From 💤 ➡️ 🏃: Discover how to turn your sleepy board into an active fundraising partner during this 2026 Summit session, featuring @morganbaum.bsky.social, @latanyawest.bsky.social, Jo Ellen Kaiser, and Steve Katz. Join them in San Diego this Sept. 9-11: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

💥 In our latest round of LION Sustainability Audit data analysis, we reached an exciting conclusion: We know what real progress toward sustainability looks like for news businesses. It’s called the “Sustaining” stage in our updated maturity model – check it out: lionpublishers.com/trove-of-lio...

🤝 Ever wanted to collab with a local creator? In this 2026 Summit session, @greenphilly.bsky.social's Julie Hancher and News Creator Corps' Maya Srikrishnan will share their experiences with viral content and creator partnerships –– check it out: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

💡 Want a better way to reach your audience and revenue goals? Discover how 2026 Summit sponsor BlueLena integrates strategy, execution, and technology into a single operating system, helping nearly two dozen LIONs unlock new avenues for sustainable growth: lionpublishers.com/how-bluelena...

✨ 🏆 ✨ It's official: 45 LION members are finalists for our 2026 LION Sustainability Awards. Our 51 volunteer judges were blown away by the quality of the submissions. (They reviewed a whopping 232!) See for yourself, and join us in San Diego to celebrate: lionpublishers.com/meet-the-45-...

☁️ 💻 ☁️ For too long, #localnews entrepreneurs have launched their pubs with a website & a dream... Join @matsusentinel.bsky.social, @tinynewscollective.bsky.social, & @newsrelaynetwork.bsky.social at the 2026 Summit and bring your minimum viable product to life: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

📆 More revenue, engagement, AND impact, all from events? Sign us up! This 2026 Summit workshop will help you more closely link event goals with organizational strategy and highlight indie news orgs that are doing it well. Join us in San Diego this Sept. 9-11: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

🎯 Want to transform casual readers into a vibrant, paying community that supports your local newsroom? Of course you do! @aanpublishers.bsky.social's Todd Stauffer will teach you how to master the funnel at the 2026 Summit. Reserve your spot: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

💥 Major LION member news: @matsusentinel.bsky.social, less than 2yrs old and winner of our New Business of the Year Award just last year, bought the 80yr-old legacy newspaper, the Frontiersman. Founder Amy Bushatz pulled it off in less than a month – here's how: lionpublishers.com/how-this-lio...

💡 Small, resource-strapped newsrooms without a formal product team — this 2026 Summit session is for you. Join @lpostcollective.bsky.social's @kimbui.bsky.social and Bailey Hoskins-Orr to discover how to bridge the gap between community listening and building ✨ tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

🎤 💥 Just dropped – our first set of 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit sessions, starting off strong with this fireside chat, specifically for solopreneurs, featuring @berkeleyscanner.com's founder and EIC @emilieraguso.com and consultant @joelanane.bsky.social ✨ tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

Want to... 💵 Make more money 📈 Earn more traffic 📨 Build your newsletter subscriber lists faster New LION Sustainability Audit data shows that newsrooms that regularly engage with their audience in a few specific ways tend to do all of the above –– check it out: lionpublishers.com/lion-data-sh...

📣 🎉 🍾 HUGE congrats to @ctmirror.org on winning its first Pulitzer Prize! The award recognizes CT Mirror’s local reporting in collaboration with ProPublica. Check it out: ctmirror.org/2026/05/04/c... This is the THIRD year in a row a LION member has taken home a Pulitzer. 🌟

📣 🦁 Calling all LIONs with wins and progress to share (ehm, that's ALL of you!). It's the LAST DAY to apply for the Sustainability Awards. Your news business tells the stories of your community — now let your LION Awards app(s) tell the story of your news business: lionawards.awardsplatform.com

🚨 LIONs: Two big deadlines tomorrow, April 30! 🚨 ✍ 💭 🏆 🎉 Sustainability Awards: Submit your app(s) by 5 p.m. PT: lionpublishers.com/awards/ 🐥 🎟️ 🕰️ 💸 Summit early-bird tix: We've got ~15 left. This promo ends when we sell out or when the clock strikes midnight PT: lionpublishers.com/summit-2026/

📣 LIONs, just t-minus SIX days until our LION Awards deadline: 5 p.m. PT on April 30. If you're unsure what to apply for, remember this: Judges aren't looking for perfection; they're looking for progress. And we know you've got wins, both big and small, to celebrate: lionawards.awardsplatform.com

✨ We're big fans of @knightfoundation.org for many reasons, but mostly for their dedication to strengthening sustainability in the local news industry. And this Q&A with Amalie Nash reveals how the org's thinking about sustainability is shifting – check it out: lionpublishers.com/knights-new-...

⌛ We’re gettin’ down to the wire, folks! Only 25 early-bird Independent News Sustainability Summit tickets are still available. LIONs, if you know you plan to join us Sept. 9-11 in San Diego, take ~5 mins today to register and save up to $300 on your ticket. 💸 tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

‼️ ⏰ LIONs: It's the last FULL week to apply for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards! Time really flies when you're busy running an independent news business… Take a moment to celebrate your wins, both big and small, by submitting your app(s) by 5 p.m. PT on April 30: lionpublishers.com/awards/

Happy #LocalNewsDay 🎉 📣 Today, ~1,300 newsrooms, ~200 partners, and ~15 sponsors across the country are celebrating the importance and impact of local news. Join us in the celebration by finding a local newsroom to support (there are SO many LIONs on this list 🦁): localnewsday.org/newsrooms/

📣 ‼️ LIONs: We’ve got ~50 deeply discounted early-bird tickets left for our Independent News Sustainability Summit. Don’t miss this opportunity to save $175-$300 on your ticket: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

Hey LIONs! Have any fun plans for the weekend? Here's an idea: Throw your hat in the ring for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards, which are now OPEN until April 30 at 5 p.m. PT. 🎩 ✨ Explore the categories and create your account today: lionpublishers.com/applications... We're rooting for you! 👏

📣 2026 Summit ticket update: We're now down to ✨ 75 ✨ deeply discounted early-bird tickets, from 120. LION members, don't miss this chance to save ~45-60% on your ticket. Secure your seat for San Diego today: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

☁️ 🧑‍💻 ✨ Interested in joining the LION Pubs team and helping us maintain and improve the tech systems that support our staff, members, and funders? If so, apply to be our new Salesforce Manager by April 10! lionpublishers.com/lion-publish...

🎟️ 2026 Summit tix are LIVE! We’ve got 120 early-bird tix for LION members at a discounted rate of $200. Regular, sliding-scale tix are also available to all. Join hundreds of your fellow indie news peers in San Diego this Sept. 9-11: tinyurl.com/LIONSummit26

Local independent online news entrepreneurs, experts, and enthusiasts: It’s your time to shine. ✨ We’re now accepting session proposals for the 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit, taking place 9/9-9/11 in San Diego. Learn more and submit a pitch by 4/10: lionpublishers.com/open-call-fo...

📣 Volunteer opp: Become a judge for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards! Help us highlight the outstanding achievements of LION members across the U.S. and Canada – and gain insights into what's working in independent news. Apply by 3/20 at 5 p.m. PT: lionpublishers.com/apply-to-jud...

'Scale' is our 2025 word of the year, and our newly released Impact Report shows why. Check out what we accomplished and what we have in store for 2026: lionpublishers.com/annual-repor... To all our supporters, thank you for making our work possible. 💙

🏛️ Just last week, we announced the launch of LION's first-ever policy platform, which reflects our strategic goals and advocacy priorities. And with local news legislation currently pending in 13 states, this couldn’t be more timely. Check it out: lnkd.in/geS_Sc8n

As LION’s revenue continues to grow and diversify, including the management of several time- and purpose-restricted grants, we’re expanding our team! Please join us in welcoming our first specialized finance manager, Padma Umakanthan. So happy to have her! 👋 💸 ✅ lionpublishers.com/padma-umakan...

💡 LION's @niemanlab.org prediction: Following biz best practices when building and running an indie newsroom will always be important, but in 2026, it's these 3 big financial, legal, and operational risks that publishers will want to be aware of — and address: www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/3-bi...

​💡 Discover top local newsroom revenue trends in 2025, based on our evaluation of 300+ news orgs. One big shift? More LIONs, across all tax statuses, report philanthropic support (grants, donations, etc.) as a major part of their financial picture. lionpublishers.com/philanthropy...

✨ Excited to see the launch of — and be part of — #PressForward and Commoner Co.'s new Journalism Support Exchange (JSX), a searchable database that local newsrooms can use to find tools, resources, and connections to help them build and grow their businesses. Check out this one-stop shop: jsx.news

💯s of surveys, hours, datapoints. One comprehensive look into the state of #localnews businesses... Our new report, A Roadmap for Local News Sustainability, reveals 21 key indicators for achieving sustainability, plus essential field-level insights. Take a look 👇 lionpublishers.com/sustainabili...

⚠️ Heads up, LION (and @tinynewscollective.bsky.social) members! If you're thinking about attending our free Virtual Vendor Fair on 11/19, we've already handed out about 1/2 of our tickets. See who's presenting, get registered, and stay tuned for the final agenda: lionpublishers.com/virtual-vend...

🚀 A common FAQ from our members is how to boost their SEO so more readers can easily find their content. So we asked our friend @danielpetty.bsky.social to help us help them. He's put together a guide with 7 SEO tips for local publishers. Check it out: lionpublishers.com/7-technical-...

💡 At the 2025 Summit, we heard from @knightfoundation.org's Duc Luu, #PressForward Chicago's Tracy Baim, and @barrfoundation.org's Stefan Lanfer on what makes grant applications stand out. Take a look at these 5 practical tips: lionpublishers.com/funders-reve...

‼️ Big news: The Boston-based @barrfoundation.org has awarded a $265,000 grant to LION to support recommendations from our Sustainability Audit for up to 40 independent newsrooms in New England. Learn more: lionpublishers.com/lion-to-help...

🏆 👏 21 LION members have been named winners of the 2025 Sustainability Awards! Read about them and their exceptional work: lionpublishers.com/21-lion-memb...

💙 Sponsor support makes the 2025 Summit possible, and this year, we’ve added new features and improved existing ones, thanks to our À la Carte sponsors @rjionline.bsky.social, @bluelena.io, @democracyfund.bsky.social, @lenfestinstitute.org, Spot-On, and Flying Comet Games. See you next week!

💫 Shoutout to our incredible Vanguard 2025 Summit sponsors, including AP Fund for Journalism, Broadstreet, Jobcase, Nextdoor, Newspack, Press Forward, and Creative Circle Media Solutions. Most will be joining us in St. Louis next week; last call to join us! lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

St. Louis, here we come! In a couple of weeks @lionpubs.bsky.social's Independent News Sustainability Summit lands, with this slick design available on t-shirts only for in-person attendees...

✨ We’re thrilled to welcome @knightfoundation.org back as a sponsor of our 2025 Summit! We spoke with Marisa Kwiatkowski, director for the journalism program, to learn more about how they make essential tools more accessible to independent publishers. Read the Q&A: lionpublishers.com/how-knight-f...

💫 Fewer than 85 tickets remain for the 2025 Summit, and only about 50 are still up for grabs for the LION Awards. And now... 🥁 🥁 🥁... we’re excited to reveal our full schedule. Check it out: lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/... Let the FOMO set in; you won't want to miss this one!

🎤 ✨ Can’t wait for this 2025 Summit session covering how our Sustainability Audit drives growth for LIONs, feat. @berkeleyscanner.com, @johnsoncountypost.bsky.social, @shoresides.bsky.social, @newsfromgoogle.bsky.social, and our Audit program expert. Don't miss it: lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

💸 Want to save time and bring in more dollars? Of course you do! Find out how 2025 Summit sponsor, @newspack.com, helps local news leaders publish impactful journalism, grow their audiences, and ultimately, increase revenue. lionpublishers.com/how-newspack...

🎤 ✨ Moving beyond founder leadership is a key milestone for newsrooms. In the 2025 Summit session, "What it takes to transition (successfully!) from a founder-led news outlet to next-gen leadership," you'll hear success stories and tips from those who've done it. lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

🎤 ✨ During our 2025 Summit opening keynote, you’ll hear firsthand how LION members used #PressForward grants to strategically grow their businesses; join us in St. Louis: lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/

💅 We first shared our Maturity Model for #independentnews publishers in 2023 after delivering 200 Sustainability Audits. Now, 450 Audits in, aka armed with more than twice as much data, we've given our model a glow-up: lionpublishers.com/double-the-d...

🎤 ✨ Who said work can’t be fun? At the 2025 Summit, we’ll hear from these news leaders during “Four practical ways to amplify joy and impact through community engagement,” featuring real-life (and replicable!) examples that got results. Join us! lionpublishers.com/summit-2025/