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News, information and much more for independent online news publishers. 
David's advantage over Goliath and other LION lessons from Philadelphia

Embrace the advantages that small, local, independent online publishers have over their large legacy media competitors, Jim Brady of Billy Penn and Brian James Kirk of Technical.ly Philly told those gathered for LION's "Independents' Meeting" in Philadelphia over the weekend.

The weekend of speakers and discussions among members was written about by Poynter: "Don't chase stories everyone else is chasing and other lessons from LION's conference," and Nieman Lab: "Crowdfunding, revenue diversity and legalese: Some takeaways from the LION Publishers' conference."

Related:

What Melody Kramer learned from seven conferences over the weekend, without leaving her apartment.

The Billy Penn guide to local news that doesn't suck.


'Engage Local' will tackle sustainability for local news sites

Local independent online publishers will have another opportunity to hear some great presentations on sustainability at the Center for Cooperative Media's annual "Engage Local" conference in New Jersey next week. Register here, and use the discount code "indie" for half off.

Loosely related:

Helping small newsrooms with tutorials for growing revenues.

Rethinking journalism towards being a service.

The connected local economy: A new way of looking at local media.

Hyperlocals are the second biggest missed opportunity in local marketing.


LION member spotlight: Midtown KC Post

If the goal of a local news site is stronger journalism and a stronger community, growing into a bigger and bigger organization isn't necessarily the goal.

That's the perspective of Mary Jo Draper, publisher of the Midtown KC Post in Kansas City, Missouri, featured in this week's LION member Q&A.

"One of the goals of the Midtown KC Post is to build community and make Midtown a better place. I report on Midtown but I also live here and really care about it. That makes this a different kind of journalism than I have ever done before, and very rewarding."


Crowdfunding can help indie news publishers do that 'extra' thing

Brian Wheeler of Charlottesville Tomorrow and Dylan Smith of the Tucson Sentinel shared advice from their success at crowdfunding journalism projects at LION's "Independents' Meeting" in Philadelphia on Sunday.


Looking for insight in the failure rate of indie news sites

Michelle McLellan, a key force behind LION's existence, writes about "two pioneering online community news entrepreneurs" who recently moved on from the sites they founded.

And responding to an Alan Mutter analysis saying that one of four local news startups has failed in recent years, she questions the math and does some analysis on what success means.


The peril of unpaid internships and other legal issues for indies

Unpaid internships don't just carry the risk of wage and benefit claims, J-Lab's Jan Schaffer said at LION Publishers' gathering in Philadelphia Sunday. She sees the possibility of interns claiming copyright ownership over the content they produce for local publishers.

After revenue, legal issues are among the chief concerns of local independent online news publishers, and Schaffer ran through topics from internships, to copyright and fair use, native advertising and corporate structure.

More at LION's website.


Next version of Safari will let users block ads on iPhones, iPads

For some time, ad blocking technology has been the elephant in the room that publishers avoid talking about. It might finally be moved to the front burner with news that the next version of Safari will allow users to block ads on iPhones and iPads.


'News' announcement most important Apple update in years

Apple unveiled a new app called "News" this week, and said that it would be eliminating the "newsstand" app built into iPhones.

Nieman Lab said that Apple's collection of announcements were the most important for news organizations in years.

Related:

When tech giants deliver the news, they decide what news is.

Apple News vs. Facebook instant articles.

Three things to know about Apple's new news app.

Buzzfeed's founder says publishers shouldn't care where people watch their content.


Reuters offers free articles to web publishers

Reuters will be offering a certain number of digital articles free for other web publishers to use, something that could come in handy for independent local news sites whose communities are intensely affected by some national or international topics such as immigration, the casino industry, military cuts, etc.

It's not an attempt to undercut other wire services such as the Associated Press, Reuters executives told Poynter.


New independent news site will tackle statewide California topics

The newest independent online news site to tackle statewide issues is California's CALMatters, which plans to launch in July.

From Columbia Journalism Review:

“Our goal is to do long-form explanatory pieces and deeply reported narratives on state policies and political topics, many of which are essentially unknown and have major consequences for citizens in the state of California,” said editor Gregory Favre, a former Sacramento Bee executive editor and McClatchy Newspapers vice president. “We want to narrow the void between ordinary citizens and what exists in Sacramento.”

Founders of the site say their goal is to have its journalism seen by as many people as possible, meaning that it will offer its work free for distribution in as many other outlets as possible.


Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue

ORIGINAL SIN: "If publishers had only charged for content at the dawn of the Internet, we'd be fine." Steve Yelvington says that's a myth that has die.

MICROPAYMENTS: All major German newspapers have signed up with Blendle, a micropayment service aimed at charging readers per article.

MOBILE ADS: Publishers' latest thinking on mobile ad placement.

TECH VS. CREATIVE: All the programmatic targeting in the world can't replace an effectively conceived and designed ad, agency creative people would argue.

FACEBOOK VIDEO: Facebook's video advertisements offer new opportunities for media companies.

FACEBOOK ADS: Facebook's deal with publishers is a stark reminder of the digital advertising gulf.

FACEBOOK POLITICAL ADS: Facebook is coming after all that political  ad revenue enjoyed by local TV stations.

MEMBERSHIP: A year after launching its membership program, Slate has signed up 9,000 paying customers.

INTRUSIVE ADS: Is this the most intrusive ad on the Internet?

BOT FRAUD: Fraudsters are exploiting Amazon's cloud service to send fake bot traffic that tricks advertisers into thinking they're stuff is being seen.

MOBILE: Mobile video challenges hold back advertisers.

KNIGHT CHALLENGE: The Knight Foundation's second news challenge of 2015 is focused on data.


Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology

MILLENNIALS: Lack of local news and information are driving a decline in political participation by millennials.  In Philadelphia, only 12 percent of registered millennials voted in the city's recent mayoral election. It will be interesting to see how millennial-focused indie news site Billy Penn has an impact on that rate over time. Publisher Jim Brady said at LION's Philly gathering over the weekend that a big percentage of the site's top stories since launching have been about politics and civic issues.

Related: Is social media the local TV of the next generation?

IRE LESSONS: If you missed last week's Investigative Reporters and Editors' conference in Philadelphia, check out numerous tip sheets from its sessions here.

RACIAL BIAS: Research shows the media disproportionately depict African-Americans as criminals, and whites as victims.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Lisa Williams has a great draft of the role of a community engagement editor. Even if you can't have a dedicated person in this role, it's instructive.

FACEBOOK ALGORITHM: Vox says stop worrying so much about Facebook's algorithm.

FACEBOOK VIDEO: Publishers adjust to silent autoplay video on Facebook with subtitles.

SCIENCE REPORTING: The benefits and pitfalls of a newsroom partnering with a science organization.

FACT CHECKING: Under new leadership, curation site Upworthy emphasizes fact checking.

DATA JOURNALISM: Four ways to bring data journalism into your newsroom.

INTERVIEWING: How to end an interview and other great tips from a veteran journalist.

TWITTER SOURCES: When you're using Twitter to find witnesses, treat it like a door knock.

MEASURING IMPACT: News Lynx goes beyond Google Analytics to measure a story's path in the real world.

SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM: Among the speakers at LION's gathering in Philadelphia over the weekend was Keith Hammonds of Solutions Journalism Network. He offered 10 questions to ask yourself when writing a solutions journalism story.  There's also the organization's Solutions Journalism Toolkit, an invaluable resource for this kind of reporting.


Industry News

LOCAL SEARCH: Google introduces location aware search.

CHICAGO LAYOFF: The Chicago Sun-Times has laid off its Homicide Watch reporter. One observer says Chicago media is getting rid of what it needs the most.

DIGITAL NEWS UNION?: A conference aimed at unionizing digital media employees is in the works. In Philadelphia, the newspaper Guild is making plans to publish its own website should Inquirer and Daily News staffers go on strike.

LIVESTREAMING: ABC, Hearst and other partners launch a streaming news service. The Huffington Post is launching a citizen journalism video platform.

FACEBOOK: Facebook is starting its real instant articles testing in a few weeks, but not everyone will see it.

PAID APP: The Wall Street Journal is launching an app similar to New York Times Now, but will charge for it.

NEWSPAPER FIRE SALE: A new business model is found in getting rid of old newspaper buildings and printing presses.  Why one family sold its newspaper after 56 years in the business.

AP AUTOMATION: How AP is using automation to increase its story output ten-fold.


Is Your LION Publishers Membership Up for Renewal?
 
For many of our LION Publishers members, it's time to renew! Your membership includes participation in the LION Publishers Den on Facebook, networking and support from fellow LION publishers, our new newsletter, discounted rates on media liability and directors and officers insurance and more. 

Plus, being a member gives you access to a members-only rate to the LION Summit – a savings of up to $175 compared to the non-member rate. If your membership is due for renewal, please go to www.lionpublishers.com/members/dues to submit your payment. Those who opt for multi-year membership save, and easy, secure payment options are available via credit card or through Paypal. (Not sure when your membership expires? You can look it up easily on LIONPublishers.com.)

Thanks to our current members who have already renewed!
 
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