Emily Walsh

Notable work and positions

Observer Media Group - President and Publisher
Florida Press Association - Former Vice Chair
Local Media Association Foundation - Former Board Chair

Biography

Emily Walsh is president of the Observer Media Group, a family-owned multimedia company founded by her parents, Matt and Lisa Walsh, that publishes newspapers, magazines, and websites in the Sarasota-Manatee and Orlando, Florida areas, including the Longboat, Sarasota, Siesta Key, and East County Observers, the Business Observer, and YourObserver.com. She represents the fourth generation of her family in the newspaper business. Walsh joined the company in 2001 as a Black Tie photographer and went on to serve as editor of Black Tie and Arts + Entertainment, an advertising sales executive, and chief digital officer, before being named publisher of the company's Sarasota-based publications in 2016 and president of the company in 2021. She previously danced professionally with the Sarasota Ballet from 1995 to 2000. Walsh has served as vice chair of the Florida Press Association, on the board of directors of America's Newspapers, and as immediate past chair of the Local Media Association Foundation board.

Career highlights

• President, Observer Media Group Named president in 2021, continuing a fourth-generation family leadership of the company.
• Publisher, Sarasota-based Observer publications Since 2016.
• Local Media Association awards Under her earlier leadership of digital operations, YourObserver.com received first-place recognition for architecture and design (2010), website development (2011), and social media initiative (2012).