LION Publishers

02/10/2025

🚀 One of the most common questions our publisher members ask us is how to boost their SEO so more readers can easily find and access their content.

So we asked an expert, Dan Petty, director of audience strategy at ProPublica, to help us help them. He’s put together a short guide with seven SEO tips for local newsrooms. Each recommendation includes clear action steps – and rest assured, you don’t need to be a developer to master them. Check it out:

LION members and fellow local publishers can improve their SEO ranking and increase readership by following these easy-to-use guidelines.

25/09/2025

💡 We knew indie news publishers would value the chance to ask funders how grants could support their work, so we held a special session on that very topic at our recent Independent News Sustainability Summit.

And this standing-room-only session, generously sponsored by BlueLena and featuring Knight Foundation's Duc Luu, Press Forward Chicago's Tracy Baim, and Barr Foundation's Stefan Lanfer, lived up to the hype.

In this post, we're sharing answers to two of the top questions, including "When applying for a grant, what do journalists often get wrong in the process?" Read the responses below.

Standing-room-only session at the 2025 Summit revealed five tips from philanthropy officers who help decide the fate of funding proposals.

18/09/2025

‼️ Big news: The Boston-based Barr Foundation has awarded a $265,000 grant to LION to support recommendations from our Sustainability Audit for up to 40 independent newsrooms in New England.

This support will fund post-Audit assessment tools, resources, and one-on-one coaching for news outlets in CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT. It'll also give us an opportunity to track each organization’s progress and create a comprehensive, shared dashboard that will serve as a model for regional benchmarking.

This $265,000 Barr Foundation grant will support post-Audit tools and resources for up to 40 New England newsrooms.

29/08/2025

💙 Sponsor support makes the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit possible, and this year, we’ve added new features and improved existing ones that attendees can enjoy throughout the conference, thanks to our À la Carte sponsors Reynolds Journalism Institute, BlueLena, Democracy Fund, Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Spot-On, and Flying Comet Games.

From evening receptions and an early-morning wellness activity to a custom digital game, these additions will enhance our attendees’ experience and make our three days together unforgettable. Thank you, sponsors, and see you next week!

P.S. If you still haven't snagged a ticket yet, we sold out and added 10 more. Don't miss your chance to join us: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

26/08/2025

💫 We can't wait to be in St. Louis next week for the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit. And we’re thrilled to have the support of some incredible Vanguard sponsors, including the AP Fund for Journalism, Broadstreet, Jobcase, Nextdoor, Newspack, Press Forward, and Creative Circle Media Solutions.

Most will be on site with us, so attendees can book 1:1 meetings, stop by their booth, or catch up with them during and in between sessions! Last call to join us: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

13/08/2025

✨ Knight Foundation is a leading funder of journalism projects in the U.S. and has been a stalwart supporter of the Independent News Sustainability Summit since its inception.

We’re thrilled to welcome Knight back as a sponsor of our Summit, and this week, we spoke with Marisa Kwiatkowski, director for the journalism program, to learn more about how they make essential tools more accessible to independent publishers.

💡“Knight works to shore up the core of local journalism by focusing on what keeps newsrooms strong and independent. That starts with helping publishers find reliable ways to make money, whether through new revenue models, smarter business strategies, or by scaling ideas that already work in one community to others.”

A few members of Knight’s team will be with us at the Summit, but for now, read the full Q&A:

Knight invests in organizations, ideas, and products that help publishers create sustainable, tech-savvy, and audience-focused newsrooms.

07/08/2025

⭐️ With less than a month to go, fewer than 85 tickets remain for the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit, and only about 50 are still up for grabs for the LION Awards.

And now...🥁 🥁 🥁... we’re excited to reveal our impressive conference lineup and full schedule. Check it out: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/sessions/

If you don't have your ticket(s) yet, let the FOMO set in; you won't want to miss this one!

Independent News Sustainability Summit September 3-5, 2025 • St. Louis, MO Buy Tickets Sessions & Schedule About Register News Awards Sessions & Schedule Speakers Sponsors Travel & FAQ Our Summit sessions cover a variety of topics, and our goal is for independent news leaders and their teams to wa...

05/08/2025

🎤 ✨ Ever considered taking a LION Sustainability Audit? (If you’re a LION member and haven’t had one yet, quick reminder that this tool is now available to you anytime!)

In this 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit session, “A sustainability roadmap for your news business: How the Sustainability Audit drives growth for LIONs,” The Berkeley Scanner's Emilie Raguso, Johnson County Post's Jay Senter, and Shoresides.org's Rend Smith will discuss how the assessment prompted new priorities and action for their organizations.

Alongside LION’s own Andrew Rockway and Google's Chrissy Towle, they'll share the specific steps they've taken after the Audit, what they've learned, and how they've strengthened their news businesses while moving closer to sustainability. Don’t miss it: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

30/07/2025

💸 It’s no secret that independent news publishers are often pressed for time. With only so many hours in a day, it can be difficult to juggle all the demands that come with running a local newsroom.

That’s why we love to see organizations, like Newspack, that make it easier for news leaders to publish impactful journalism, grow their audiences, and ultimately, boost their revenue.

We’re happy to have them on board as a sponsor of the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit. Check out our Q&A with Kinsey Wilson, founder and head of Newspack, and discover how they helped The Journal, part of the Kansas Leadership Center, increase their weekly average revenue by 235% and their paid supporter revenue by 107%.

Newspack makes it easier for local news leaders to publish impactful journalism, grow their audiences, and ultimately, boost their revenue.

28/07/2025

🎤 ✨ Moving beyond founder leadership is an important milestone in the life of a news outlet. Doing it poorly is easy. Doing it well requires intentionality, humility, and self-awareness.

In this 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit session, "What it takes to transition (successfully!) from a founder-led news outlet to next-gen leadership," you'll learn firsthand from founders and the leaders who came after them about how to make the transition, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to set up a successor and an outlet for continued success. We can't wait to hear from The Haitian Times's Vania André and Garry Pierre-Pierre, LkldNow's Trinity Laurino and Barry Friedman, and Tiny News Collective's Amy Kovac-Ashley.

Attendees will leave with practical tips about how to know when it’s time for a change and ideas for laying the groundwork to make it happen. Register now: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

24/07/2025

🎤 ✨ Every publisher could put a major grant or financial gift to good use, but new funding also offers an opportunity to align those dollars with organizational goals that can help move your organization toward sustainability.

In our 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit opening keynote, "Leveraging transformational funding," you’ll hear firsthand how LION members used Press Forward grants to strategically grow their businesses, featuring Athens County Independent's Corinne Colbert, Conecta Arizona's Maritza L. Félix, ኢትዮጲክ - Ethiopique's Henok Mengistu, Baltimore Beat's Lisa Snowden, and Press Forward's Graham Watson-Ringo.

Join us in St. Louis this September 3-5: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

21/07/2025

🎤 ✨ In this 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit session, “Four practical ways to amplify joy and impact through community engagement,” we’ll hear from Reynolds Journalism Institute's Emily Lytle, Dallas Free Press's Keri Mitchell, The Riverside Record's Alicia Ramirez, and Planeta Venus's Claudia Yaujar-Amaro about how they experimented with innovative approaches to center their communities and involve them in news creation or distribution.

From walking tours and election zines to contests and maps, these projects helped build stronger community bonds and expanded each newsroom's reach. Plus, they were ✨ fun ✨, an element not to be underestimated!

Attendees will leave with key lessons from each short-term project and ideas for replicating these projects in their own newsrooms. Join us in St. Louis: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/