Apply for the 2025 LION Publishers Sustainability Awards

We’re thrilled to announce that applications are now open for the seventh annual LION Publishers Sustainability Awards, formerly known as the LION Publishers Local Journalism Awards. 

This year, eight categories will be evaluated by an independent panel of judges, and two categories will be voted on – one by members, and one by LION staff. All awards recognize excellence by local independent online news businesses in categories focused on LION’s pillars of sustainability — journalistic impact, financial health, and operational resilience.

Applications to the LION Awards are open from March 3 to April 16, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT.

We’ll host our LION Awards Ceremony & Dinner at this year’s Independent News Sustainability Summit, September 3-5, 2025, in St. Louis, MO. 

The 2025 LION Awards will feature:

• Cash prizes for award winners (in 2024, we gave out more than $59,500 to LION Award winners).
• The LION Awards Ceremony & Dinner, which will be hosted in person on the evening of September 3, 2025, during LION’s Independent News Sustainability Summit in St. Louis.
• Eight independently judged award categories.
• One recognition award selected by LION staff.
• One recognition award voted on by members.
• An opportunity for independent publishers to be evaluated against peer news organizations with similar budgets.
• A sliding scale for entry fees based on annual revenue.
• Individual feedback from at least two judges per entry, even if your organization isn’t a finalist or winner.
• One complimentary ticket to the LION Awards Ceremony & Dinner for finalist organizations.
• A streamlined awards portal where you can submit and pay for your entries and receive feedback all in one place.

2025 LION Awards categories

• LION Business of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member that has made significant progress toward achieving sustainability through strengthening its operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact. 
• New LION Business of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member — founded after January 1, 2024 — that exhibits, even in its very early stages, a clearly defined commitment to working toward achieving sustainability through operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact.
• Operational Resilience Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has made significant progress toward strengthening its operational resilience by establishing processes, policies, and a people-centered company culture designed to support staff, manage growth, and promote sustainability.
• Financial Health Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has made significant progress toward strengthening its financial health by developing a plan for earning money, managing a budget, and/or monitoring revenue and expenses to extend its financial runway. This can also include the development of a successful and creative strategy to grow or diversify revenue while positively impacting their financial health. 
• Public Service Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has consistently produced journalism with meaningful and demonstrable impact in its communities and has held those in power accountable.
• Community Engagement Award
  • Recognizes a LION member that has achieved general excellence in journalistic impact by demonstrating an intentional and systematized approach to community engagement that consistently tells stories for, with, and by the people they are working to serve.
• Collaboration of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member that has successfully formed a short-term or long-term collaboration with at least one other organization to positively affect their journalistic impact, financial health, and/or operational resilience. Entries can include both business-focused and/or editorial-focused collaborations; however, the most successful entries will be able to demonstrate a positive impact on more than one of LION’s pillars of sustainability (journalistic impact, financial health, and operational resilience). 
• Product of the Year
  • Recognizes a LION member that has developed a successful and creative short-term or long-term product to strengthen its journalistic impact, financial health, and/or operational resilience.
• Community Member of the Year (selected by members)
  • This award recognizes an individual affiliated with a LION member organization who exemplifies LION’s core values. This person routinely goes above and beyond to support, acknowledge, and celebrate their fellow news entrepreneurs.
• Transformational Impact Award (selected by LION staff)
  • Recognizes a LION member that has achieved a transformational impact for its organization through dedication to improving operational resilience, financial health, and/or journalistic impact. This member organization is not only making an impact internally, but their growth has also had a positive effect on the communities they serve and the independent news ecosystem.

Eligibility requirements

• The LION Awards are only open to current LION members. If your organization is not on this list, please email membership@lionpublishers.com to either renew your membership or join LION. You must be an active member by April 16, 2025, in order to participate in the 2025 LION Awards.
  • If your membership has lapsed, please email membership@lionpublishers.com as soon as possible. Past members will be offered a grace period to renew their membership, but you must contact the membership team by April 16.
• The 2025 LION Awards recognize work between April 15, 2024, and April 15, 2025.
  • Note: the New Business of the Year Award will recognize work between January 1, 2024, and April 15, 2025.
• Applicants must submit all materials by Monday, April 16, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT to be considered for a LION Award.
  • Please note that there will be no extensions for the 2025 LION Awards, though we acknowledge that we have done so in previous years.
• LION members may apply for consideration in as many award categories as they wish. Members must complete this entry application and pay the entry fee for each award category.

Visit our comprehensive webpage for more information about each award category, the judges’ criteria, terms of agreement, details regarding this year’s changes to the awards structure, and more. With questions, please contact membership@lionpublishers.com.