About the Audit
The LION Publishers Sustainability Audit is an on-demand news business assessment that measures the overall health of local, independent online newsrooms, providing insight into core challenges and opportunities, expert guidance and tailored resources, and industry benchmarks.
Introduction
At LION, we help independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses.
We believe that sustainability lies at the intersection of operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact. (Here’s what we mean by each of those terms.) The LION Audit tracks newsrooms’ progress across these three pillars and recommends next steps to move them closer to — and ultimately reach — sustainability. All LION members are eligible to take this assessment at any time.
Since 2022, we’ve conducted 939 Audits.
Impact
91% of participants said the Audit has had or will have a positive impact on the sustainability of their news business.
We’ve found that having a plan for where an organization is headed enables efficient resource management and strategic alignment, and sets the stage for growth. The Audit helps leaders develop that plan.
What our numbers show
100%
is the median revenue increase for news businesses that have taken two Audits
220%
is the median revenue increase for news businesses that have taken three Audits
66%
of news businesses grew staffing between Audits by a median of four contributors
1/2
of news businesses saw increases in monthly web users between Audits
What our participants say
Partner with LION
LION partners with a variety of organizations to offer Audits to non-LION members.
This gives participating news businesses access to the evaluation and its associated resources, and partners gain greater insight into what independent publishers need to succeed long term, how they can best help them, and a tool to measure progress and the impact of their strategic interventions.
A (much) clearer picture
“This is especially important to me and to our network of funders: The [LION] Audits have helped create one of the most comprehensive datasets we’ve seen on small and midsize local news organizations. That’s giving us a much clearer picture of what these newsrooms are facing, where they’re succeeding, and where support can make the biggest difference.”
– Dale Anglin, executive director, Press Forward
To date, the Audit has been used by partners for a variety of use cases, such as grant applications, program intake, and grant reporting. If you're interested in learning how the Audit can support the news organizations you work with, please contact Andrew Rockway at andrewrockway@lionpublishers.com.
Research and Data
Having conducted nearly 1,000 Audits from over 600 newsrooms, we’ve gathered an unprecedented amount of data on the current state of the local, independent news industry.
We regularly share our research findings, like our latest report, “Roadmap for Local News Sustainability,” published in November 2025. In the summer of 2026, we’ll publish our Audit Dashboard — a new public resource that anonymously aggregates data from the self-serve Audit and delivers essential, real-time industry insights, including:
We also provide private Audit dashboards for our partners.
History
We launched the Audit in 2021 to help our members answer the #1 question every news entrepreneur asks: “How is my business doing?”
Between 2022 and 2024, LION members could apply to join the cohort-based program, which had limited capacity. If accepted, they completed the Audit questionnaire, were paired with an analyst to review their Audit report results, and received funding to implement the top recommendations in their report.
Interest in the Audit only continued to grow, so in June 2025, we transformed the program into a scalable, streamlined product now available to all LION members, anytime.
