American Journalism Project appoints Stephen George, CEO of Louisville Public Media, as head of emerging markets
Stephen George, president and CEO of Louisville Public Media (LPM), will join the American Journalism Project in January as head of emerging markets. In this role, Stephen will lead the expansion of the American Journalism Project’s Local Philanthropy Partnerships program, which works in partnership with local civic, philanthropy and media leaders to develop ambitious, collaborative local news initiatives that make pivotal interventions in their local news sectors. Stephen’s appointment comes at an important moment for the program, which is expanding its scope to include collaborative research programs with AJP’s existing portfolio members.
To date, AJP’s Local Philanthropy Partnerships team has led projects in more than a dozen markets across the country; it is currently undertaking projects in Arizona and Central Illinois, and will take on new projects through 2025. The program is designed for civic leaders or philanthropies interested in exploring how stronger local news sectors could strengthen their communities and in engaging in research, planning and coalition-building exercises.
During his time at LPM, Stephen led the multi-year transformation of the organization, which is now a national model for how public media organizations can play a leading role as a primary source for local news. LPM greatly expanded its local journalism by assessing Louisville’s local news gaps, engaging new local and national funding partners about the role of local news in community impact, and working collaboratively with other news organizations. It also launched new collaborative efforts with public media stations and other newsrooms in the region, and delivered more community-driven, trusted local news and information for Louisville residents. Under Stephen’s leadership, LPM’s expanded newsroom increased its daily public service journalism from the organization by 50% in its first year, eclipsing all other daily sources according to an independent survey. LPM’s audience grew by more than 20% since its expansion, and the organization’s operating revenue grew by 40% during Stephen’s tenure.
Stephen is a member of the NPR Board of Directors. Prior to working at LPM, where he also served as executive editor, Stephen was editor-in-chief of the Nashville City Paper and LEO Weekly. His writing has appeared in a variety of local, state and national media. He is also active in Louisville’s nonprofit community, serving on the board of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence.
As head of emerging markets, Stephen will lead the American Journalism Project’s efforts to build coalitions of local partners to guide strategic planning processes for local news in markets across the country. This involves researching market needs, including through extensive community listening, designing strategic and sustainable philanthropic interventions, and rallying philanthropists, foundations, and civic leaders to invest in community-driven, research-informed plans for their market’s local news sector that emerge from the process. Over the last four years, this program has resulted in the investment of over $65 million of new local philanthropic capital into sustainable, high-impact plans to bolster local news ecosystems through the launch of new startups, such as the recently-announced L.A. Local News Initiative and Free Press Indiana, and investments in existing local media providers.
AJP’s Local Philanthropy Partnerships program is one of the American Journalism Project’s three program areas, which are led by Chief Investment Officer Michael Ouimette. Darrin Kerr, head of growth investments, leads our work to provide growth and venture support to our portfolio of grantees, including through growth planning, revenue generation, talent and hiring, audience development and product support. Loretta Chao, head of startup studio & local news innovation, leads the AJP Startup Studio, which facilitates the launch of new local news enterprises. We share more about our program team’s work in this blog post.