The Objective is scaling up this summer. It’s also taking a break.

Gabe Schneider didn’t plan to launch a news site last summer when, frustrated by the media’s coverage of the George Floyd murder and its aftermath, he wrote a 3,000-word essay about race, truth, and journalistic values and posted it on Medium.

Instead, like many independent publishers, Gabe became a founder almost by accident, as his posts took off, his audience grew, and his inbox filled up with offers to write for his new publication.

Eventually, Gabe applied for LION’s inaugural GNI Startups Boot Camp to help The Objective grow from a passion project to a nonprofit news site, and he built an all-volunteer team of editors and contributors that’s now ready to take their next big step: earning reader revenue and paying their staff and freelancers.

In the latest episode of News Guest, our host (and Outlier Media executive director) Candice Fortman talks with Gabe and deputy editor Janelle Salanga about The Objective’s growth — and growing pains — over the last 12 months, including their decision to pause publication this summer to give their team a break and focus on strengthening the business and operations side of their organization.

Listen to this episode and subscribe to News Guest on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you do your streaming.

Got questions about The Objective’s decision to take a summer break, or how they’ve grown as an all-volunteer team? Join us for an “Ask Me Anything” chat on Friday, July 16 at 9am PT in the News Entrepreneur Community Slack group, or share your questions in advance here.

News Guest is a monthly podcast featuring practical advice from LION members and other entrepreneurs who are changing the news business. You can subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you do your streaming