LION Publishers

17/07/2025

🚀 If there’s one thing we know that interests most of our members, it’s sustained audience and revenue growth. And this week, we had a blast reconnecting with 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit sponsor BlueLena to learn more about how they help publishers turn readers into loyal, long-term supporters.

Here's one impressive success story: As a participant in the BlueLena Academy, in less than a year, LION member Fredericksburg Free Press...

🔹 Grew their email list from 4,000 to over 10,000 subscribers
🔹 Achieved open rates above 46% on their welcome series
🔹 Secured nearly 1,000 individual donations, 80% of which were recurring monthly gifts

Read the Q&A with publisher success manager Mariangela Salmeron to discover how they did it, and get excited to meet members of the BlueLena team in St. Louis this September:

Want to boost your audience strategy? BlueLena’s Mariangela Salmeron shares how they’ve helped LION members master the funnel.

17/07/2025

🚀 If there’s one thing we know that interests most of our members, it’s sustained audience and revenue growth. And this week, we had a blast reconnecting with 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit sponsor BlueLena to learn more about how they help publishers turn readers into loyal, long-term supporters.

Here's one impressive success story: As a participant in the BlueLena Academy, in less than a year, LION member Fredericksburg Free Press...

🔹 Grew their email list from 4,000 to over 10,000 subscribers
🔹 Achieved open rates above 46% on their welcome series
🔹 Secured nearly 1,000 individual donations, 80% of which were recurring monthly gifts

Read the Q&A with publisher success manager Mariangela Salmeron to discover how they did it, and get excited to meet members of the BlueLena team in St. Louis this September:

Want to boost your audience strategy? BlueLena’s Mariangela Salmeron shares how they’ve helped LION members master the funnel.

14/07/2025

🎤 ✨ News entrepreneurs without experience selling advertising often don’t know where to start: What tech do they need? How much should they charge? How hard is selling anyway?

During this 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit session, “Just start somewhere: Adding ads and sponsorships to your revenue mix,” Tiny News Collective’s Erica Perel will share tips and resources from their “Homegrown Advertising” report, along with The Haitian Times' Vania André and Austin Vida's Nancy Flores, who will share their hard-earned experiences and insights.

Each attendee will leave with a copy of the report’s Getting Started checklist and a plan for personalizing it to their newsroom.

Secure your spot: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/register/

09/07/2025

💡 Here at LION, we’re big fans of the Reynolds Journalism Institute, as they've helped many of our members explore new ideas and connect with their communities in innovative, meaningful ways. We’re excited to have them as a sponsor of the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit, and this week, we had the opportunity to catch up with Kat Duncan, their director of innovation.

In this Q&A, she shares exciting trends, examples of stellar projects (shoutout to Planeta Venus!), and what's next for RJI. You can meet Kat at the 2025 Summit in St. Louis this September, but in the meantime, read the post 👇

RJI’s director of innovation, Kat Duncan, shares exciting trends, examples of stellar projects, and what’s next.

27/06/2025

🎤 ✨ Interested in forming partnerships with influencers? At the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit, you’ll have the chance to participate in a practical workshop on this hot topic, led by Technical.ly's Danya Henninger, Adriana Lacy, American Press Institute's Sam Ragland, and Ariel Zirulnick.

Drawing from an API guide and Technical.ly’s firsthand experience from two years of working with influencers, they’ll cover:

📈 Identifying the goal of your influencer collaboration and how you’ll measure success

🗺️ Mapping your influencer landscape

🔑 Answering key questions to design your influence strategy and plan

🤔 Navigating internal skepticism or ethical concerns

Get your Summit ticket today: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

26/06/2025

💥 We're thrilled to announce that 51 member organizations are finalists for the 2025 LION Sustainability Awards! Check out our list of outstanding publishers and plan to join us in St. Louis this September for the big celebration!

Winners will be announced live, in person, at the LION Awards Ceremony & Dinner on Wednesday, September 3, in St. Louis, Missouri.

23/06/2025

🎤 ✨ In today’s media landscape, many news orgs aim to be more inclusive, but genuine allyship goes beyond surface-level representation. At the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit, Luella Brien from Four Points Media, alongside Brittany Harlow and Rachael Schuit from Verified News, will share real-world examples of how newsrooms can build meaningful relationships with historically excluded communities, avoid extractive storytelling, and foster trust.

Get your ticket today: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

18/06/2025

👀 If you’re seeing this post, consider this your sign to secure your spot at the Independent News Sustainability Summit in St. Louis this September 3-5. ✨

If you haven't attended a LION Summit before, here are the top three reasons why 95 percent of last year's participants said they'd attend again:

1. The sessions: This year, we’ll feature nearly two dozen actionable educational sessions, covering topics like revenue generation, business planning, impact measurement, safety, and more.

2. The community building: Connect with hundreds of fellow news leaders during social hours, interactive workshops, and small group Table Talks.

3. The LION Awards Ceremony: Also known as the highlight of our year, we invite anyone interested in celebrating the incredible achievements of indie news entrepreneurs to join us.

Sold? Grab a ticket before we sell out! https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

13/06/2025

🎤 ✨ We’re nearly halfway through the year, a time when many publishers start to reevaluate their annual plans and contemplate what lies ahead...

If organizational change is on the horizon, don’t miss this 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit session with Santa Cruz Local's Kara Meyberg Guzman and Documented's Mazin Sidahmed.

During this real-talk chat, “The emotional labor of organizational change,” they’ll share candid insights about their experiences managing the *big feelings* that often accompany changes to roles and workflows, along with advice on how to process emotions at work and navigate difficult conversations with teammates.

Join us this September: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

09/06/2025

⏰ LAST CALL: Today is the deadline to apply for our expanded Sustainability 360 program! We’re seeking 40 LION member newsrooms to receive a year of free, expert support through one-on-one coaching, direct services, and participation in a peer cohort.

Interested? Apply by 8 p.m. ET TODAY.

​Sustainability 360 participants receive a mix of coaching, consulting, and peer support to help them reach the next stage of sustainability.

06/06/2025

🎤 ✨ With the rapid advancement of technology and the increase in online threats targeting newsrooms, it’s not easy to play digital defense these days. But there are ways to help protect your stories, sources, and yourself.

And at the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit, Anne Galloway and Stacey Peters will share ready-to-use tips to safeguard against security breaches. They’ll also discuss the best tools for system security and VPNs, plus what to do if you get hacked.

Bonus: This session will include a workshop component for those who want to identify vulnerabilities on their devices or secure their email and chat accounts.

Don’t miss it; register for the Summit today: https://lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/