Part I: What news founders wish they’d known about launching a media business

In our latest episode of News Guest, we talk with two LION members about lessons they’ve learned the hard way.

March 9, 2022 by Ben DeJarnette

Photos of Kara Meyberg Guzman and Chuck Stangor, the guests on this episode of News Guest

Getting an independent local news business off the ground is no small feat, and figuring out how to keep it going can be even harder.

So we asked publishers: What do you wish you’d known about launching a news business before you started?

In our latest episode of News Guest, we talk with two LION members about their perspectives on that question and the lessons they’ve learned the hard way: 

  • To build a sustainable news business, set a sustainable workload: Santa Cruz Local founder Kara Meyberg Guzman explains how she found herself working 80 hours a week as a news founder – and how she and her team made a plan to fix that.
  • Beware the plug-ins: Gettysburg Connection founder Chuck Stangor talks about building a website on WordPress and learning how to manage all the plug-ins that have become part of his “tech stack.”

Listen to the News Guest episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your audio, and help us grow the podcast by rating, reviewing, and subscribing. 

Interested in connecting with other aspiring or early-stage news founders? RSVP for our virtual meetup next week, featuring a Q&A with Kara and a chance to meet other people at similar stages of their startup journey.

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