Local Media Association and Local Media Foundation work to reinvent business models for news by focusing on our four strategic pillars:

Here are recent articles about our work in all four strategic pillars.

New playbook and case study: Empowering Midwestern Newsrooms with Advanced Fundraising Strategies

In the spring of 2026, nine local newsrooms set out on a journey to improve their fundraising strategies. Over the next three months, they participated in the Medill-LMA Midwest Advanced Fundraising Lab, a partnership between the Local Media Association’s Lab for Journalism Funding and the Medill Local News Initiative, with additional support from Google News…

Coaching, strategy building, innovation, sustainability at core of LMA’s FIMS Lab

If you’re in local media, you never really stop learning. That’s the experience of executives from 19 local news organizations who, as members of Local Media Association’s Family and Independent Media Sustainability Lab, work collaboratively to turn insights into actions that strengthen their operations. The FIMS Lab assists small-to-midsize local media companies in the United…

10 strategies to make community listening part of your newsroom’s DNA

When news organizations listen to their communities, they build trust, understand community needs and ensure their reporting addresses real challenges. This practice is foundational for building philanthropic support for journalism and for creating community impact. The LMA Lab for Journalism Funding guides local newsrooms through a strategic approach to community listening. In the lab, newsrooms…

One year in, the Economic Opportunity Lab releases a playbook for local newsrooms

A partnership between Local Media Association, Comcast NBCUniversal, and Opportunity Insights produced a year of data-driven journalism across five U.S. regions — and a free guide for newsrooms who want to do the same. A year after its launch, the Economic Opportunity Lab has released a new playbook designed to help local newsrooms, city governments,…

Introducing NewsFuel: A smarter way to find journalism funding

For years, finding the right grant or funding opportunity for your newsroom has meant digging through scattered websites and outdated PDFs. We’ve rebuilt NewsFuel to fix that. NewsFuel is live at newsfuel.org — with updated technology and design to help you find grants, fellowships, professional trainings and other opportunities to fuel your newsroom’s mission. Whether you’re a startup looking for…

Liz White: Sustainable local journalism begins with transformation

The LMA coach and consultant discusses collaboration, diversified revenue and the importance of building upon a foundation of trusted local journalism. Local media organizations cannot build a sustainable future by standing still. That was one of the central messages LMA coach and consultant Liz White shared during a conversation with Keep It Local host Ryan…

LMA announces newsrooms in the 2026 national cohort of the Lab for Journalism Funding

Local Media Association is pleased to announce the 20 news organizations selected to participate in the 2026 national cohort of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding. The lab will help these local news organizations develop and execute strategies to fund essential local journalism via philanthropy. The six-month intensive program runs from August through February 2026.…

How podcasting extended the reach of LGBTQ+ media research

In September 2025, News is Out, the pioneering queer media collaborative, released the LGBTQ+ Media Mapping Project. This year-long effort was the brainchild of Tracy Baim, co-founder of Windy City Times and a queer media legend. The project, which was made possible thanks to support by The MacArthur Foundation, and assistance from the Craig Newmark…

Why legacy matters

“Legacy” media. We use the phrase as shorthand for “media that have failed to change with the times.” I get that. Lost, though, is another aspect of the meaning of “legacy”: what you are known for — your reputation earned over time for your work. A news organization’s legacy matters in three important ways, and…

LMA announces newsrooms in the 2026 state cohorts of the Lab for Journalism Funding

Local Media Association is pleased to announce the news organizations selected to participate in the 2026 state cohorts of the Lab for Journalism Funding, serving newsrooms across three states in New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Wyoming. This intensive, six-month program will bring the lab’s proven fundraising practices to 17 independent news organizations across these states. The…

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