LION Summit at Investigative Reporters & Editors Conference
Event Information
Description
LION Publishers will hold a day-long summit at the Investigative Reporters & Editors conference in Orlando Friday, June 15, covering issues, opportunities, ideas and advice for local independent online news organizations and entrepreneurs who are considering starting their own local news site.
Reader Revenue
A theme of this year's LION gathering at IRE will be how investigative, enterprise and accountability journalism can help local publishers build financial support from readers. LION recently launched I-DIG (Impact-Designed Investigative Grants), a micro-grant program supporting local investigative news projects by its members. LION will be working with recipients to tie the results of accountability journalism to appeals to readers for subscriptions, memberships and/or donations.
Local Advertising
We'll share early lessons from RAMP (Revenue from Advertising Mentorship) -- LION's effort this year to provide intensive mentorship to 10 independent online news publishers in building sustainable financial support from local advertising.
Seed Funding
What's holding back more would-be local news entrepreneurs from launching in commmunities whose journalism has been depleted or disappeared because of legacy newsroom cuts? We'll tackle issues such as seed funding, training, news deserts, diversity and inclusion.
LION Table Stakes
What are the basic elements essential to the success of a local independent online news organization? We'll talk about the things financially sustainable sites have in common, and how that should shape the business plans of would-be local news entrepreneurs.
Three Conferences In One
LION's June 15 gathering will be held during the 2018 Investigative Reporters & Editors conference, in the same location, and it comes on the heels of the Institute for Nonprofit News' annual INN Days gathering June 13 and 14, which will also be held at the IRE conference venue.
LION's summit is free for LION members and anyone registered to attend the IRE or INN conferences. Before June 8, the cost is $25 for non-members who aren't attending IRE or INN, and $49 if you register the week before the conference.
Questions? Contact Steve Beatty at stevebeatty@lionpublishers.com or Matt DeRienzo at mattderienzo@gmail.com.
Organizer LION Publishers
Organizer of LION Summit at Investigative Reporters & Editors Conference
Local Independent Online News Publishers is the only nationwide group representing the publishers and editors of local independent online news websites, who are successfully creating the future of reporting: locally owned and operated news outlets that directly serve their communities.
LION Publishers are online news leaders who are innovating in business, technology, communication and storytelling while honoring the rich heritage of local journalism.