We recently connected with Ryan Leckey and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
Coming up with my 360 Marketing Agency/Production company, “Ryan Leckey Media,” was two decades in the making.
I spent around 22 years on-air in broadcast news, producing special projects, telling stories that mattered, and building a brand that became part of people’s daily routines. My career started at 18 when I (clawed), I mean walked into my first newsroom at WJAC-TV (NBC) in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. I was the youngest person there, with no seniority and very little experience. Every day felt like an audition. One mistake, and it felt like the curtain could fall.
That kind of pressure sharpens you. It taught me grit, resilience, and the ability to connect with people in a way that made them stop and listen. I did all of this while earning my undergrad degree at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Those four years on television while I was in college full-time was the best living classroom. I made $6.75 per hour in that first TV job, and frankly, I would’ve done it for free. That first TV job and the mentorship I received from the amazing team at WJAC set me up for my next chapter.
After close to five years at WJAC-TV, reporting, solo anchoring newscasts, and even doing fill-in weather, I was ready for my next move. After sending out 68 resumes and VHS tapes, yes, VHS, I had three job offers and enough rejection letters to wallpaper a small bathroom. One of those offers was at WNEP-TV (ABC), where I would spend nearly 18 years as the face of “Leckey Live,” a segment I created to highlight the “good” going on across northeastern & central Pennsylvania. I also covered massive breaking news events and helped lead award-winning special projects.
For more than two decades, I would wake the birds at 2 a.m. and go to bed nightly at 6 p.m. It’s the grind of morning television, but I loved it. Every morning, I had the privilege of bringing high-energy, community-focused stories to hundreds of thousands of people in PA. I wasn’t just covering the news; I was creating experiences that helped businesses, nonprofits, and families feel seen. Alongside that, I launched Ryan’s Run, a charity campaign that raised nearly $5 million for Allied Services. Money raised through Ryan’s Run helped kids and adults with disabilities. That project was proof that storytelling, when done with heart, can change lives in a very real way.
Then came my wake-up call: COVID. The world stopped. For the first time in decades, so did I. In that stillness, I realized something I had been ignoring. I had told nearly every story I dreamed of telling. I had produced special projects that broke through, interviewed celebrities I once idolized, and built a platform most people would envy. But I wasn’t challenged anymore. I wasn’t growing. Truthfully, I was bored.
At the same time, I could see the shift happening in real time. People weren’t consuming content the way they used to. The power was moving away from broadcast television and into digital spaces. Broadcast news audiences were, and are, declining just like newspaper readership. I knew if I wanted to keep making an impact, I had to evolve. That realization was both terrifying and exhilarating.
During this period, I sought a new challenge, so I returned to school and earned my Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership & Administrative Studies from Marywood University in Scranton, PA. My doctoral research on the effects of social media on men provided me with fresh insights into digital behavior and sharpened my expertise in algorithms and audience engagement. But even that wasn’t enough. Deep down, I knew it was time to shoot my shot and do more!
In 2022, I took the leap and launched Ryan Leckey Media near Scranton, PA. I carried with me everything I had built: years of on-air storytelling under intense deadlines, a massive network, the trust of a community, and a social media following of around 100,000. I also had a strong academic grounding to understand digital strategy inside and out. I knew how to make content stand out from the clutter, and I wanted to apply that knowledge to help brands become unmissable.
Walking away from a secure, high-profile career was not an easy decision. It felt like stepping off a cliff. But I knew I had one thing that never failed me: my work ethic. My partner Matt was also very supportive. The logic was there. If I could thrive for 24 years in the nonstop pressure of live television, I could build a business that helped others thrive in the crowded digital space.
Today, at Ryan Leckey Media, that’s exactly what we do. Thanks to my amazing team of 18, we travel and place ads all over the country to take brands from forgettable to iconic. We build campaigns that don’t just fill airtime or take up ad space, but make people stop, pay attention, and take action. Looking back, launching RLM was not just a career move. It was the bold reinvention I was meant to make and the story I was always supposed to tell.
Ryan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I spent nearly 24 years in broadcast television, waking up at 2 a.m. to tell stories that made people care. In 2022, I took that storytelling DNA and launched Ryan Leckey Media, a 360° marketing and production agency.
We help businesses, nonprofits, and national brands stop being invisible and start being unforgettable. From video production and social media management to digital ads, PR, and website design, we cut through the clutter with strategies that actually move people.
What sets us apart? We don’t do cookie-cutter. We dive deep into what makes a brand magnetic and build experiences around it. My background in TV taught me how to grab attention in seconds. My Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership adds the strategy behind it. That combo means our work doesn’t just look good, it works!
I’m most proud of the impact. We’ve helped nonprofits raise life-changing dollars, grown small businesses beyond their zip codes, and reinvented established brands. At the end of the day, Ryan Leckey Media isn’t just about making content. We’re here to take you from forgettable to iconic.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I started Ryan Leckey Media at my dining room table with nothing but a laptop and a vision. After 24 years in live TV, I learned that resilience isn’t about never falling. It’s about getting back up, pushing through rejection, and using grit to reinvent yourself. If you’re willing to bet on yourself, you can build something stronger than you ever imagined. For me, that strength starts before sunrise in the gym. The discipline of lifting and early-morning workouts fuels my focus, sharpens my creativity, and gives me the energy to show up fully for my clients and my team. The reps I put in at the barbell translate directly into the resilience and drive I bring into every project.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
The goal that drives my creative journey is simple: never settle. I always tell my team, “What we did yesterday is not good enough for today, and what we do today isn’t good enough for tomorrow.” That mindset keeps us sharp, hungry, and focused on leveling up.
For me, creativity isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about constant evolution. Audiences change, platforms change, attention spans change. If we aren’t growing, experimenting, and pushing ourselves to create something fresher, bolder, and more impactful, then we’re falling behind.
That goal, to keep raising the bar, fuels everything at Ryan Leckey Media. It pushes us to deliver campaigns that not only meet expectations but redefine them. And it ensures that every client we work with gets our absolute best, not once, but every single time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.RyanLeckeyMedia.com
- Instagram: @RyanLeckey
- Facebook: @RyanLeckey
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleckey/
- Twitter: @RyanLeckey
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealRyanLeckey
Image Credits
Ryan Leckey Media