👏 Meet the big winners of the 2024 LION Awards
ICYMI, we got to honor 18 independent news businesses on Thursday, Sept. 5, as the winners of the 2024 LION Sustainability Awards during the sold-out Independent News Sustainability Summit in Chicago.
From 200 entries, we recognized 56 finalists from 40 organizations. And this past Thursday evening, in a packed room of almost 300 supporters of local news, emcees Anita Li and Lisa Heyamoto, with the help of several sponsors, revealed the 21 winning entries.
Each winning entry received at least $2,500, making the total awarded nearly $60,000.
Read our full post to learn more about these outstanding publications and their work. Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2024 LION Awards! 🎉
– Hayley Milloy, LION’s marketing manager
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11 resources for independent publishers
1. Defend democracy. Sign up to participate in Democracy Day 2024, a national initiative designed to shed light on the state of democracy in the U.S. (Democracy Day is on Sept. 15)
2. Spot fakes with ease. Attend the Center for Community Media’s virtual training on identifying fake AI-generated images and videos. (Sept. 19)
3. Shine a light on your state’s press freedom. Reporters Without Borders is conducting a study on press freedom and seeking input from media experts in MI, PA, NV, OH, FL, and AZ. If you’re a working journalist, media lawyer, academic, etc., from one of these states, complete this survey. (Deadline: Sept. 22)
4. Get travel support. The Neal Peirce Foundation, which supports journalism on city solutions, is offering travel grants of up to $1,500 to cover under-told stories about ways to make cities and their metro regions work better. (Apply by Oct. 7)
5. Design engaging and AI-resistant quizzes. Check out these tips from LION member AfroLA’s Dana Amihere and Zoli Csernatony.
6. Develop a mobile app. This toolkit by The Lenfest Institute breaks down the ins and outs of devising a mobile app strategy.
7. Keep audiences around. Sign up for Blue Engine Collaborative’s newsletter, The Boost, which is currently running a five-part series on digital subscriber and member retention.
8. Facilitate better brainstorming. These tips from LION member The Markup’s Sisi Wei prioritize making effective brainstorming meetings accessible to all participants.
9. Hire a robot. Created in a LION newsroom, Word Nerd creates articles for real estate transactions, marriage certifications, crime announcements, and more in minutes instead of hours. Replace hours of manual work in seconds with safe generative and non-generative AI. (Sponsored content by Lede AI)
10. Handle your biggest newsletter headaches. Read the newsletter advice Inbox Collective Founder Dan Oshinsky shares again and again.
11. Start a staffing plan. This LION NEA course can help you brainstorm what types of employees best fit your current needs and budget.
What we’re reading
‘Overall, the settlement is a win.’ LION member and former newspaper industry analyst Ken Doctor says Google’s deal in California will put more money in the pockets of local publishers despite the confusing public policy process. (Nieman Lab)
Spreading out. More reporters are moving away from coastal cities and settling in smaller towns, providing nuanced coverage and re-establishing trust in rural and systematically excluded communities. (Columbia Journalism Review)
A big boost for L.A. local news. How a group of media executives and philanthropists came together to raise $15M and create a new nonprofit organization, the Los Angeles County Local News Initiative, to support small independent media. Shoutout to LION members CalMatters and LAist for their respective roles in this exciting initiative. (American Journalism Project)
LIONs in the news
LION member Canopy Atlanta took home the Collaboration of the Year Award in the medium revenue tier at our 2024 LION Awards this past Thursday.
Their awards entry centered on their specific and successful partnership with Atlanta Civic Circle to create their “Cost of Living” project, highlighting the price residents pay to live in metro Atlanta.
But the collaboration doesn’t stop there. As featured in The Local Fix newsletter, the “My Two Cents” portion of the project ensures that residents have a platform to share their experiences with money in Atlanta.
Learn more about the award-winning project and how Canopy Atlanta continues to engage with their community.
In other LION member news:
⭐ LkldNow and reporter Kimberly C. Moore won first place in breaking news in the Society for Professional Journalism’s annual Sunshine State Awards.
⭐ 9 Millones’ article, “Amid lack of services, this organization is supporting cancer patients in Vieques,” received the Overseas Press Club of Puerto Rico’s 2024 Excellence in Journalism Award in the Multimedia Journalism, Human Interest Reporting category.
⭐ The Texas Tribune’s Darla Cameron, Lookout Local’s Ashley Harmon, Richland Source’s Zac Hiser, New Jersey Urban News’ Penda Howell, and The Jersey Bee’s Olivia Rizzo have been selected to participate in the second cohort of the News Product Management Certification.
⭐ Honolulu Civil Beat has announced the appointment of Amy Pyle as its new Executive Editor-in-Chief.
⭐ CatchLight announced a partnership with Report for America to subsidize up to 20 full-time photojournalist positions in up to 20 local newsrooms throughout the U.S. next year.
⭐ The Objective is now able to fund part-time salaries for its two co-directors, James Salanga and Gabe Schneider.
How to reach us
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