Local Media Consortium, a members' group of "locally focussed" North American news media, TV and radio companies, is working to create an advertising network and single-sign-on solution for members and readers.

The group has announced a strategic initiative called NewsNext with the intention of "redefining local media's standing in the digital ecosystem" with scalable way to connect advertisers with consumers. The concept is the product of a partnership with media and advertising tech veteran Scott Cunningham (pictured).

It says NewsPassID will help publishers create a new consumer and advertising monetisation strategy, create transparency and accountability in the advertising supply chain, and address regulatory, self-regulatory and platform changes.

LMC chief executive Fran Wills says continued disintermediation of publishers' digital revenue, impending changes to advertising attribution and emerging privacy regulations highlight the challenges facing local media. "NewsNext is an important initiative aimed at leveraging scale to develop viable strategies for consumer access to news and monetisation, advertising, and technology to help local media publishers navigate current and future challenges in the digital ecosystem."

Cunningham - who founded the IAB Tech Lab and is the author of the NewsNext whitepaper - says the LMC was the "ideal consortium of assembled practitioners" to establish the NewsNext programme and architect NewsPassID. "Local news media is at a crossroads, as is its future participation in the open web," he says.

"We studied how news media aggregation alliances have been recently forged in other parts of the world. It's time journalism be given a new bill of rights here in the US and the NewsPassID solution begins that process."