👉 We’re hiring coaches for our new sustainability pilot
If you caught last week’s newsletter, you know we recently launched our new Sustainability 360 program, an initiative designed to make the independent news industry more accessible for LION members by providing them with customized tools, resources, and support.
Now, we’re seeking industry experts to guide participants through the program and help them reach the next stage of sustainability –– and you, dear reader, may be just who we need.
If you have experience working with news entrepreneurs operating lean teams, and you possess a breadth of expertise in journalism entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities, consider applying to become a Sustainability 360 coach.
Coaches will co-design and help execute Success Plans for three participating news organizations. This short-term contract will run from October 2024 to June 2025, and coaches will be paid a flat fee of $21K for the project, which consists of roughly 105 hours of coaching and administrative work.
Check out our eligibility criteria and apply here by 11 p.m. ET on Oct. 4.
– Elaine Díaz, LION’s associate director of coaching
P.S. If you plan to apply to participate in Sustainability 360, tune in to our informational session on Oct. 4.
Meet Shelly Hunter, LION’s new development director
In 2023, we published a five-year Strategic Growth Plan that outlines our ambitions to help our publisher members reach sustainability. And one essential way to achieve these ambitions will be to ensure that LION continues to have a solid financial foundation.
That’s why we’re thrilled to have Shelly Hunter on LION’s team as our new director of development. In this role, Shelly will use her 20-plus years of experience to help diversify and grow LION’s revenue streams.
Shelly is based in her home state of Georgia. Read more about her and her position here.
11 resources for independent publishers
1. Convert casual readers into loyal donors. Attend Indiegraf’s webinar on the audience funnel, a powerful framework for achieving sustainable growth and financial success. (TODAY at 2 p.m. ET)
2. Apply for the National Press Foundation’s Annual Journalism Awards, which cover everything from editorial cartoons to journalism on aging and include prizes ranging from $2.5K to $10K. (Apply by Sept. 30)
3. Master newsroom automation. Discover how to boost productivity, save time, and streamline workflows during the Center for Cooperative Media’s three-part Zapier workshop. (Begins on Oct. 7)
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. Level up your newsroom’s product thinking at the virtual News Product Alliance Summit. Thanks to our friends at NPA, we’ve got 10 free tickets to give to LION members. If interested, contact Hayley at [email protected]. (Oct. 11)
6. Apply for Poynter’s 2025 Leadership Academy for Women in Media, a weeklong program designed to help leaders with three to seven years of management experience move to the next level in their careers. (Apply by Dec. 6)
7. Improve your newsletter(s). Read Inbox Collective’s Dan Oshinsky’s list of newsletter best practices that are high-impact and easy to implement.
8. Delegate decision-making. Harvard Business Review recommends these three solutions to help both managers and employees see delegation as a win-win situation.
9. Streamline content creation. LION members can now access discounted AI-powered tools from Nota to reformat and optimize content across text, audio, and video formats.
10. Find better balance. This Harvard Business Review article shares six strategies for overcoming toxic workaholic tendencies.
11. Access free content. The Google News Initiative is providing local newsrooms free access to Storyful’s verified video newswire, which includes nearly 150K cleared and public videos and accompanying articles that you can publish to your owned channels.
What we’re reading
What’s up with WhatsApp? How WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging app, is becoming a haven (and huge traffic source) for digital publishers, especially since they can send links directly to followers. (The New York Times)
Apply your ‘why.’ In a reworking of his 2024 Summit presentation, LION member The Jersey Bee’s Simon Galperin outlines the outlet’s strategy for repairing audience trust and going beyond news to meet critical community needs. (Medium)
All about impact. It’s almost annual report season, and LION member Borderless has some tips on measuring and communicating your impact. (RJI)
LIONs in the news
“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats.”
With those startling and untrue words on the Presidential debate stage from former President Donald Trump, the growing Haitian immigrant community in Springfield, OH, made headlines.
While outlets worldwide picked up the story, LION member The Haitian Times was covering it for its diaspora audience. And despite threats, including a swatting attempt on their editor, they’ve continued to publish content, like a story spotlighting the revitalization effect its immigrant audience has had in Springfield and other communities, providing vital context as the misinformation-fueled firestorm rages on.
“We’re not scared,” said publisher Garry Pierre-Pierre. “We’re not going to let anybody silence us.”
Read the story –– and here’s a huge round of applause for The Haitian Times. 👏👏👏
In other LION member news:
⭐ NC Health News took home 21 awards during the annual North Carolina Press Association editorial contest, including first place for overall general excellence for online publications.
⭐ Burlington Buzz is featured in this News Product Alliance newsletter, highlighting the publication’s impact on local elections and civic engagement.
⭐ The Investigative Journalism Foundation is hiring a technology manager.
⭐ The Salt Lake Tribune has been selected as one of five newsrooms for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network.
How to reach us
When you reply to this email, we all receive it, and you’ll hear back from one of us. You can also email us directly at [email protected].
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