisher.
His background gives him a somewhat different perspective on running a local media company.
“I’m a publisher with a degree in marketing and experience in advertising,” Cusimano told Keep It Local host Ryan Welton during a conversation recorded at Local Media Fest 2026 in Chicago.
That business perspective has helped shape Dallas Voice’s approach to both advertising and philanthropic funding.
Don’t just sell an ad
When Dallas Voice approaches potential advertisers, Cusimano said the objective isn’t simply to close an advertising sale.
The goal is to build a relationship.
Dallas Voice examines a potential advertiser’s broader marketing efforts, including its website, target audience, networking and public relations.
The publication then looks for ways to become a marketing partner.
That can include encouraging businesses trying to reach the LGBTQ+ community to actually become active within that community — attending chamber events, networking and developing relationships.
When readers encounter the company’s advertising and then see representatives from the same business participating in community events, Cusimano said the advertising investment becomes more effective.
“People do business with people they know and trust,” he said.
Showing funders the impact
Trust and community impact also play an important role in philanthropic funding.
Cusimano is one of the founders of News Is Out and participated in the Lab for Journalism Funding, where he learned more about approaching funders, structuring an ask and demonstrating the impact an investment could have.
Dallas Voice subsequently received funding to expand into an underserved news market.
The organization hired a journalist to cover the community, distributed newspapers there, sponsored Pride organizations and other events, and developed a newsletter.
Then Dallas Voice received a deeply personal message from a reader.
Cusimano said the man described feeling isolated and struggling to the point that he had considered taking his own life. He eventually picked up a copy of Dallas Voice and found people and stories with which he could identify.
The reader told the publication it had helped save his life.
Cusimano shared the message with his staff.
“This is the why of what we do,” he told them.
For Cusimano, the story also demonstrates something funders increasingly want local media organizations to show: the tangible impact journalism can have on the communities it serves.
Teaching journalists how to sell
Cusimano now shares his sales experience with other local media organizations as a certified coach through the News Navigators program.
His lessons can be particularly valuable for small publishers and journalists who have launched their own organizations without traditional sales staffs.
His message to them is straightforward: They don’t necessarily need to transform themselves into stereotypical salespeople.
They need to learn how to build relationships.
For independent and local publishers searching for sustainable business models, that distinction could be crucial.
The product may be advertising, sponsorship or another revenue opportunity.
But the foundation of the sale is trust.
Keep It Local is a podcast from Local Media Association featuring conversations with the people building the future of sustainable local journalism.
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