Lee Enterprises Selects AWS as its Preferred Cloud Provider to Modernize Infrastructure and Develop Generative AI Platforms

DAVENPORT, Iowa, Dec. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lee Enterprises, a leading provider of local news, information, and advertising across 73 markets in the United States, today announced that it has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its Preferred Cloud Provider to modernize its cloud infrastructure and accelerate the development of generative AI (GenAI) platforms. By going all-in on AWS, Lee Enterprises is advancing its digital transformation strategy to enhance subscriber experiences and advertising services through cutting-edge technologies.

Lee Enterprises’ work with AWS focuses on two key initiatives: modernizing the company’s cloud infrastructure to achieve greater scalability, flexibility, and speed, as well as developing innovative GenAI applications leveraging AWS services. This includes Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service that offers developers access to high-performing models from leading AI companies through a single API, and Amazon Redshift, a fast, fully managed cloud data warehouse that makes it simple and cost-effective to analyze all of a company’s data. Additionally, Lee will use Amazon Nova foundation models, a new generation of state-of-the-art (SOTA) foundation models (FMs) that deliver frontier intelligence and industry leading price-performance, available exclusively on Amazon Bedrock. These advancements will enable Lee to deliver hyper-local, hyper-personalized news and information services tailored to individual consumer and advertiser needs, while enhancing its ability to analyze and act on critical data insights.

“Working with AWS allows us to reimagine the future of local news and advertising,” said Kevin Mowbray, Chief Executive Officer at Lee Enterprises. “AWS’s proven leadership in cloud infrastructure and generative AI, including Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Nova foundation models, gives us the tools to transform our business at scale. This collaboration enables us to deliver personalized content and innovative solutions that empower subscribers to live more connected lives within their communities, while offering advertisers unparalleled opportunities to reach local audiences effectively.”

Cloud Modernization to Drive Scale, Speed, and Simplicity

Leveraging AWS positions Lee Enterprises to accelerate its journey to the cloud, simplifying operations while enabling faster delivery of new products and services. AWS’s extensive on-demand infrastructure offers the flexibility and scalability needed to support Lee Enterprises’ growing subscriber base and evolving advertising ecosystem.

“With AWS, we’re building a modern technology backbone that enhances our ability to innovate and meet the needs of our audiences and advertisers,” said Les Ottolenghi, Chief Transformation and Commercial Officer at Lee Enterprises. “Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Redshift are essential to our GenAI platform strategy, allowing us to unlock the power of data and large language models (LLMs) to deliver dynamic, personalized content experiences at scale.”

Generative AI to Revolutionize News and Advertising

Amazon Bedrock will serve as the foundation for Lee Enterprises’ GenAI initiatives, enabling the development of applications powered by a range of large language models including Amazon Nova foundation models for multi-modal content generation. These solutions will curate content for subscribers, empower creators with innovative tools, and provide advertisers with enhanced targeting capabilities, driving deeper community engagement.

Key to this transformation is Amazon Redshift, which integrates seamlessly with Bedrock to deliver robust data analytics capabilities. Together, these tools will enable Lee Enterprises to create dynamic, AI-powered news and media platforms that provide actionable insights for subscribers and advertisers alike.

Accelerating Digital Transformation

Lee Enterprises is moving quickly in the delivery of new GenAI products and services, with the first offerings expected within the next year. These innovations are part of a broader multi-year digital transformation initiative, positioning Lee Enterprises as a leader in leveraging technology to redefine the local news media industry.

Through its work with AWS, Lee Enterprises is shaping the future of local news and advertising by combining AWS’s world-class cloud and AI technologies with Lee’s deep expertise in local media.

About Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a trusted local news provider serving 73 markets in 26 states. With a dedication to quality journalism and digital innovation, Lee delivers valuable content and advertising solutions to its communities and partners. For more information, visit www.lee.net.

Contact:
IR@lee.net 
(563) 383-2100