Lookout Local turns five this year — and its story offers one of the clearest roadmaps yet for rebuilding local journalism.

In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton talks with Ken Doctor, founder and CEO of Lookout Local, and Ashley Harmon, the organization’s chief of staff, about how Lookout launched during one of the most turbulent moments in modern journalism — and emerged with a sustainable business, a Pulitzer Prize, and expansion underway.

Topics include:

• Why Lookout rejected the “start small” approach
• What made covering the Santa Cruz floods a defining moment
• How community engagement and revenue work together
• Why reporter visibility matters more than ever
• How Lookout’s app, newsletters, and short-form video strengthen relationships
• Lessons learned expanding to Eugene-Springfield
• What profitability really takes in local news
• Why Lookout believes this is an unprecedented moment for local journalism

This is a candid, practical conversation about what it actually takes to build a modern community newsroom — and why optimism may be justified heading into 2026 and beyond.

⭐️ Rate & review the podcast

🔔 Follow Keep It Local for more conversations with local media leaders

Giving Tuesday strategies for newsrooms with LMA’s Kristyn Cooper

Show Notes:

On this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton sits down with Kristyn Cooper, director of fundraising initiatives at the Local Media Association, to explore how local newsrooms can make the most of Giving Tuesday. Cooper shares insights from two decades in the nonprofit world—covering how to normalize fundraising, connect storytelling to generosity, and build long-term donor relationships.

Listeners will learn:

• How Giving Tuesday evolved into a $3.6 billion global movement
• Why journalists already possess the skills to be great fundraisers
• Best practices for donor engagement and impact storytelling
• Simple ways to make giving easy and friction-free

In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton interviews Todd Handy, founder of Disruptive Impact and board member for the Local Media Association, about his new report, The SaaS-ification of Media. Handy shares how local publishers can learn from software companies by focusing on recurring revenue, retention and customer lifetime value.

Listeners will learn:

• What “SaaS-ification” means in practical terms for local media
• Why advertiser churn is the “silent killer” of sustainability
• How to run a Go-To-Market Audit to assess digital readiness
• Why every publisher needs a CRM to track renewals and growth
• How to start applying SaaS principles immediately — no matter your size

Resources Mentioned:

• The SaaS-ification of Media — Purchase via Local Media Association
• Contact Todd Handy: https://disruptiveimpact.co
• Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddjhandy/

Description:

In this episode of Keep It Local, Ryan Welton talks with Dana Piccoli, managing director of News Is Out, about the LGBTQ+ Media Mapping Project — a first-of-its-kind national effort to document where queer news outlets exist, how they’re sustaining, and what it will take to secure their future.

Mapping the Future of LGBTQ+ Media with Dana Piccoli of News Is Out

Description:

In this episode of Keep It Local, Ryan Welton talks with Dana Piccoli, managing director of News Is Out, about the LGBTQ+ Media Mapping Project — a first-of-its-kind national effort to document where queer news outlets exist, how they’re sustaining, and what it will take to secure their future.

Topics Covered:

• What inspired the LGBTQ+ Media Mapping Project
• Why 18 U.S. states have no queer media outlets
• The financial and political pressures facing LGBTQ+ publishers
• How funders can support sustainable queer journalism
• Why collaboration is fueling resilience and growth in the field

Guest:

Dana Piccoli – Managing Director, News Is Out

📍 Learn more and explore the map: newsisout.com

Host:

Ryan Welton, Director of Digital Content, Local Media Association

🎙️ Produced by Local Media Association

💌 Subscribe to Keep It Local wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton of Local Media Association sits down with John Rust, Sho Rust, and Michael Machiah to talk about PubGen.AI, an AI-powered content management system built by PubGen.AI and Rust Communications.

Learn how PubGen.ai is transforming newsrooms with AI-driven efficiency, grounded in local journalism ethics and archives. The team shares why they built the platform, how it streamlines editorial and business operations, and why they believe journalism deserves better technology.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Rust Communications decided to build a new CMS from scratch
• How PubGen.ai boosts newsroom efficiency and revenue
• What makes this platform different from other CMS options
• Why grounding AI in local archives is critical for trust and community relevance
• Real-world results: 228% digital revenue growth in 90 days

If your newsroom is exploring AI or CMS upgrades, this is a conversation you can’t miss.

Links & Resources:

• PubGen.ai: https://pubgen.ai
• Contact Sho Rust: sho@pubgen.ai
• Learn more about Local Media Association: https://localmedia.org

At a time when many local newsrooms fear artificial intelligence, The Baltimore Times is leaning in. In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton talks with Paris Brown — one of Local Media Association’s Digital Innovators of the Year — about how a 40-year-old community paper is using AI, AR and VR to serve its audience in fresh, creative ways.

Brown shares how the Times is:

• Making health coverage more accessible with narrated AI summaries and avatars.
• Creating immersive AR/VR storytelling experiences like racing alongside legendary Black cyclists.
• Building trust through partnerships with artists, technologists, and community groups.
• Exploring new AI tools (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, Zapier) to streamline workflows.
• Developing an AI model to process community-submitted stories through a custom style guide.

Why It Matters

The Baltimore Times is proving that innovation isn’t reserved for large media companies. By treating AI as a partner, not a threat, the paper shows how small publishers can lead in digital transformation while staying rooted in community trust.

🎧 Listen to learn why Paris Brown calls AI “a friend, not a threat,” and what’s next for The Baltimore Times.

Description:

Back-to-school isn’t just a moment on the calendar — it’s a major opportunity for local newsrooms to deliver value, grow audience, and drive new revenue.

In this episode of Keep It Local, Ryan Welton talks with David Arkin, founder of David Arkin Consulting, about practical, proven strategies for turning back-to-school content into audience-building, SEO-friendly, and sponsor-ready coverage.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: The Problem with School Websites

00:17 Welcome to Keep It Local Podcast

00:36 Meet David Arkin: A Journey in Journalism

01:43 David Arkin's Consulting and Projects

04:04 H Town Dads: A Successful Promotion

08:16 Back to School Strategies for Newsrooms

17:36 Monetizing Back to School Content

19:47 Conclusion and Contact Information

David shares:

• A promotion playbook that turned dads into subscribers
• The three types of back-to-school content every newsroom should create
• How AI can help speed up data, graphics, and formatting
• Sponsorship ideas that go beyond traditional “special sections”

If you're looking for utility-driven content ideas that resonate with your community and your advertisers, this episode is a must.

Links:

• 💼 David Arkin Consulting (davidarkinconsulting.com)
• ✉️ Contact David: David@davidarkinconsulting.com

In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton talks with Bethany Lane, revenue strategist at QCity Metro in Charlotte, N.C., and a Local Media Association Innovator of the Year.

Bethany shares how she helped the Black-owned digital publication grow from about 100 donors to record fundraising campaigns — all by getting comfortable with direct asks, using human-centered video and deeply understanding their audience.

They also dive into culturally specific fundraising strategies, overcoming the fear of unsubscribes and new frontiers like AI-read articles and community food festivals.

✅ Be direct — local journalism can’t survive on passive goodwill.

✅ Humor + human connection beat polished, generic pitches.

✅ Build campaigns around what your community actually values.

✅ Don’t fear unsubscribes; fear building a list of disengaged people.

✅ Think beyond stories: events, AI audio, and social experiments all fuel sustainability.