(September 2026) — Local media companies are invited to apply to join the AI Growth Lab to acquire practical strategies and hands-on experience in integrating artificial intelligence into their news organizations. Led by Local Media Association in partnership with Google, this six-month initiative is designed to give newsrooms a comprehensive understanding of AI tools and capabilities, helping them implement these technologies in their organizations to drive revenue and grow their audience.
Up to 12 newsrooms will be selected for the program, which runs from November through April. The program features training sessions from Google Trainers, peer-to-peer learning and sharing and one-on-one coaching to help newsrooms go from strategy to execution.
The AI Growth Lab is designed to support a wide range of needs. Applications are welcome from both small and large organizations, and those serving underrepresented communities. Participants will be matched with peers who have similar market profiles and strategic goals to maximize program impact.
“We are excited to partner with Google to help local newsrooms transition from AI exploration to practical implementation,” said Frank Mungeam, chief innovation officer at Local Media Association. Through structured training, direct mentorship and hands-on prototyping, newsrooms will build high-impact capstone projects that solve immediate operational and editorial challenges.”
“Partnering with Local Media Association on the AI Growth Lab helps local publishers seize the opportunities of AI,” said Suzanne Perron, News Partnerships Manager, Google. “Together, we’re giving newsrooms practical tools to grow their audiences and strengthen their businesses.”
Curriculum & prototype building
Participants will receive targeted instruction on Google’s core AI tools — focusing specifically on Gemini for prompting, research and story idea generation, and Gemini Notebook for source-grounded document analysis and reporting.
During the lab, newsrooms will construct functional, off-the-shelf prototypes from a curated menu designed to address common publishing challenges:
- Editorial & Research Tools:
- Story Idea Generator: Create research assistants that search public documents (such as meeting agendas and transcripts) to identify unique story angles with direct citations.
- Style Guide Checker: Build a custom AI editing assistant trained specifically on a newsroom’s stylebook.
- Article Text-to-Speech: Convert written news stories into high-quality audio or multi-speaker podcast drafts.
- Audience & Revenue Tools:
- Interactive News Quizzes: Automatically transform published articles into playable audience-engagement quizzes.
- Audience Sentiment Analyzer: Track reader comments and organize feedback into structured audience sentiment trends.
- Revenue Campaign Emails: Ground AI models in past successful campaigns to generate on-brand subscription or donation campaign drafts.
The lab provides direct access to Google AI tools, foundational guides and live instruction to help teams deploy existing tools without needing bespoke IT product development.
Program schedule
The program is designed to work for time-challenged local news leaders.
- November: Essential AI tools for news organizations (two 90-minute sessions)
- December: Deep dive on specific AI uses for news (two 90-minute sessions)
- January, February, March: One hour per month of individualized coaching to help each newsroom develop and refine its AI implementation
- April: In-person cohort convening and capstone project presentations
How to apply
Community-based, locally-controlled news organizations producing original local journalism at least weekly are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to media organizations that demonstrate:
- Strong local leadership with deep community ties.
- A record of essential community service through high-quality local journalism.
- Leadership-level commitment to dedicate the necessary time and resources to participate in the lab.
Click here to apply. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, October 14 at 11:59pm ET.
For more information, please contact Frank Mungeam from Local Media Association at frank.mungeam@localmedia.org