Thatcher+Co. was recently retained by the Local Media Consortium to bolster the organization’s positioning among advertising, tech and media thought leaders to highlight their commitment to furthering the sustainability of local journalism.

In addition to securing briefings; speaking engagements; contributed content opportunities; and digital and social media coverage on behalf of the LMC, Thatcher+Co. has been instrumental in counseling the LMC on a tough and timely topic facing the media industry today – fake news.

In response to unrelenting negative stories from the administration on the media and fake news, we worked closely with Rusty Coats, Executive Director of the LMC, as well as several board members such as Christian Hendricks from McClatchy and partners such as Google to craft the Local Media Consortium Members and Partners Release Position Statement on So-Called ‘Fake News’.

We further handled related contributed content, embargoed briefings, social media posts and industry outreach to articulate the LMC’s position on the matter.

Executed a campaign that broadened the LMC’s exposure among thought leaders such as the deans of leading journalism schools and associations (i.e. Mizzou School of Journalism, Associated Press Media Editors) who had previously confused the LMC with the Local Media Association.

Secured media coverage among trade, business and consumer interest outlets including USA Today, NetNewsCheck, Politico and several regional business journals with a readership / viewership / listenership exceeding 3 million. Expanded social reach with new followers and re-tweets from influencers such as Margaret Sullivan, media columnist for the Washington Post, and leading journalism professors. This also included securing a contributed content piece in MediaPost.

Furthered thought leadership with interviews for Mr. Coats with several media, including Politico Media’s MediaShift podcast and Search Engine Marketing.

Broadened the LMC’s relationships with member editorial staffs by providing banners, headlines and abbreviated statements for use in editorials – ultimately garnering coverage from two dozen+ outlets (i.e. Lebanon Democrat, LA Daily News).