Steve Baron Joins Local Media Association As Chief Strategy Officer

The Local Media Association today named broadcasting and digital media innovator Steve Baron chief strategy officer, reporting to CEO Nancy Lane.

Baron comes to LMA with a rich history of working at the intersection of digital product, content, audience development and revenue. At Tribune Media, Baron built a network of local television websites into the nation’s No. 1 source of local news online (per comScore) and brought many groundbreaking ideas to life across web, mobile, app, and Over-The-Top video platforms.

At LMA, Baron will lead strategy for all core activities as well as Accelerate Local, the organization’s initiative to reinvent business models for news. This includes leading LMA’s experiential learning programs such as Innovation Missions, the Chief Digital Club and Chief Content Club, and overseeing the growth of Accelerate Local and related projects. He will start work with LMA in late August.

“We recognized Steve last year [2019] as LMA’s Digital News Innovator of the Year, and can’t wait to get started working on some new ideas to help publishers grow content, audience, and revenue with his help as part of the organization,” said Lane.

Baron started his career as a broadcast meteorologist and news reporter, winning an Emmy for breaking news coverage and working at many TV stations across the U.S. before pivoting to digital leadership in 2008, joining private equity-funded Local TV as VP/digital content, working with 21 TV stations in 16 cities.

Baron then joined Tribune Media as part of Tribune’s $2.73 billion purchase of Local TV, and held escalating positions at Tribune Media, eventually landing as VP/digital and head of product, responsible for all customer-facing digital strategy and operations of Tribune Media. Baron then joined Nexstar Media Group in the $6.4 billion sale of Tribune Media to Nexstar and recently left Nexstar after the successful integration of the two companies.