đź’ĄUnblock those revenue barriers
More than two years ago, the Google News Initiative and LION Publishers launched the GNI Startups Lab with the aim of helping 10 news businesses achieve long-term sustainability through hands-on training and revenue experimentation.
Based on the success of that program, we expanded our partnership in 2022 to launch three Startups Labs serving a total of 48 publishers focused on key areas for building a sustainable news business: managing money and risk, building and managing a team, and planning for revenue growth.
We learned that participants who saw the most significant progress tackled a specific issue using existing resources and implemented their learnings immediately. We also learned that identifying and addressing barriers to revenue growth was critical to making that progress.
That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the Sustainability Lab: Unblocking Revenue Barriers, again in partnership with GNI. This Lab will help independent news organizations bridge the gap between big-picture planning and daily execution. Participants will identify what’s standing in the way of meeting their revenue goals and articulate and test creative solutions for overcoming those blockers.
With the support of asynchronous training, one-on-one coaching, peer learning and up to $9,000 USD in funding, each of the 36 participants will develop a custom curriculum and tailored deliverables that will help clear the way for revenue growth and make progress toward sustainability.
Applications are open until July 19. We will host an information session via Zoom on July 11, which will be recorded.
Learn more and apply here.
– Chris Krewson, Executive Director
LION Publishers
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5 resources for independent publishers
1. Learn more about (and how to apply for) a USC Center for Health Journalism Fellowship.
2. Learn how to strategically edit by writing for SEO, social and newsletters through this Poynter training.
3. Attend an unconference on emerging patterns in journalism, right before the Online News Association conference in Philadelphia this fall; attendance is free, registration is required. (August 21-23)
4. Bone up on nonprofit compliance with this webinar on 990 tips and tricks from Blue Avocado. (July 27)
5. Pitch a session at the intersection of “open” and journalism at the Creative Commons Global Summit in Mexico City. (Deadline: July 4)
What we’re reading
Meet the passive news consumer. Statistics show a rise in those who don’t comment, share or otherwise engage with the news they use. Knowing this, how might news organizations make decisions about their approach? (Nieman Journalism Lab)
A new nonprofit distribution deal. The American Journalism Project and Pocket are teaming up to share local stories with national import. (Mozilla)
LIONs in the news
LION members are all over the list of honorees at this year’s American Journalism Online Awards at New York University:
> CalMatters, Winner, Best Non-profit News Source
> PublicSource, Honorable Mention, Best Non-profit News Source
> Hanna Raskin, The Food Section, Best Solo Newsletter
> Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press, Best News-based Twitter Thread
Congratulations to all!
Programming note
The LION team is off next week for summer break; this newsletter will return the week of July 17.
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].