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Inside Site Selection Magazine: Data, Deals and the Future with Ron Starner

• Angela Tuell • Season 5 • Episode 24

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Want a front-row seat to how billion-dollar location decisions actually get made? We sit down with Ron Starner, executive vice president of Conway Data and a leading voice at Site Selection magazine, to unpack the data, discipline and real-world tradeoffs behind corporate expansion and economic development.

Ron traces his path from a scrappy small-town newsroom to steering award-winning coverage for a global C-suite audience. He explains how the Conway Projects Database—built over four decades—anchors every ranking and feature, with clear thresholds for jobs, capital and square footage. No favorites, no spin, just verified projects and credible outside data. We dig into the misconceptions that dog the field, including the myth that editors choose winners, and explore why companies only invest where workers thrive and infrastructure delivers.

From the Mountain West’s rapid ascent to the Great Lakes’ industrial strengths, Florida’s Space Coast surge, and Delaware’s surprising talent magnetism, we map where capital is flowing and why. Ron also breaks down the growing pushback from NIMBY to BANANA—build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody—and what that means for communities vying for high-wage jobs. Then we look ahead: how AI is reshaping site selection modeling, redefining workforce needs and elevating demand for engineers and AI-ready technicians across sectors.

If you work in PR or economic development, you’ll hear practical guidance on pitching corporate real estate stories that matter—think outcomes, not hype, and understand the difference between commercial and corporate real estate. If you’re an operator or policymaker, you’ll learn what moves the needle: policy clarity, talent pipelines, reliable power and water, and a culture that says yes to sustainable, community-friendly investment.

Enjoy the conversation? Follow Ron on LinkedIn and subscribe to Site Selection’s Investor Watch newsletter. 

And if this sparked fresh ideas, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find the show.

Angela:

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host, Angela Toole. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. Today we're talking with Ron Starner, executive vice president of Conway Data and Site Selection magazine, one of the most respected publications in corporate real estate facility planning and economic development. For more than 25 years, Ron has written and led editorial coverage for site selection, delivering award-winning stories on business expansion, corporate investment, and the communities that make those deals possible. He also oversees Conway's custom content publishing division and has become a trusted voice in the world of corporate location strategy and economic development storytelling. Hello, Ron. How are you today?

Ron:

I'm doing great, Angela. Great to be with you.

Angela:

Yes, I'm looking forward to speaking with you. I must start with you know, you've been with Conway in Site Selection for more than two decades. What first brought you into the world of business journalism and that economic development media?

Ron:

Well, Angela, from the time I was about 12 years old, I always wanted to be a writer. And uh, you're probably gonna laugh when I tell you this. But I began my writing career writing and drawing comic books just for my own amusement and entertainment when I was 12. And I um I guess maybe a part of me hoped that I would, you know, one day be a comic book, you know, author or illustrator or whatever. But I think mainly what I was doing was really developing a passion for storytelling.

Angela:

Yeah.

Ron:

And um, so I I really knew from a young age that what I wanted to do. And uh so I studied journalism at Liberty University in Virginia, and uh, you know, but the rest, as they say, is history.

Angela:

It's history. So how did you get into this type of journalism though?

Ron:

Well, as most young Cub journalists start out, uh, you probably know this better than most, Angela. You know, you go, you you'll you'll go to anyone who will take you, right? And uh it took me a while to find my footing, but I caught on with a small community daily paper in Central Florida called the Winter Haven News Chief.

Angela:

Uh-huh.

Ron:

Uh small town, small paper. But the beauty of that, Angela, was I got to do a little bit of everything. I mean, not just going out and covering City Hall and writing stories about it, but you know, fielding phone calls in the newsroom from little old ladies who are complaining because the paper boy threw through her paper under her car and she can't get to it. So I would I would grab a fresh paper, get in my car, drive down the street, give it to the hand it to the lady in person, and go back to the shop. When you're at a small community paper, you do everything, right? You empty the waste baskets, you do everything but clean the toilets. And so uh I took pictures, so I learned how to become a photographer, I did layout and design. Um, and the interesting thing about that, Angela, is every single skill that I learned at on the job at that small paper, um, I would later put into practice in my journalism career in one form or the other. But basically, after being at the local paper for eight years, I then went to a business journal in Central Florida. It was actually called the Florida Real Estate Journal. And that's where I basically learned the ropes about commercial real estate, corporate real estate, site selection, and economic development. And it was the experience I gained there that prepared me well for site selection magazine.

Angela:

Yes, that that makes perfect sense now. So tell us a little bit more about Conway data and its relationship with Site Selection Magazine. How do the two work together?

Ron:

Well, it comes by its name, honestly, because it was founded by Mac Conway in Atlanta in the 1940s. Mac was a true visionary in every sense of that word. I mean, he was literally way ahead of his times. Um, he basically founded the profession of economic development. And in 1954, he launched a journal to chronicle the growth of economic development, both at home and abroad. Um, he called his flagship publication site selection. And here we are, nearly 72 years later. In fact, on January 1 of 2026, we will officially celebrate our 72nd anniversary as a magazine. And I'm proud to say it's still going strong and still making a difference in the world.

Angela:

Yes, and very credible. I mean, it's a it's an outlet that many turn to and trust. So that is definitely something to be proud of. What is your role like as executive vice president? I know I'm sure no two days are the same, but tell us a little bit about you know your responsibilities and role.

Ron:

So it it encompasses quite a lot. Um, I mean, I'm involved in the executive management of the company. Um we uh we we are still family owned by the Conway family. Wow, but um they actually live uh in another state. So they have basically ceded to to me and the other senior managers at the company the I guess the freedom, if you will, to run the day-to-day operations in the best interest of company ownership. And that's what we strive to do every day. Uh as far as on a besides that, um, I'm still very much involved on the editorial and production side of the magazine. Um, you'll you'll see my byline, you know, throughout the magazine. We not only publish site selection, but we also publish a series of custom content magazines for economic development clients. So these would be people who you might see, you know, run a full-page ad in the magazine, and they decide, you know what, we'd like to have a magazine of our own. And you guys seem to be pretty good at making magazines. So would you do one for us? And so now we have a whole roster of states. We have about 15 states that we either annually or biannually produce an official state economic development guide for them. Uh, among the among the clients we have are like the state of Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi. I mean, the the list goes on, but um, you kind of get get the gist of it is you know, we we've just parlayed what we do um, you know, uh regularly for our business as an opportunity to to produce custom content for clients that need that.

Angela:

Yeah, that's great. What a way to evolve and to fill a fill a need as well. So, how for those who are not super familiar, how would you describe site selection's mission and audience?

Ron:

So we are we I mean, we call ourselves, you know, the uh the official journal of corporate real estate and site selection strategy. And our mission, I guess you'd boil it down, Angela, to say is to help our readers make the best possible decisions for where and how to select the optimal locations for all of their business operations and facilities, as well as their workforce. So our target audience is the C-suite of large and growing companies, and approximately two-thirds of that uh audience, which is our controlled qualified circulation, would be senior leaders at very large manufacturing companies. So these are like your Campbell Soups of the world, you know, General Mills, Glaxo Smith Klein, Pfizer, you know, wherever you find a Fortune 500 company, you're probably gonna find multiple subscribers to site selection.

Angela:

Okay, if that makes sense. So, how do you decide which projects or stories to highlight? I'm sure a lot come your way.

Ron:

Absolutely. People like you keep us very busy because you're constantly calling me and emailing me and saying, Hey, look at me over here, write about me, cover me, give me an award, give me a ranking. You know, so I'm I'm I'm being facetious about it. Right, right. But I mean, obviously, my inbox is full every day with dozens and dozens of uh pitches. Yeah, and um, I I must say, Angela, yours are better than most. So thank you for for the job that you do. But um ultimately at the end of the day, what makes the biggest difference in what we choose to cover, Angela, is our database. So you'd ask, what's this relationship like between Conway data and site selection? Well, I'm about to answer that question. We're called Conway Data because our chief product output is the Conway Projects Database. So we are the only media company in the world that has systematically tracked, recorded, measured, quantified, and reported on uh significant corporate real estate investment activity worldwide. And we've done that for the past 40 years. This content that we have in our proprietary database um is what is used to inform our writing. There's hardly a story that we produce that isn't influenced in in some way, shape, or form by the data in our project's database. It's really the the lifeblood. Like if we had a circulation system for the company, it would be the project's database because everything that flows out of it informs our stories.

Angela:

Wow, that's great. That that gives some real insight to that as well. If you could correct one misunderstanding that people either have about that some have about site selection or even economic development in general, what would it be?

Ron:

I would have to say it would be the misperception that economic development is somehow harmful or dangerous, or you know, that progress is harmful, and that companies don't care about their communities and the people who live there. Um, I would like to set the record straight for those folks and say it is quite the opposite. Um and site selection really proves it because companies only feel safe when they invest in places that treat people well and offer good surroundings for their employees. I mean, look, at the end of the day, we write about companies that pay good living wages, that put food on the table and shelter over the heads of working families. We like to think that in some small way, you know, those of us that work at Conway Data and Site Selection Magazine, that by shining a bright light on that activity activity, that we help create more of it.

Angela:

Yes. Oh, I love that perspective. You had also mentioned um rankings a little bit. And I know the magazine's known for its influential rankings like the Governor's Cup, Top Metros. Can you share how those rankings come together and what's you know a common misconception misconception about how they're determined?

Ron:

Sure. I'd love to, and thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about them, Angela. Um as I mentioned, just like all of our stories are informed by our data, all of our rankings are based on our data, which comes from the Conway Project's database. So every so to qualify for inclusion in the database, a project must meet one of three minimal criteria. It must be a capital investment of $1 million or greater, or result in the creation of 20,000 square feet of new space or greater, or result in the creation of 50 new jobs or greater. As long as it meets one of those three thresholds, it will be included in the database. It also must be corporate-owned and occupied space. Certain leases will qualify if they meet certain criteria, but for the most part, we're talking about manufacturing plants, data centers, call centers, corporate and regional headquarters, other back office operations, and other uh operational facilities that serve the corporate interest. Okay. So for example, we don't track churches, schools, colleges and universities, institutions, um, museums. Uh, we don't track retail space. Um, we really track the facility investments of primary industries, people that are actually creating and adding value. So um, and we actually employ a full-time team of at least four researchers who literally, this is all they do, Angela. They spend the entire year scouring the planet for project data. So those numbers then form the basis of all of our rankings and all of our articles, because not only do we do we put the project the projects in there, but we have like job numbers, capital investment numbers, square footage numbers, the locations, um, and and all whether they're new or an expansion, what type of facility they are. There, there are so many data fields that we fill out, and that forms the basis of everything we do from Governor's Cup to business climate rankings to most competitive states. Now, in some of those rankings, we do supplement our own project data with other reputable outside sources, such as the Tax Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, and others that we believe to be credible, reputable, and have sound methodology uh for their uh for their criteria.

Angela:

Wow, what an undertaking. But that's that's why it's so credible, right?

Ron:

And it's important that we stick to that because you know, you had asked it, you know, do people have any, are there any common misperceptions about how our rankings are determined? And I would say that the answer to that question, Angela, is yes, there are common misperceptions. One is that there is that somehow we the editors pick our favorites that we just like to sit around, you know, we all light up cigars and we're in the back room and we're drinking bourbon. Right. We think, hey, who do we want to win top business climber this year? I don't know. I'm kind of partial to Texas. I've always wanted to be on a ranch in Texas. So why don't we just give it to Texas? I'm serious. Isn't people think that we just sit around and it's like a it's like a beauty contest, right? And nothing could be farther from the truth. I mean, we honestly, those of us who are who are the editors, the journalists doing the work at site selection, um, we we really uh do not care who wins. We don't we play no favorites, so that's why it's always based on the data. And at the end of the day, the data is what it is. Trust me, I hear all the time from people who do not win our rankings or don't score in the top 10. I'm sure, Ron, how could you do this? I thought you were my friend. Why are you stabbing me in the back? And I'm like, I'm sorry, then the data is what it is, and you know, just do better next year and maybe maybe you'll be ranked. But I I have no influence over that, right? I know and like I can't tell you why you finished 17th instead of seventh, or why you finished last instead of first, but the numbers are what they are, so sometimes it's hard to get that through the minds of people where you know, most people tend to view their state or their community in rose-colored glasses, yes, particularly if they're in economic development. So they're typically only seeing the shiny parts, and you know, they're not um as readily willing to admit publicly that things may not always be that shiny, you know, and that's okay. I mean, we all live in flogged communities, so you know you can't win them all. Um, the key is, you know, try to make positive progress. You know, if you're 37th in business climate, maybe you can make some actual policy changes at the state level to go up from 37th to 27th. Well, that's a huge improvement that shows progress, and that's how you take a uh a poor or underperforming situation and turn it around.

Angela:

That's such great advice. So you've watched economic development evolve for more than 25 years. What changes have surprised you the most? And and what are you seeing now?

Ron:

That's a great question, and it's a hard one to answer because the answer is a lot. But I'm I tried to uh in preparation for this, I boiled it down to a couple of things.

Angela:

Okay.

Ron:

One is the rise of the mountain west region as a preferred destination for economic development, particularly in the form of investment projects. When I got to site selection, honestly, most of those states were places that investors would fly over. There wasn't a lot going on in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, you know, Wyoming, Montana. And now they've become like the hottest destination in the country. And so that's that's kind of blown me away. The second thing is in terms of what surprised me the most, I would say the rising tide of NIMBYism as a roadblock to economic development, um, particularly in places that really need growth and development. And um I would say this is something not just over the past 25 years, but particularly over the past five years, uh, we we've seen NIMBYism like this rise to a whole nother level.

Angela:

For those who don't know, can you describe to us what NIMBYism is?

Ron:

Yeah, yeah, it's it's an it's an acronym for not in my backyard. So these are people that don't want, they really are opposed to progress. It goes back to my earlier point. Yeah, when I said like the companies aren't the enemy here because they're employers, they're providing good jobs, good wages, they're raising the standard of living in the community, which ultimately raises the quality of life. So we have to stop looking at the employers as the enemy, and we should start looking at them as the investors who are helping make a better tomorrow for the people who live there. The NIMBY's of the world are saying, well, just build this someplace else.

Angela:

Yeah.

Ron:

You know, and you know, if everybody says that, well, guess what happens? It's not long before nothing gets built anywhere. That leads to my new favorite acronym, which is Banana. And banana stands for build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody. And and and we're actually seeing groups like this. I actually interviewed the executive, I'm not gonna name him or his group, but I interviewed the executive director of a very influential national organization about two weeks ago on on a topic I was writing about, and he said his advice to every community in America is to say no to every single project in this particular sector. So that's that's not NIMBYism, Angela, that's bananaism, right? That's build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody, and that's where we've come to today. And that's you know, it's disappointing, but it is a challenge, it's an ongoing challenge for our subscribers, our readers, because they're the people that are building these projects and want to build them in your community. And, you know, the more they encounter opposition like this, the more they just move on to the next location that does want them. So I would say the winners in the future are gonna be those locations that embrace um sustainable, wise, community-friendly corporate investment, work with them to find creative solutions to their problems. Those are the places that are going to prosper. And the community is full of the bananas and nimbies of the world, they're gonna be left behind.

Angela:

Yes, absolutely. What are some of your favorite or most memorable stories you've done over the years?

Ron:

Well, that's another great question. I had to think about this one for a long time, but I'd have to say the one that stands out the most to me was titled The Anatomy of a Deal. It was about the decision made by Hertz Rental Cars about a decade ago to relocate its corporate headquarters from New Jersey to Fort Myers, Florida. Um, and so what I did is I deconstructed that entire deal from start to finish. I looked at every possible angle of it. I interviewed virtually everyone who had anything to do with the deal.

Angela:

Wow.

Ron:

And I would say that to this day, I think that is probably the best story that I've ever written for site selection.

Angela:

How long did it take? Do you know what I'm saying?

Ron:

I worked on it for many weeks, I mean, maybe even months, but it was it was fascinating because you know, every time you talk to a different person who had something to do with a project, you learn something new. And so it was like put stacking layer upon layer upon layer, you know, and at the end of it, it was like, wow, this really all made sense. I can see why they did this. And, you know, I looked at the impact on not just both not just both communities. There was the impact on the community that lost it, which I think was Bergen County, New Jersey. Right. There was the impact on the community that won it, which was Lee County, Florida. But I also looked at the impact on uh Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was also in the running for this project. And and and so I and I interviewed people in all three of these communities and I asked them, you know, like, why did you win or why did you lose? And they had some very insightful things to say.

Angela:

That's fantastic. I think you know, that's one of the reasons a lot of us love journalism is hearing from everyone, finding all the angles, all the sides, and then putting it out there for the readers to, you know, interpret with all of the information. And I think that's just one of the best things about journalism. Absolutely. You mentioned the American West, but are there other emerging regions? Or I don't know that they're emerging anymore, but um, or cities you believe are ones to watch for business investment right now.

Ron:

Yeah, for sure. I thought of three that I would point out for the purpose of this discussion. One is the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwest. The reason I mentioned that it has all of the essential infrastructure needed by expanding manufacturers, that being power, water, transportation, supportive communities, and especially a capable and well-trained workforce in manufacturing. The second would be the area we call the Space Coast, which is basically uh East Central Florida, stretching all the way from Melbourne, Titusville to Orlando. Right now, some of the largest companies in the world are already investing literally billions of dollars to build a base of infrastructure in that region. Not many people know about it, but they will in the years to come. Um, and then the third one is the state of Delaware. So Delaware is the second smallest state in the country.

Angela:

Yeah.

Ron:

It's also the first state in the country, um, but not many people know about it. And yet, when I recently did some digging into it, I found that it is actually growing its 25 to 44-year-old population at a rate that is much faster than the national average.

Angela:

Really?

Ron:

Delaware is so small, it only has three counties.

Angela:

Yeah.

Ron:

The southernmost county is called Sussex County, and uh that's where you have the beaches and the the coastal communities. It's absolutely beautiful.

Angela:

Yes, yes, yes.

Ron:

But um it's one of the fastest growing counties in America for that younger half of the workforce. And the reason that's important is that is the demographic cohort of the workforce that employers covet the most. It's the most highly trained, the most highly educated. That's the thing that you companies build a future around, our 25 to 44-year-olds. And so Delaware is kind of like this oasis of middle America affordability on the eastern seaboard. You know, it's only two hours from New York City and only two hours from Washington, D.C. But those are very expensive markets. The average company cannot afford to do business there, cannot afford to hire workers there, but the average company can in Delaware. So that's just a place I'd keep an eye on.

Angela:

Oh, those are great. We will definitely keep be keeping an eye on those for sure. Many of our listeners work in public relations. So, and we mentioned that a little bit before, but what's the best way for them to collaborate with you or pitch a story idea?

Ron:

Great question. Again, I would say start by getting to know our publication. Uh the start by getting to know the topics that we frequently cover and our audience, start to think like our audience would think, and then ask, what would I want to know more about if I were a regular reader of site selection? So I I think you kind of have to try to get inside the mind of a manufacturing executive or the CEO who um has operations all over the country and think, you know, what what would she or he want to know in a magazine that would help that person run their company more effectively? So I would say it's kind of, you know, start by getting to know us and the topics we write about.

Angela:

Yeah, that's great advice. And I know we've talked a little bit about misperceptions, mistakes. You know, what do you think are some common mistakes aside from not getting to know what you write about and about the outlet?

Ron:

So the biggest one is confusing commercial real estate for corporate real estate. They are really not the same thing. Commercial real estate is in business to make money from leasing and selling space.

Angela:

Right.

Ron:

Corporate real estate is all about implementing corporate strategy to yield the best possible outcomes for all facets of the company. And one of the ways they do that is by maximizing efficiencies in the overall corporate real estate portfolio.

Angela:

Okay.

Ron:

So it's sort of like the difference between the landlord and the tenant, right?

Angela:

Yeah.

Ron:

Commercial real estate really represents the landlord's interest. Corporate, corporate real estate basically are the tenants. So um commercial real estate are the sellers of space, corporate real estate are the buyers of space.

Angela:

Yes, that's a great way to explain it. Before we go, I have to ask what trends or issues or even technologies do you think will most shape site selection and economic development in the next few years?

Ron:

Well, certainly the growing influence and impact of AI on site selection decision making and corporate real estate management is probably number one. But a close second would be the ongoing impact that AI is having on the workforce at all levels of production, from the frontline to the C-suite. Um, obviously, there are certain industries where the workforce is being replaced uh by automation. And that's something to keep an eye on moving forward because it is going to ultimately impact what types of facilities are built, where they're built, and the types of people they will hire to staff them. So one of the things that we're focusing on now is um it kind of behooves locations to have an AI ready workforce. If you have a workforce that knows how to work with AI, you're probably gonna stand a better chance of landing the manufacturing projects of the future. So uh these are things that we're covering now in more in more detail, in more depth. And I and I think I think it's only gonna grow in importance as time goes on.

Angela:

On yes. Are you seeing more high-level or highly paid jobs, but less of them?

Ron:

Yeah, look, it's already impacted the legal profession.

Angela:

Yeah.

Ron:

Um, it's um it's impacted my profession. I mean, certainly publishers are not immune to this, so it's having an impact there. Um, I would say the the mid-level management uh sector is being affected the most. But certainly um on the on the assembly line, you know, automation um is advancing by leaps and bounds every year. And it doesn't mean that there won't be a need for production employees, but it does mean you need a higher skilled, a higher level of production employee, someone who's well versed in computer technology and quite frankly, AI. So um, I mean, we're we're gonna need a lot more engineers, uh, not fewer engineers moving forward. So, you know, if I were advising a young person that's trying to think about, you know, picking uh a rewarding and long-lasting career that's gonna pay well, uh, you really cannot go wrong with engineering.

Angela:

That's great. I'll have to tell my tell my children that. That is something they were considering for sure. This has been fascinating. I love all of your insight, and we can continue to read it through site selection. Uh, tell us what the best way is to connect with you online.

Ron:

So I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. So I said probably the best way if you want to follow what I have to share. And pretty much everything I share on LinkedIn comes straight from our company and our publication. Okay. So I'm you can find me I'm Ron Starner with uh Site Selection magazine on LinkedIn, pretty easy to find there. And then the other thing is um I would encourage listeners to subscribe to our free e-newsletter. It's called the Site Selection Investor Watch. It comes out every Monday and Thursday. It's it's fairly short, it's pretty concise. Like literally, you can read the whole thing in five minutes. But if you want to keep up with what's happening in corporate real estate, site selection and economic development, I would say reading the investor watch twice a week is the way to go.

Angela:

Wonderful. Thank you for your time, Ron.

Ron:

Of course. Thank you.

Angela:

That's all for this episode of Media and Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at Communications Redefined.comslash podcast. I'm your host, Angela Toole. Talk to you next time.