Google News Initiative, Local Media Consortium and Local Media Association Announce 50 Scholarships for Elevate! Conference

Under-represented candidates encouraged to apply for professional development opportunity to attend industry-leading event on innovative ideas to sustain local journalism

News provided by

Local Media Consortium

Aug 27, 2019, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Google News Initiative, the Local Media Consortium and the Local Media Association have teamed up to offer 50 scholarships to Elevate! 2019, the LMC and LMA's first joint conference for the local media industry. The gathering, focused on innovation, transformation and new business models to sustain local journalism, will take place September 17-19 in Chicago and will include a diversity workshop sponsored by the Google News Initiative.

"The media industry, and local media in particular, understands the importance of having an inclusive newsroom that reflects the diversity of its community and its readers with a wide variety of voices and experiences," said Fran Wills, CEO of the LMC. "Thanks to the support of the Google News Initiative, we are pleased to offer these scholarships for the Elevate! Conference, which we believe will be a great opportunity for participants to meet and network with others in the field as well as develop their professional skills."

The 50 scholarships will be awarded to a diverse mix of under-represented candidates based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, etc., as well as those who work at smaller media companies. Candidates must work for a media company and be nominated by their supervisor. The first 50 to apply will be granted the scholarship (a $795 value to attend the conference). Women, employees 35 years old and younger, and other under-represented individuals based on race and ethnicity are encouraged to apply. There will also be at least 15 scholarships available for people who work for small media companies or in markets outside of the top 25, regardless of their age, gender, race, etc. Candidates may apply online at this link: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4997798/Elevate-2019-Scholarship-Application.

"Reinventing business models for news is hard work. It requires input from a diverse and inclusive group of people representing all segments of the local media ecosystem," said Nancy Lane, president of the LMA. "These scholarships go a long way in helping us get there. We are very grateful to GNI for their support."

As part of an ongoing commitment to fostering diversity in the local news industry, the Local Media Consortium and Local Media Association each offered diversity scholarships made possible by the Google News Initiative at their individual meetings this past year, but Elevate! marks the first time two of the local media industry's most innovative organizations will join forces to promote innovation and diversity through workshops, presentations and keynote speeches. A diversity workshop and lunch, sponsored by the Google News Initiative, will feature a keynote address by Mekka Okereke, engineering director for growth on Google Play, one of the largest digital marketplaces on earth.

Additional workshops at the conference will focus on consumer revenue, digital advertising and marketing products, and customer experience.

About the Local Media Consortium
The Local Media Consortium delivers economic value through strategic partnerships on behalf of nearly 90 local media companies in top markets across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and includes more than 3,300 outlets. By harnessing the combined volume and scale of its members, the LMC reduces costs and increases revenue with technology and service providers like Google, Facebook, Monster and others. The aggregated LMC audience footprint spans 1 billion unique monthly visitors and its member companies serve more than 6 billion pageviews to consumers. More information is available at http://www.localmediaconsortium.com/.

About the Local Media Association
The Local Media Association is a thriving and innovative association that serves local media companies (newspapers, TV, radio, directories, digital news sites, and more) as well as research and development partners in the industry. LMA assists local media companies with the digital transition via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research and training. They are intensely focused on helping local media companies discover new and sustainable business models. Learn more at https://www.localmedia.org/.

About the Google News Initiative
The Google News Initiative is Google's effort to bring together products, partnerships, and programs to help journalism thrive in the digital age. It is focused on three key objectives: elevating quality information, evolving business models to support quality journalism, and empowering news organizations to use new technology to meet their needs.

Media contacts:

Christina Gilham, 646-868-5174
[email protected]

Kristin Brocoff, 949-400-4899
[email protected]

SOURCE Local Media Consortium