Mark Cohen | America's Newspapers

We all agree that growing and engaging our own people is paramount to operational improvement. It has a direct effect on ROI. Employees will feel appreciated by learning from some of the very best. Also, they will be confident taking on the next career move with a full appreciation of all aspects of every department.

I’m proud to be heading up this important initiative. America’s Newspapers is at the forefront of leading our news media’s growth and innovation wave and to be a new team member spearheading this mentorship program is an honor. Dean, the board, members and his team, are top flight and I believe my energy, experience and positivity will complement America’s Newspapers.

This year’s program will take on a fresh, new approach that will be interactive, positive and highlight the industry’s forward progress. The objective is to make an immediate and long lasting impact for members and participants. 

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AI is impacting the local news environment at a rapid speed. It's not just about content; it's also changing the way sales and operations will be run.

Jeremy Gilbert, professor and Knight Chair in Digital Media Strategy at Medill, Northwestern University, will address the Mega-Conference on Monday morning with a look at AI's impact on local news.

Gilbert has worked with AI since 2009, when he and fellow Northwestern professors and their students created StatsMonkey, a tool to tell automatic baseball stories. During a subsequent stint at The Washington Post, Gilbert devised Heliograf to cover sports, politics and more. Now back at Northwestern as the Knight Chair in Digital Media Strategy at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Gilbert is working with the next generation of AI technologies to tell stories in new and novel ways based on user needs.

Following his talk, two additional breakout sessions will allow conference attendees to go even deeper:

AI is for More Than Content! Using AI to Enhance Operations

While the focus in the media world has been on how AI can impact content, new AI-driven applications are being introduced every day that enhance other areas of the operation. This session will introduce how AI is being used to find efficiencies in distribution, operations, HR and more with real-world examples from inside and outside the media industry.

With Rachel See, Senior Counsel, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP

AI and the Future of Local Newspapers: How One Newspaper Group is Leveraging AI to Expand Hyperlocal Reach, Enhance Reader Engagement and Unlock New Advertising Opportunities

In 2024, Trib Total Media is exploring how to harness the power of AI, couple it with their core competencies, and come up with a strategy to address the fundamental challenges facing their business. Guiding imperatives were hyper-local audience development, improved engagement, accessing new advertisers, new revenue opportunities and little to no new headcount. An endeavor that could create enormous implications for the future of their 18 printed newspapers and 35 hyper-local news sites.

Moderated by Lloyd Armbrust, CEO, OwnLocal, with: Matt Miller, CRO of TTM, and Joe Lawrence, General Counsel of TTM and CEO of MeSearch



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Carmage Walls Commentary Prize to award cash prizes honoring courageous columns and editorials

Awards for excellence in editorial writing (representing the view of the newspaper) and awards for excellence in column writing (columns written by one or more individuals) will be presented this October in Phoenix, Arizona, at the America's Newspapers Senior Leadership Conference. Win cash prizes and recognition!

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MSG Payment Systems

MSG Payment Systems provides merchant services and payment processing solutions to newspapers. Publishers need solutions that allow them to accept customer payments rapidly across a variety of channels while having access to tools that minimize fraudulent transactions in the card-not-present environment. Whether you are looking for a simple countertop terminal, online ad/subscription payments, ad/subscription software integration, or a mobile solution for your sales reps, MSG Payment Systems has you covered.

Michelle Hemping leads the Business Development team and can be reached at michelle@msgpay.com.

Effectively immediately, America's Newspapers has a new mailing address for dues, invoice payments and membership. Our new address is:

America's Newspapers

2615 Centennial Blvd., Suite 200

Tallahassee, FL 32308-0592