2022 Independent News Sustainability Summit

The 2022 Independent News Sustainability Summit — hosted by LION Publishers, News Revenue Hub and RevLab at The Texas Tribune and supported by Knight Foundation, The Lenfest Institute and Google News Initiative — brought 500 independent news leaders and supporters together in Austin, Texas, for three days of conversations and connections focused on building more sustainable independent news businesses.

In case you missed the event – or want to relive it – here's everything you need to know:

Watch videos from ten of our ballroom sessions, including the opening keynote with former New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet. 

Review the slide decks and other speaker materials from more than 20 sessions. 

 Get advice on burnout and boundaries from Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Angilee Shah and The Markup’s Sisi Wei and be inspired by Dean Baquet's optimism for the future of local news, as summarized in these excellent recaps by RevLab fellow and LION board member Dan Hu. 

Read our 3 takeaways from the Summit, including the impression LION members made at the highest ranks of the industry. 

Meet the winners from the 2022 LION Local Journalism Awards.

View the full session schedule and list of speakers and presenters.

What people are saying

"I loved that there were so many people and orgs at the same level as ours. It didn't feel like it only catered to big organizations." -Valerie Osier, RANGE Media

"I am a novice in the field, and it was lonely until I met others at the conference. Everyone was amazing, warm, welcoming, and encouraging." -Melina Olmo, Cultura Diplomática

"I have been stubbornly focused on content, and this conference finally got through to me how imperative a solid financial base is for doing the journalism I am so committed to." -Meg McGuire, Delaware Currents

"I love these people. I reconnected with old friends and met so many wonderful new ones." -David Yoder, Richland Source

"The presentations were full of valuable information, and everyone I talked to after their sessions was willing to answer questions and share their knowledge and experience with us. We are very excited to implement some of those ideas immediately to make our news organization as successful as theirs." -Hilda Gurdian, La Noticia

LION Local Journalism Awards

The LION Local Journalism Awards Dinner & Ceremony on Day 2 of the Summit celebrated the work of LION members and the progress they've made toward business sustainability.

The event was hosted by Outlier Media executive director Candice Fortman and LION Publishers director of teaching & learning Lisa Heyamoto and featured a keynote by The 19th co-founders Amanda Zamora and Emily Ramshaw.

Learn more about the 2022 LION Local Journalism Awards and the winners and finalists.

Photos

Attendees are welcome to use these photos from the Summit on their websites and in other marketing materials, with credit to one of the following photographers (check the  image file name to see who took the photo): Azul Sordo, Callie Richmond, Eddie Gaspar, Evan L'Roy, Jordan Vonderhaar, or Sarah Bork Hamilton.

You can find more Summit photos here, or visit the LION Awards page for photos from the LION Local Journalism Awards Dinner and Ceremony.