Where to meet up with LION independent news publishers in 2020
Updated 3/4/20: We know that some journalism convenings have cancelled or postponed their gatherings due to the coronavirus. As of now we are still planning to host our Boston meetup in April, and will be closely watching updates from local officials and our venue, Northeastern University. We are also currently planning to host our other events in Austin and Seattle, and, again, will follow local and national officials’ guidance. If you have purchased a ticket and have health concerns about attending, we will fully refund your ticket. Email any questions to anika@lionpublishers.com.
Our LION members always tell us how valuable it is to get IRL (in real life) help and support. In the past, we’ve only had the capacity to do that once a year at our annual LION Summit. But thanks to some generous funders and partners, we’re able to invest more in seeing you more in 2020. Here’s a rundown of opportunities we have to see you this year.
April 24: A LION member-led meetup in Boston
Presented by our sponsor Web Publisher Pro
We’re inviting all local independent online news publishers in the New England area who would like to learn what their peers are working on and hear from local news industry experts, including Dan Kennedy, a Northeastern professor and regular panelist on Beat the Press who wrote about online local and regional journalism in The Wired City.
Tickets are $25 and include lunch and a LION tote bag. If you’d like to attend, tell us what you’d like to get out of the event. Tickets are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Thanks to LION members Doug Hardy and Ryan Belmore for their organizing help!
May 11–12: Attend the Local Media Association’s Digital Summit in Chicago
The Local Media Association, which includes more than 3,000 newspapers, TV and radio stations, says it’s “intensely focused on helping local media companies discover new and sustainable business models.”
That’s why we’ve decided to partner with LMA on its Digital Revenue Summit in Chicago on May 11–12.
If you’re a LION member who would like to attend, email Chris at chris@lionpublishers.com to ask for the discount code to receive a free ticket.
June 5: A day-long intensive workshop on making money in Austin
LION is partnering with LION member The Texas Tribune and its new RevLab to host a day-long training on Friday, June 5 in Austin. Announced late last year, Texas Tribune’s CEO Evan Smith wrote, RevLab is “a freestanding entity, housed in our Austin newsroom, where we’ll experiment with innovative ways to fund local news, model best practices that we hope will benefit the entire ecosystem, and mentor and coach dozens of our would-be peers.”
We’ll have more details to share on programming soon.
October 22–24: Attend our 9th annual LION Summit in Seattle
The Summit includes a pre-conference training day on Oct. 22 for folks who want to start a local news publication and for folks who want an intensive-training on revenue strategies for their existing local news publication.
From Oct. 23–24, we’ll be hosting more workshops and discussions with independent news publishers and industry experts.
Our pre-sale ticket sales close at the end of February, so buy your ticket now before prices go up. If you’re a member of NABJ, AAJA, NAJA or NAHJ, or if you’re a LION member who lives in Washington state, email Anika at anika@lionpublishers.com to get a discount code. Also, you can book a room online at the hotel venue now for a discounted $199/night — that includes breakfast and an afternoon happy hour.
We’ll have more updates to share soon on our annual Summit.
