Arizona has plenty of publications telling you where to eat, what to wear, and which ribbon got cut this week. Cute. But we have bigger plans. Bigger stories. Bolder voices. And absolutely zero interest in playing by the same tired media playbook.
Enter The AZ Insider (AZi), Arizona’s digital news disrupter with a rebellious streak, a newsroom full of seasoned journalists and a healthy disregard for boring. We’re not here to regurgitate press releases or recycle headlines, we’re asking the questions others won’t and uncovering the stories Google DOESN’T know.
The backstory. The controversy. The unexpected connection. The government decision nobody explained. The Arizona character whose life sounds like an unbelievable Hollywood screenplay.
Because journalism doesn’t have to be boring to be legitimate. And entertainment doesn’t have to be fluff with no facts.
Enter Lynette Carrington. Yes, She Knows Everybody.
Every great newsroom needs someone who knows where the bodies are buried. Figuratively, of course. Meet Lynette Carrington, AZi’s new editorial director and Chief Creative Instigator. An Arizona native with 25 years in journalism, media, and entertainment and more than 17,000 published articles, Carrington has built a career finding stories behind the stories.
“I’m not here to play it safe or simply report the news. I’m here to stir the conversation, challenge the status quo and give Arizona something worth talking about. Journalism should spark curiosity, push boundaries and pack a punch. And that’s exactly what we intend to deliver,” says Carrington.
Her experience spans business, entertainment, celebrity interviews, and events involving Hollywood heavyweights including Zendaya, Glen Powell, Mark Hamill, James Cameron, Carrie Fisher, Henry Cavill, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jeff Goldblum, Kristin Chenoweth, and Cheech & Chong.
Yes, THAT Cheech & Chong.
From rubbing elbows with A-listers to digging up the stories hiding in plain sight, Carrington has built a career that refuses to stay in one lane. Her résumé reads like a media mashup, with stints as editor-in-chief of ItsJustMovies.com, lifestyle editor of Arizona Sports & Lifestyle Magazine, and lead writer for Geocentric Media and Scottsdale.com.
But don’t let the Hollywood connections fool you. Carrington has just as much appetite for boardrooms as she does red carpets. With a nose for business stories and an instinct for connecting the dots, she knows how to dig beyond the headlines, follow the money, uncover the players and piece together not just what happened, but why it matters, who’s pulling the strings and what happens next.
“There’s something strangely satisfying about uncovering the wonderfully weird, unexpected and offbeat side of news,” says Carrington. “The best stories aren’t always the ones making the most noise. They’re the ones nobody else thought to look for.
A Newsroom Full of Characters. And Credentials.
Emmy Award-winning journalist and AZi founder Holly Morgan didn’t set out to build another cookie-cutter newsroom. She handpicked a powerhouse of journalists, creative misfits and digital storytellers with sharp instincts, big personalities and an appetite for stories that pack a punch. And when it came to choosing her editor-in-chief, Lynette Carrington was at the top of her wish list.
“Talent is great. Experience is impressive. But work ethic? That’s everything to me,” says Morgan. “Lynette has the chops, the curiosity and the hustle to match. She’s not afraid to roll up her sleeves, chase the unconventional and get her hands dirty digging for a great story. You can’t teach that kind of drive. And I wanted her on my team.”
Meet the Insiders
- Holly Morgan, Chief Insider: An Emmy Award-winning journalist, founder, and publisher, Morgan leads AZi’s mission to shake up Arizona journalism with fearless reporting and plenty of personality.
- Lynette Carrington, Chief Creative Instigator: With 17,000-plus bylines, 25 years of experience, and Hollywood connections, Carrington has a knack for uncovering stories others miss.
- Shelly Talsma Everson, Detail Sniper: With a razor-sharp editorial eye and a gift for storytelling, Everson catches the details and makes every word count. She continues contributing to AZi while dedicating more time to sister company The PR Insiders.
- Meredith Witthar, Scoop Hunter: Witthar chases compelling personalities, fresh angles, and untold stories that deserve the spotlight.
- Jimmy Rhoades, Click Whisperer: Rhoades transforms great stories into engaging digital content that grabs attention and keeps audiences coming back.
- Sophia Bentley, Media Maven: Bentley brings creativity, personality, and digital savvy to AZi’s storytelling across platforms.
- Kristina Ortiz, Scroll Stopper: Ortiz creates striking visuals and compelling content that make audiences stop scrolling and start paying attention.
- David Bentley, Deal Maker: Bentley builds strategic relationships and business opportunities that help fuel AZi’s growth and ambitious vision.
Good Stories Don’t Always Come With A Press Release
With nearly 13,000 TikTok followers, AZi is shaking up Arizona journalism, one scroll-stopping story at a time. Think TV news meets digital magazine meets a newsroom with a personality disorder. The good kind. Mostly. We’re chasing political power plays, business shakeups, hometown heroes, celebrity curveballs and Arizona’s wonderfully weird underbelly. Not just the stories everyone’s talking about. The stories nobody knew they SHOULD be talking about.
Got a tip, a secret worth sharing or a story hiding in plain sight? Spill it. We’ll chase the facts, ask the uncomfortable questions and give everyone a fair shot at responding. We don’t manufacture drama. We uncover what others overlook.
Insider Info: If You Can Google It, We Don’t Want It.
Every AZi story comes with a little something extra. We call it Insider Info. The celebrity connection nobody saw coming. The secret menu item. The millionaire’s bizarre first job. The backstory hiding behind the headline. It’s the stuff you won’t find in a press release, a Wikipedia rabbit hole or your neighbor’s Facebook rant. Our newsroom rule? If Google already knows, keep digging.
New Digs. Bigger Dreams. Zero Chill.
AZi has officially moved into ONE Camelback in Uptown Phoenix, complete with a new studio, a growing newsroom and some seriously ambitious plans for 2027. More investigations. Bigger personalities. Unexpected interviews. Stories with substance, sass and the occasional did-they-really-just-say-that? Moment. We’re not trying to be Arizona’s biggest publication, but we’ll be the one you can’t ignore. Sign up for our weekly Hot Takes, visit theazinsider.com or email publisher@theazinsider.com.
