LION’s revamped resource library helps local publishers grow revenue, audience, and impact

LION Publishers has revamped its collection of over 150 expert-crafted, easy-to-use templates and guides to help newsroom leaders grow revenue and audience, increase capacity, and strengthen impact.

The News Entrepreneur Academy helps publishers:

• Solve specific, immediate needs through a searchable library of resources addressing finances, HR, revenue growth, and more.
• Benchmark their businesses against similar newsrooms and highlight development pathways through LION’s new “Stage Profiles.”
• Continue their post-Sustainability Audit personalized learning journey by linking all resources to LION’s theory of sustainability as presented in the Audit, according to news business stage (Preparing, Building, Growing, Sustaining) and sustainability pillar (Operational Resilience, Financial Health, Journalistic Impact). 

“I am not an HR or finance expert at all. When you go to figure out an entirely new line of work that comes with a lot of rules, it’s like getting a degree in a new field. I most certainly used the LION Publishers’ accounting course and financial planning workbook. They got me set off on the right path and helped me set up systems that are sustainable.” — Amy Bushatz, Founder and Editor, Mat-Su Sentinel

Who can access the NEA?

LION members and all news leaders who take a LION Audit have access to the entire library of self-guided resources. You can find the NEA password in your Audit report or in the LION member portal.

What’s next

Through conversations with publishers and an analysis of Audit data, LION chose four new resources to address clear business gaps. These additional resources will be published this summer:

• A publisher’s guide to artificial intelligence: Since adding questions about AI use to the Audit in May, 89% of Audit participants are using artificial intelligence and similar technologies, so we’re making a best-practices guide with case studies to help interested publishers responsibly adopt AI into their workflows.
• Business strategy guide: We’re developing a simple template to help newsroom leaders clarify their organizational identity and long-term direction so they can grow with confidence.
• Digital analytics guide: A practical guide to help early-stage news businesses set up audience analytics, understand the data, and make decisions to help increase audience and revenue.
• Audience funnel guide: A template and guide to help newsrooms define their audience funnel and establish audience-focused workflows to systematically grow audience and revenue.

What others are saying

Here’s what people have told us about LION’s self-guided resources:

“The News Entrepreneur Academy was useful in our earliest stages — especially Rebekah Monson’s guide to building products along with your audiences and Harry Backlund’s guide to finance. These are crucial skills that I had to learn along the way, and the videos were the right level of depth and digestibility.” — Kara Meyberg Guzman, CEO and Co-Founder, Santa Cruz Local

“The videos and templates from LION’s News Entrepreneur Academy are so helpful, especially for newsrooms that don’t know where to start with financial, operational, and audience questions. Seeing how other newsrooms have approached financial, operational, and editorial challenges and the tools they use to tackle them is powerful. The templates give people an actionable starting point to jump into the work they need to do.” — Jennifer Mizgata, LION Coach

“The News Entrepreneur Academy opens up the collective knowledge of the LION network, giving local news leaders the chance to learn from peers who have tackled similar challenges. There are practical templates and trainings for nearly every aspect of running a newsroom and building a sustainable organization.” — Sam Gross, LION Coach 

Get started

Check out the News Entrepreneur Academy today. And send your feedback and ideas for new resources to sustainabilityaudits@lionpublishers.com.