2019 Borrell Award of Merit

NEW YORK, NY (March 11, 2019) – Nancy Lane, President of the Local Media Association, has been selected as the recipient of Borrell Associates’ 2019 Award of Merit for outstanding leadership and innovation in local media. The award was presented today in front of more than 300 media executives at Borrell’s 10th annual Local Online Advertising Conference at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan.

“I can think of no other person who works with such passion, consistency and energy to help transform the media industry,” said Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, in announcing the award. “There are plenty of advocates for the TV industry, for newspapers, for radio, and for other media, but Nancy advocates for all. She isn’t siloed. Her tireless work as a collaborator defines true leadership. She’s behind the scenes, securing consensus and always pushing us forward, to learn, to improve, and to transform into something better. Ten years from now, many of today’s print and broadcast companies will likely be smaller. But an important few will be bigger, and most of them will have Nancy Lane’s influence to thank for it.”

A native of Media, Pa., near Philadelphia, Lane been president of the LMA for nearly two decades. She transformed and rebranded the organization from a newspaper-only association, once called Suburban Newspapers of America, to an inclusive, innovation-focused entity. Prior to joining LMA, Lane spent 13 years in the newspaper industry serving as ad director and then publisher at newspapers in the Northeast and in St. Louis.

“I am honored and humbled to accept this award on behalf of my colleagues at LMA,” she said. “We have an amazing, mission-driven team that work hard every day to help local media companies with their transformation strategies. This is no easy task. Our Innovation Missions and Chief Digital Clubs are helping in a big way, but we must do more. Our recently announced Business Model Accelerator will focus on bold and disruptive ideas that can be profitably scaled, in turn increasing the amount of local news in communities across North America and globally.”

Lane is a graduate of Villanova University, president of its Alumni Association, and an avid sports fan, particularly for Villanova. She is a fierce competitor in two highly competitive Fantasy Football leagues. She lives in St Augustine, Florida with her fiancée, Shawn Burton.

Three themes have been common throughout her life and career: She’s driven and passionate, she’s competitive and wants to win, and she is a natural leader. Those talents earned her leadership roles very early on in her career. Her trailblazing spirit and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done is the driving force of her success, and how she has had such a profound impact on the media industry overall.

Asked which accomplishments gave her the most pride, Lane pointed to “leading LMA’s transformation from a newspaper-centric association to an umbrella organization that serves all local media. People said it couldn’t be done. Others said we were crazy. We lost some long-time newspaper members along the way who didn’t agree with our direction. Today we are close to 50/50 with newspaper and broadcast members and our revenue has grown 80% since making this move in 2013. LMA has never backed away from taking risks. It’s in our DNA and I’m mighty proud of that.”

The association serves the radio, TV, online only and print industries along with R&D members who serve that community. Its mission is to “help local media companies find new and sustainable business models,” and a key accomplishment under Lane’s tenure has been the pioneering experiential learning opportunities for its 3,000 members.

She is the 10th recipient of Borrell’s annual award.  Other recipients have included executives from A.H. Belo, Entravision Communications, Nexstar Media Group, The McClatchy Co., CBS Local Media, The E.W. Scripps Co., GateHouse Media, Fisher Communications, and Deseret Media.  Borrell issues the award annually to an executive who’s taken an innovative path to help a local media company and the industry in its digital transformation.

For more information on the awards or Borrell Associates, visit borrellassociates.com or call 757-221-6641.