LION adds 19 new local publisher members from 15 states

LION has welcomed 19 new members, all publishers and/or owners of local independent online news sites, from 15 different states over the past four months, and has added more than 40 new members over the past year. It has more than 160 members running local news organizations in 39 states.

LION is a nonprofit organization that helps publishers of local independent online news sites share information, advice and ideas, spreads best practices for local news business models, and promotes the resurgence of local journalism from the grassroots.

Its annual conference, Oct. 26-28 in Chicago, is the largest gathering in the country of local independent online news publishers, and this year will feature an expanded program of speakers, panels and workshops on revenue, technology, journalism and community engagement for small journalism organizations. Year-round, LION members connect with each other in a closed Facebook group, a free webinar series, a comprehensive weekly newsletter about the local online news business, and regional events.

LION's newest members run local news sites in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Daktora, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin.

They range from veteran publishers of longstanding independent news organizations, such as Philadelphia Public School Notebook Publisher Maria Archangelo and Larry Sribnick, founder of Long Island's Bellport.com, to the publishers of recent startups such as Kate Maxwell of Mendocino Voice in California and Wendy Parker of East Cobb News in Georgia.

They include publishers of sites innovating in connecting with millennial audiences, such as Ted Williams of Charlotte Agenda in North Carolina, Sarah Arnold of Clutch MOV in Ohio and West Virginia, and Adam Green of Nooga.com in Tennessee.

And like the LION membership as a whole, they run a mix of nonprofit sites, such as Bruce Putterman of CT Mirror in Connecticut and Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup of VT Digger in Vermont, and for-profits, including Dennis Spellman of Covering Katy in Texas and Kevin Lynch of SouthBMore.com in Baltimore.

Other new members include Rob Chappel of Madison365 in Wisconsin, Mark Henderson of the Worcester Sun and Bob Brown of the Swellesley Report in Massachusetts, John Clark of HSJ Online in Indiana, Richard T. Andrews of The Real Deal Press in Cleveland, Jodie Schwan of Sioux Falls Business in South Dakota, and Clay Morgan of AntiochTenn.com in Tennessee.

For more information about becoming a LION member, visit the LION website or contact Executive Director Matt DeRienzo at [email protected].