🤝 Discover how 2026 Summit sponsor @newspack.com is helping #indienews orgs deepen their relationships with their most engaged readers, while giving them a sense of confidence and control over AI: lionpublishers.com/how-newspack...

How Newspack helps independent news publishers strengthen audience relationships in the AI era - LION Publishers

Founder and Principal Kinsey Wilson explains how their open-source platform helps newsrooms optimize their data and leverage new technology.

lionpublishers.com

🔥 One of the hottest topics we'll cover at the 2026 Summit, featuring @christopherwink.bsky.social, @vaniaandre.bsky.social, Maggie McGuire, and Prachi Singh, who are paving the way in ethical newsroom experimentation with AI. Get your ticket while they last: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

📣 💥 ‼️ The most comprehensive, up-to-date, and publicly available data on #indienews orgs is now at your fingertips… Introducing our Sustainability Audit Dashboard, an interactive, quarterly updated tool that helps you gain actionable insights into the ecosystem: lionpublishers.com/audit-dashbo...

Audit Dashboard - LION Publishers

The LION Publishers Sustainability Audit Dashboard is an interactive, real-time tool that consolidates key data from the LION Audit.

lionpublishers.com

From 💤 ➡️ 🏃: Discover how to turn your sleepy board into an active fundraising partner during this 2026 Summit session, featuring @morganbaum.bsky.social, @latanyawest.bsky.social, Jo Ellen Kaiser, and Steve Katz. Join them in San Diego this Sept. 9-11: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

💥 In our latest round of LION Sustainability Audit data analysis, we reached an exciting conclusion: We know what real progress toward sustainability looks like for news businesses. It’s called the “Sustaining” stage in our updated maturity model – check it out: lionpublishers.com/trove-of-lio...

Trove of LION Audit data reveals what a 'Sustaining' news business looks like in 2026 - LION Publishers

More than 400 local news businesses later, we’ve adjusted our maturity model to better reflect resiliency in the sector.

lionpublishers.com

🤝 Ever wanted to collab with a local creator? In this 2026 Summit session, @greenphilly.bsky.social's Julie Hancher and News Creator Corps' Maya Srikrishnan will share their experiences with viral content and creator partnerships –– check it out: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

💡 Want a better way to reach your audience and revenue goals? Discover how 2026 Summit sponsor BlueLena integrates strategy, execution, and technology into a single operating system, helping nearly two dozen LIONs unlock new avenues for sustainable growth: lionpublishers.com/how-bluelena...

How BlueLena helps independent news publishers build the systems behind sustainable audience and revenue growth - LION Publishers

BlueLena combines strategy, execution, and technology into a single operating system, helping local newsrooms unlock sustainable growth.

lionpublishers.com

✨ 🏆 ✨ It's official: 45 LION members are finalists for our 2026 LION Sustainability Awards. Our 51 volunteer judges were blown away by the quality of the submissions. (They reviewed a whopping 232!) See for yourself, and join us in San Diego to celebrate: lionpublishers.com/meet-the-45-...

Meet the 45 finalists for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards - LION Publishers

We received 232 submissions, and 58 are up for awards across 10 categories aligned with our pillars of news business sustainability.

lionpublishers.com

☁️ 💻 ☁️ For too long, #localnews entrepreneurs have launched their pubs with a website & a dream... Join @matsusentinel.bsky.social, @tinynewscollective.bsky.social, & @newsrelaynetwork.bsky.social at the 2026 Summit and bring your minimum viable product to life: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

📆 More revenue, engagement, AND impact, all from events? Sign us up! This 2026 Summit workshop will help you more closely link event goals with organizational strategy and highlight indie news orgs that are doing it well. Join us in San Diego this Sept. 9-11: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

🎯 Want to transform casual readers into a vibrant, paying community that supports your local newsroom? Of course you do! @aanpublishers.bsky.social's Todd Stauffer will teach you how to master the funnel at the 2026 Summit. Reserve your spot: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

💥 Major LION member news: @matsusentinel.bsky.social, less than 2yrs old and winner of our New Business of the Year Award just last year, bought the 80yr-old legacy newspaper, the Frontiersman. Founder Amy Bushatz pulled it off in less than a month – here's how: lionpublishers.com/how-this-lio...

How this LION in Alaska bought the hometown legacy paper in just three weeks - LION Publishers

Eight questions for LION member Amy Bushatz, whose Mat-Su Sentinel will operate the 80-year-old Frontiersman.

lionpublishers.com

💡 Small, resource-strapped newsrooms without a formal product team — this 2026 Summit session is for you. Join @lpostcollective.bsky.social's @kimbui.bsky.social and Bailey Hoskins-Orr to discover how to bridge the gap between community listening and building ✨ tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

🎤 💥 Just dropped – our first set of 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit sessions, starting off strong with this fireside chat, specifically for solopreneurs, featuring @berkeleyscanner.com's founder and EIC @emilieraguso.com and consultant @joelanane.bsky.social ✨ tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

Want to... 💵 Make more money 📈 Earn more traffic 📨 Build your newsletter subscriber lists faster New LION Sustainability Audit data shows that newsrooms that regularly engage with their audience in a few specific ways tend to do all of the above –– check it out: lionpublishers.com/lion-data-sh...

LION data shows centering audience grows publisher revenue - LION Publishers

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

lionpublishers.com

📣 🎉 🍾 HUGE congrats to @ctmirror.org on winning its first Pulitzer Prize! The award recognizes CT Mirror’s local reporting in collaboration with ProPublica. Check it out: ctmirror.org/2026/05/04/c... This is the THIRD year in a row a LION member has taken home a Pulitzer. 🌟

CT Mirror wins first Pulitzer Prize for 'On the Hook' series

The series, produced with ProPublica, focused on how CT laws had come to favor towing companies at the expense of low-income residents.

ctmirror.org

📣 🦁 Calling all LIONs with wins and progress to share (ehm, that's ALL of you!). It's the LAST DAY to apply for the Sustainability Awards. Your news business tells the stories of your community — now let your LION Awards app(s) tell the story of your news business: lionawards.awardsplatform.com

🚨 LIONs: Two big deadlines tomorrow, April 30! 🚨 ✍ 💭 🏆 🎉 Sustainability Awards: Submit your app(s) by 5 p.m. PT: lionpublishers.com/awards/ 🐥 🎟️ 🕰️ 💸 Summit early-bird tix: We've got ~15 left. This promo ends when we sell out or when the clock strikes midnight PT: lionpublishers.com/summit-2026/

LION Sustainability Awards - LION Publishers

The LION Awards recognize excellence achieved by local independent local news businesses in the U.S. and Canada.

lionpublishers.com

📣 LIONs, just t-minus SIX days until our LION Awards deadline: 5 p.m. PT on April 30. If you're unsure what to apply for, remember this: Judges aren't looking for perfection; they're looking for progress. And we know you've got wins, both big and small, to celebrate: lionawards.awardsplatform.com

✨ We're big fans of @knightfoundation.org for many reasons, but mostly for their dedication to strengthening sustainability in the local news industry. And this Q&A with Amalie Nash reveals how the org's thinking about sustainability is shifting – check it out: lionpublishers.com/knights-new-...

Knight’s new journalism VP: Sustainability depends on community demand (Q&A) - LION Publishers

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

lionpublishers.com

⌛ 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. 💸 tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

‼️ ⏰ LIONs: It's the last FULL week to apply for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards! Time really flies when you're busy running an independent news business… Take a moment to celebrate your wins, both big and small, by submitting your app(s) by 5 p.m. PT on April 30: lionpublishers.com/awards/

Happy #LocalNewsDay 🎉 📣 Today, ~1,300 newsrooms, ~200 partners, and ~15 sponsors across the country are celebrating the importance and impact of local news. Join us in the celebration by finding a local newsroom to support (there are SO many LIONs on this list 🦁): localnewsday.org/newsrooms/

Newsrooms – Local News Day

Find an independent newsroom near you!

localnewsday.org

📣 ‼️ 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: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

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. 🎩 ✨ Explore the categories and create your account today: lionpublishers.com/applications... We're rooting for you! 👏

📣 2026 Summit ticket update: We're now down to ✨ 75 ✨ deeply discounted early-bird tickets, from 120. LION members, don't miss this chance to save ~45-60% on your ticket. Secure your seat for San Diego today: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

☁️ 🧑‍💻 ✨ Interested in joining the LION Pubs team and helping us maintain and improve the tech systems that support our staff, members, and funders? If so, apply to be our new Salesforce Manager by April 10! lionpublishers.com/lion-publish...

LION Publishers is hiring a Salesforce Manager - LION Publishers

We're seeking a database systems manager to help us scale our impact. Apply by April 10 at 11 p.m. PT.

lionpublishers.com

🎟️ 2026 Summit tix are LIVE! We’ve got 120 early-bird tix for LION members at a discounted rate of $200. Regular, sliding-scale tix are also available to all. Join hundreds of your fellow indie news peers in San Diego this Sept. 9-11: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

Local independent online news entrepreneurs, experts, and enthusiasts: It’s your time to shine. ✨ We’re now accepting session proposals for the 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit, taking place 9/9-9/11 in San Diego. Learn more and submit a pitch by 4/10: lionpublishers.com/open-call-fo...

Open call for speakers, facilitators: Share your expertise at the 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit - LION Publishers

Apply to speak at LION Publishers' Independent News Sustainability Summit by submitting a Learning or Community session by April 10, 2026.

lionpublishers.com

📣 Volunteer opp: Become a judge for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards! Help us highlight the outstanding achievements of LION members across the U.S. and Canada – and gain insights into what's working in independent news. Apply by 3/20 at 5 p.m. PT: lionpublishers.com/apply-to-jud...

Apply to judge the 2026 LION Publishers Sustainability Awards - LION Publishers

LION Publishers seeks volunteers to serve as judges for the eighth annual LION Publishers Sustainability Awards.

lionpublishers.com