Open call for speakers, facilitators: Share your expertise at the 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit

Hosted by LION Publishers, the Independent News Sustainability Summit will take place in San Diego, California, September 9 – 11, 2026. Gathering independent news publishers, industry experts, and supporters of independent news, this will be a space to share expert knowledge, hard-won lessons, and actionable advice on running a sustainable news business. It’s also an opportunity to be in community with people who care deeply about strengthening the local news ecosystem.

We know every news entrepreneur has experiences worth sharing, and we’d love to hear from you if you’d like to take an active role in our event. 

Read on to learn the different ways you can participate in the Summit this year. Submit a Summit Learning or Community session by April 10, 2026, at 5 p.m. PT.

Submit a Learning session

Take the stage as a speaker, facilitate a hands-on workshop, or suggest another format that works well with your session idea.

Learning sessions at the Summit are assigned to one of three tracks that correlate with LION’s pillars of sustainability: financial health, operational resilience, and journalistic impact. Historically, the strongest session proposals are reflective of personal lived experiences and expertise. All proposal topics are welcome, and here are a few timely themes that align well with LION members’ needs this year:

• Practical tools to fortify business operations and/or protect newsroom assets from legal or financial threats
• Actionable ways to support your staff’s mental health and wellbeing
• Iterative strategies to clarify organizational mission and strengthen revenue streams
• Nuanced discussion around emerging trends in the field, such as the ethical use of artificial intelligence and partnerships with content creators

LION members, industry experts, or funders can submit session ideas. Suggested formats include (but are not limited to): 

• Fireside chat: A conversation between two speakers, showcasing best practices through a casual, engaging discussion, followed by live Q&A. (60 min)
• Workshop: Interactive sessions where participants work in small groups and leave with a tangible takeaway, like worksheets, templates, or co-created deliverables. (90 min)
• Panel: A structured, moderated discussion in which a group of experts or practitioners shares insights on a specific topic in front of an audience. (60 min)
• Lightning chats: Quick presentations by various speakers on a shared topic. Each lightning chat should last 5–7 minutes at most and include no more than five speakers to allow time for live Q&A. (60 min)

All confirmed speakers will receive a complimentary ticket to the 2026 Summit.

Submit a Community session

Lead a one-time small-group Table Talk or become a LION Community Ambassador to lead a peer group during the event and for three months afterward.

Lead a Table Talk

Table Talks are small-group conversations related to news entrepreneurship designed to foster connections around shared topics of interest for publishers (e.g., revenue experimentation, membership models, and reducing burnout). These sessions are conversations exclusively at the Summit and work best for groups of 10 to 12 participants, guided by one peer facilitator. (90 minutes)

Past Table Talk ideas include:

• Actionable takeaways for solopreneurs to enhance operational efficiency and/or improve revenue generation
• How to engage with immigrant communities through trust-building, multi-lingual, and culturally relevant content
• How to create policies for sponsored content that maintain editorial integrity and build mission-aligned sales relationships

Being a Table Talk facilitator is a great way to expand your network and facilitate knowledge sharing among local news publishers. 

Any Summit attendee can submit a Table Talk, and selected facilitators will receive a complimentary ticket to the conference.

Apply to be a 2026 LION Community Ambassador

This year, Community Ambassador Peer Groups will kick off in person at the 2026 Summit with a 90-minute session and continue as a three-month program, with groups meeting each month via Zoom. 

In order to become a Community Ambassador, you must be affiliated with a LION member organization. The goal of these groups is to share experiences, talk about challenges, exchange resources, and build a sense of belonging within the LION community. 

Examples of past peer groups include:

• Email-first publishers
• LGBTQ+ news leaders
• Newsrooms serving rural communities 

Serving as a Community Ambassador is a great way to develop meaningful relationships with your peers, talk about challenges, and exchange resources. Selected Community Ambassadors will receive a flat-rate stipend of $1,500 during the three-month program. They’ll also receive a complimentary ticket to the 2026 Summit and be eligible for up to $650 in travel reimbursement to support their attendance. 

Summit Learning and Community session applications are open until 5 p.m. PT on Friday, April 10, 2026.

An information session about applying for these and other LION opportunities will be held on Thursday, April 2, at 10 a.m. PT. Please register using this link.

Not able to join us at the Summit as a speaker, but still want to get involved? You can apply to be a volunteer judge in the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards. Being a judge is a great way to gain insight into what’s working in local news and to connect with others who care deeply about the industry. Read more here. Applications are due by 5 p.m. PT on March 20, 2026.