💲 An exciting funding opportunity for LION members
Thanks to the Google News Initiative, LION members who participate in our Sustainability Audits program will each qualify for up to $20,000 –– up from last year’s $6,000 –– to fund the implementation of audit recommendations as part of this and next year’s programs.
This significant funding helps publishers assess their news businesses and prioritize steps toward stability and growth by acting on strategic recommendations. The program is supported by the GNI and the Knight Foundation, which are funding 100 Sustainability Audits and Audit Boosters in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. Audit Boosters offer a check-in on progress to sustainability alongside updated recommendations.
In addition, any LION member who participated in 2022’s GNI Sustainability Audits and Funding Program may apply for this new tranche of funding. Since the start of this program and by the end of this year, at least 360 LION members will receive Sustainability Audit funding.
We’re grateful to the Google News Initiative for their continued support, and for this incredible increase in support for our sector. It means the world to our members and their ability to continue this work.
Read more about this funding and who is eligible here.
— Chris Krewson, executive director, and the LION team
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Meet Hayley Milloy, LION’s new marketing manager
The LION team continues to grow! We’re thrilled to welcome Hayley Milloy as our marketing manager. Hayley will help us grow our membership, attract new publishers to our programs and communicate our impact on the independent news industry. And she’ll take over writing this very newsletter in July!
Read more about Hayley here.
And because we’re on something of a hiring streak, we’ve also posted a job for a Finance & Operations Manager. If you’re a color-coder who delights in systems and processes and wants to learn more about how finance can be fun, we’d love to see your application!
8 resources for independent publishers
1. Manage your inner critic by attending this free, online workshop on Imposter Syndrome led by two leadership coaches. (June 9)
2. Produce stories on rural communities by applying for $5,000-10,000 reporting grants through Grist and the Center for Rural Strategies’ Rural Newswire. (June 9)
3. Level-up your digital investigation skills through this five-week online course from the Knight Center taught by ProPublica’s Craig Silverman and freelance reporter Jane Lytvynenko. (June 12 – July 16)
4. Launch an independent local news business with help from this summer workshop led by our very own News Guest producer Jenna Spinelle. (June 21, June 28 and July 5)
5. Apply for the LION Local Journalism Awards. LION members are eligible to submit entries in up to ten categories, and each winner will receive at least $1,000. (Deadline: June 22)
6. Save the date for Durham. Our Southeast News Sustainability Meetup in Durham, North Carolina, will also host the 2023 LION Local Journalism Awards Ceremony. (October 3-4)
7. Find a grant for your newsroom. The Newsfuel directory includes upcoming grant opportunities for photojournalism, science reporting, AI accountability, and more.
8. Grow your newsletter list starting with these 52 ideas and tactics.
What we’re reading
INN’s impact. How the network organization is creating a nonprofit news movement. (Institute for Nonprofit News)
Philanthropy and race. How journalism funders can best support BIPOC-led news organizations. (The Pivot Fund and ISOJ)
Building your branded content. How to earn six figures in paid content revenue each year. (The Meta Branded Content Project)
This could have been an email. How to avoid the biggest distractions while running effective meetings. (Harvard Business Review)
LIONs in the news
Independent news publishers take their wins wherever they can get them. But there are some victories that feel particularly sweet, and Block Club Chicago celebrated a meaningful one last month: it has now been operating longer than the newsroom it replaced.
When its predecessor, DNAInfo Chicago, abruptly shut down in 2017, the community lost a critical source of information and the team lost their jobs. But like so many LIONs, they saw an opportunity to rebuild amid the ashes, and an even stronger organization was born.
Happy five-year anniversary to Block Club Chicago, and here’s to many more!
In other LION member news…
- Sahan Journal earned a $1.5 million grant from Minnesota’s GHR Foundation
- Bloomfield Info Project will relaunch as The Jersey Bee this fall
- San José Spotlight is hiring an education reporter.
- The Haitian Times’ publisher Garry Pierre-Pierre spoke with CBS News about the rise of vigilante justice in Haiti
How to reach us
When you reply to this email, we all receive it and you’ll hear back from one of us. You can also email us directly at [email protected].