📍 Location: Squatters Pub Brewery, 147 W Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 (map)
6:00pm–8:00pm: 🍻 Welcome Drinks, sponsored by the Google News Initiative
📍 Location: Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House, 155 South Central Campus Drive,
Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (map)
8:00am–9:00am: 🥐 Breakfast
9:00am–9:15am: 🎙 Opening Remarks
David Grant, Head of Growth, Blue Engine Collaborative
Candice Fortman, Coach, Blue Engine Collaborative
Lauren Gustus, CEO, Salt Lake Tribune
9:15am–9:45am: 📰 Future-Proofing Local News the Physical-Digital Way
John Garrett, CEO & Founder, Community Impact
9:45am–10:15am: 💸 What It Takes to Sell Local Ads Like a Pro
Moderator: Ciel Hunter, Chief Development Officer, Salt Lake Tribune
Panelists...
Keith Pepper, Publisher, Rough Draft Atlanta
Ryan Johnston, Co-Founder & CEO, 6AM City
David Fitzpatrick, Chief Commercial Officer, URL Media
10:15am–10:30am: ☕️ Break
10:30am–11:00am: 📨 The Bad Newsletter Workshop: Learn Everything Right by Doing Everything Wrong
With Christopher Sopher, CEO, Letterhead
Sponsored by Letterhead
11:00am–11:30am: 🔥 Fireside Chat: The AI Opportunity for Local News Organizations
Stephanie Cohen, Chief of Strategy, Cloudflare in conversation with Lauren Gustus, CEO, Salt Lake Tribune
11:30am–1:30pm: 🍽 Lunch
1:30pm–2:00pm: 🔥 Fireside Chat: How City Cast Is Innovating in Local Revenue
David Plotz, CEO, City Cast in conversation with Candice Fortman, Blue Engine Collaborative
2:00pm–2:30pm: 👓 Building a Great Reader Revenue Strategy
Moderator: David Grant, Head of Growth, Blue Engine Collaborative
Panelists...
Will Bleakley, CEO, Midcoast Villager
Jay Allred, CEO, Source Media Properties
Claudia Laws, Director of Consumer Revenue and Subscriber Innovation, The Times-Picayune | Nola.com
2:30pm–2:45pm: ☕️ Break
2:45pm–3:15pm: A New Era of Tech in Local News
Moderator: Katie Mercer, Director of Publisher Insights & Operations, Blue Engine Collaborative
Panelists...
Ariscielle Novicio, Chief Technology Officer, New York Post
Shira T. Center, VP of Strategy & Innovation, Boston Globe
3:15pm–3:45pm: Growing with Creators
Moderator: Liz Kelly Nelson, Founder, Project C
Panelists...
Celeste LeCompte, COO, Your Local Epidemiologist
Sam Ragland, Interim Executive Director, American Press Institute
Joelle Hernandez, Director of Marketing, Local Girl Media
3:45pm–4:00pm: ☕️ Break
4:00pm–4:30pm: 💰 Investment Capital for Local News
Moderator: Duc Luu, Director, Business Sustainability Grantmaking, Knight Foundation
Panelists...
David Arriola, Director of Lending and Chief Credit Officer, NCRC’s Community Development Fund
Sara Lomax, President & CEO, WURD Radio
John Cribb, Managing Director, Cribb & Associates
4:30pm–5:00pm: What You Need To Expand Into New Territory
Moderator: Ken Doctor, Founder & CEO, Lookout Local
Panelists...
Kyle Villemain, CEO, The Assembly
Rita McNeil Danish, CEO, Signal Ohio
Isaiah Buse, Editor in Chief, Houston Herald
5:00pm–7:00pm: 🍸 Cocktail Reception
📍 Location: University Guest House & Conference Center, 110 Fort Douglas Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84113 (map)
8:00am–9:00am: 🥐 Breakfast (Granite Ballroom)
9:00am–10:00am: 💪 Press Forward Coaching Kickoff (Granite Ballroom; Press Forward grantees only)
9:00am-11:00am: 🔥 Campfires — open to all attendees:
Audience Growth (Alpine room)
Reader Revenue (Bonneville room)
Sponsorships & Ads (City Creek room)
11:00am–12:30pm: 🍽 VIP Brunch (Granite Ballroom; 🎟 ticketed)
