A summit hosted by Local Media Association in collaboration with Rebuild Local News, Medill Local News Initiative, Graham Media Group, Gannett, Real Times Media, Crain’s Detroit Business, Michigan State University, Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Michigan Press Association, Knight Foundation and many other local news outlets.

Did you know that nearly half of Michigan’s counties and more than 1 million residents have limited access to local news? And did you know that 40% of Michigan’s newspapers have vanished in the past two decades, making the state among the hardest hit in the nation in loss of local news and newspaper jobs, according to the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University.

The crisis in local news is real. This summit will focus on the impact this has on Michiganders across the state, and how corporate/business leaders, publicly elected officials, the philanthropic community, investors and others can come together to support initiatives designed to better educate and inform the citizens of Michigan.

We will be hosting this summit beginning at 3:00 on July 22 at the Detroit Athletic Club.

We expect this gathering to attract 250 of the top leaders in the state. We’ll hear from industry experts on Michigan’s local news crisis (with involvement from Michigan State University), what other states are doing from a public policy perspective (tax credits for SMBs, fellowships, and more), how the funding community is responding including Knight Foundation and how the CEOs of Gannett, Graham Media Group and Real Times Media are navigating this tumultuous downturn. This will be a bipartisan event. Both the governor and speaker of the house have been invited to speak. The goal is to increase awareness of the crisis and generate support for local media in a wide variety of ways.

We invite all local media in the state of Michigan, everyone in the funding community, those that support media, and other key stakeholders to join our effort. This is an all hands on deck moment. We’ll take what we learn from this summit in Michigan to many other states across the country. We hope Michigan will serve as a leader in combatting this crisis.

How to get involved:

  • Email lindsey.estes@localmedia.org to get added to the invite list and/or to join our committee. We meet regularly.
  • We’re also looking for funding of $35,000 to produce this event. We expect it to be funded by a mix of philanthropic and corporate organizations, and we already have some pledges. Let us know if you are interested in helping to fund it (contact Nancy.lane@localmedia.org).

Committee includes LMA/LMF board members and other key stakeholders: Tim Franklin, Senior Associate Dean, Medill School, Northwestern University, Steve Waldman, CEO, Rebuild Local News, Duc Luu, Director, Business Sustainability Grantmaking, Knight Foundation, Catherine Badalamente, CEO, Graham Media Group, Mike Reed, CEO, Gannett, Hiram Jackson, CEO, Real Times Media, Nancy Lane, CEO Emeritus, LMA, Casey Jones, President & CEO, Michigan Broadcast Association, Tracy Brown, Chief Content Officer, Chicago Public Media, Ken Doctor, CEO, Lookout Local, Larry Lee, CEO, Sacramento Observer, Kevin Lloyd, CEO, Columbus Black, Cynthia Dubois, Senior VP Product & Experience, McClatchy, Lark-Marie Anton, Chief Communications Officer, Gannett, Liz White Notarangelo, co-CEO, LMA, Judi Terzotis, CEO, Georges Media Group.