LION Publishers

13/05/2026

New LION Sustainability Audit data shows that news businesses that regularly engage with their audience in a few specific ways tend to:

💵 Make more money
📈 Earn more traffic
📨 Build their newsletter subscriber lists faster

What actions do they take? How often? And how should you get started to achieve similar results? It's all here 👇

News businesses that regularly engage with their audience make more money, earn more traffic, and boost their subscriber base faster

30/04/2026

📣 🦁 Calling all LION members with wins and progress to share (ehm, that's ALL of you!). Today's the LAST DAY to apply for the Sustainability Awards.

Your news business tells the stories of your community — now let your LION Awards application(s) tell the story of your news business. Apps close TONIGHT: https://lionawards.awardsplatform.com/

29/04/2026

🚨 LIONs: Two major deadlines approaching tomorrow, April 30! 🚨

✍ 💭 🏆 🎉 Sustainability Awards: Submit your app(s) by 5 p.m. PT. All winning entries will receive a cash prize, and finalist organizations will receive a free ticket to our celebration in San Diego: https://lionpublishers.com/awards/

🐥 🎟️ 🕰️ 💸 Summit early-bird tix: We've got about 15 left. Last call to save up to $300 on your registration. This promo ends when we sell out or the clock strikes midnight PT tomorrow: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2026/

Join hundreds of independent news leaders and supporters in San Diego from September 9-11, 2026.

24/04/2026

LIONs, just t-minus SIX days until our LION Awards deadline: 5 p.m. PT on April 30. Here are some prompts to help you start thinking about which awards to apply for:

🦁 Business of the Year: Did you make progress across your operations, finances, AND journalism this year? Are these efforts guiding you toward long-term sustainability?

🛠️ Operational Resilience: Did you create or improve policies to support your team's well-being? Make your operations more efficient? Are you actively building a more diverse and inclusive workplace?

🤑 Financial Health: Did you revamp your budget? Prioritize revenue diversity? Hire a development role?

🌿 Public Service: Did your reporting lead to real, trackable change? Did you cover issues that matter to your community?

🏘️ Community Engagement: Do you know your community's needs? Did your audience influence your coverage? Can you show the impact?

🤝 Collab of the Year: Did you partner with another org to boost your journalism, finances, or operations? Did it benefit all? Can you show how it worked?

💡 Product of the Year: Did you build or improve a product based on user feedback? Does it serve a clear community need or business goal? Can you show how it evolved over time?

We can't wait to hear about all your progress. Apply here: https://lionawards.awardsplatform.com/

23/04/2026

✨ Thrilled to have Knight Foundation back as a sponsor of our Independent News Sustainability Summit for the fourth straight year. This week, we grabbed some time with their newest executive, Amalie Nash, VP of the journalism program.

In this Q&A, she shares why Knight's 'thinking around sustainability is increasingly centered on audience demand,' a topic we're sure to cover at the upcoming conference. Check it out 👇

Amalie Nash on news businesses' need to provide 'the right information, in the right formats, on the platforms people actually use'

22/04/2026

⌛ We’re gettin’ down to the wire, folks! Only 25 early-bird Independent News Sustainability Summit tickets are still available.

LIONs, if you know you plan to join us Sept. 9-11 in San Diego, take ~5 mins today to register and save up to $300 on your ticket. 💸

https://tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

20/04/2026

‼️ ⏰ LIONs: It's the last FULL week to apply for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards! Can you believe it? Time really flies when you're busy running an independent news business…

We hope you can take a moment to celebrate your wins, both big and small, by submitting your app(s) by 5 p.m. PT on April 30. We can't wait to celebrate you at the Summit in San Diego this September! https://lionpublishers.com/awards/

08/04/2026

LIONs: We’ve got ~50 deeply discounted early-bird tickets left for our Independent News Sustainability Summit. Don’t miss this opportunity to save $175-$300 on your ticket: https://tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

If you’ve attended before, you know there’s something special about the Summit, but what exactly is that ✨ something ✨ ? Check the comments for what three 3x attendees have to say, and feel free to drop your own reason for joining us in San Diego this Sept. 9-11 👇

03/04/2026

Hey LIONs! Have any fun plans for the weekend? Here's an idea: Throw your hat in the ring for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards, which are now OPEN until April 30 at 5 p.m. PT. 🎩 ✨

All LION members are eligible and encouraged to apply. And we'll celebrate our finalists and winners at an in-person ceremony in San Diego on September 9.

Take a moment to explore the categories and create your account on our awards platform today: https://lionpublishers.com/applications-are-now-open-for-the-2026-lion-publishers-sustainability-awards/

We're rooting for you! 👏

24/03/2026

Just this past Thursday, we started selling tickets for our big annual conference, the Independent News Sustainability Summit, with 120 early-bird tickets for LIONs. We're now down to ✨ 75 ✨

If you're a LION member, don't miss this opportunity to save ~45-60% on your ticket. And if you're a non-member, regular tickets are also available.

Join hundreds of your local indie news peers and supporters in San Diego this Sept. 9-11: https://tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26