A new partnership between advertising platform Innovid and SiriusXM Media is bringing digital audio into the spotlight by integrating it into the same ad server tools used for video, display, and social media campaigns. For local media sellers — from newspapers and magazines to billboards, digital, and TV — this signals a major shift in how digital audio will be valued in ad models going forward. The collaboration promises better measurement, clearer attribution, and more trust in the value of audio advertising, especially for local markets. With new tools offering deeper insights and cross-channel consistency, digital audio is stepping into a more equal role within the ad ecosystem.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how advertising agencies and local media sales reps operate by automating routine tasks, enhancing targeting, and improving campaign performance. This beginner’s guide introduces practical, easy-to-use AI tools that help streamline content creation, email marketing, lead scoring, and social media management. By starting small—like using AI to write emails or analyze audience data—users can quickly boost efficiency and gain a competitive edge. The article also dispels common myths about AI and offers a simple roadmap for getting started, making it accessible even for non-technical professionals.

During the age of the Internet, gathering, reporting and delivering the news has become very competitive. Despite the increasing number of news sources, local TV news is still where more American adults seek information about the day’s events and the all-important weather forecast and sports headlines.

Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are surging again in 2025–2026 as homeowners sitting on record equity and ultra-low first-mortgage rates look for smarter ways to fund renovations and consolidate high-interest debt. HELOCs growth is a great opportunity for local media. Unlike the pre-2008 era, today’s growth is driven by more disciplined, prime borrowers and stricter underwriting, making HELOCs a strategic tool rather than a reckless ATM. Banks, credit unions, and fintechs are all racing to capture this demand, but local media are uniquely positioned to help them win by combining trusted storytelling with data-driven targeting of equity-rich homeowners. For local media sellers and agencies, this creates a timely opportunity to build HELOC campaigns around real-life use cases—“don’t move, improve,” credit-card cleanup, and life events—while pairing brand messaging with performance channels. Ultimately, the HELOC revival reveals a middle class trying to regain control in an anxious economy, using their homes not to splurge, but to stabilize their financial lives.

Weekly Newsletter February 23, 2026

When the history of the last 50 years is studied and analyzed hundreds of year from now, it is likely to be recognized as the first epoch of equality. Seemingly every day, stereotypes and biases about gender, age, race and sexual orientation are being rejected and being replaced by genuine efforts to treat everyone equally. Often, lost among all these seismic changes is the major transformation of the role of men.

Sales trainer Amy Franko shares highlights from a webinar she presented recently for SMM Connect on the most important metrics for sales managers to monitor. Before we dive into that, I speak with Amy about her shift from B2B sales in the tech world to starting her own sales consultancy. She talks about how she goes to market and how companies can be smarter buyers of sales training.

Video content, however it is consumed, often steals the media spotlight, touting the popularity of streaming services, watching on multiple devices and focusing on the turmoil of video viewership as it moves from legacy to Connected TV. As much as we enjoy viewing video content on mobile devices, there are limits as to where we can watch. Listening to audio content is truly a ubiquitous experience, anywhere, any time, and via multiple devices as well.

Thanksgiving weekend remains a cultural and commercial powerhouse, with 88% of U.S. adults planning to spend $127 billion despite economic uncertainty. Millennials and Gen Z lead the charge, driving omnichannel shopping behaviors that blend online convenience with in-store experiences. Consumers are highly motivated by deals, with nearly three-quarters using the weekend to stock up on essentials and 63% leveraging AI tools to find the best offers. For local media sellers and ad agencies, this is a prime opportunity to position radio as the holiday companion—trusted, local, and omnipresent—while bundling it with digital extensions for maximum reach. The big takeaway: Thanksgiving weekend isn’t just about transactions; it’s about rituals, meaning, and community—making local media the perfect bridge between brands and consumers.

Consumers plan to spend the same or more this holiday season despite financial pressures, but many feel overwhelmed by promotional noise and are abandoning purchases out of frustration. Generative AI is emerging as a “holiday helper,” giving shoppers curated recommendations and clearer choices—if retailers feed it structured, consistent content. At the same time, physical stores are reclaiming center stage as experiential hubs and omnichannel switchboards, from community-driven formats to BOPIS, returns and in-store events that build confidence and connection. For local media sellers and agencies, the opportunity is to help retailers simplify decisions, turn stores into local events, align AI and in-store promises, and ultimately sell confidence rather than just more clutter.

Digital Media and Technology, Industry Press Highlights

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Independence is a fundamental belief of Americans and more of us are declaring our independence from the traditional workplace by becoming freelancers and contract workers and seeking additional income from side hustles. It’s another significant cultural disruption of the 21st century and with implications for businesses of all sizes, consumer habits and the retail environment.

As a B2B SaaS content strategist, I‘ve found myself on the receiving end of countless cold calls, especially after signing up for industry reports. It’s always a strange experience that keeps surprising me. Just last week, after downloading a marketing automation whitepaper, my phone lit up with calls from eager software representatives.

Malicious online ads have become a leading route for malware, and the risk is rising fastest inside programmatic buying—where complex supply chains make accountability hard and bad actors easy to hide. For local media reps and agencies, the issue is immediate: when something goes wrong, clients don’t blame “adtech,” they blame the people who planned, placed, and approved the spend. The opportunity is to win renewals and trust by selling “safe reach”—and by leaning into the local publisher advantage: controlled environments, fewer intermediaries, and faster accountability.