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LION announces annual summit in Chicago, 'Independents' Meeting' in Philadelphia

LION Publishers is pleased to announce that its popular annual summit will return to Chicago this fall, plus plans for an "Independents' Meeting" in Philadelphia in June.

The annual LION Summit will be held on Oct. 1-3 at the downtown campus of Columbia College Chicago. LION members will also gather at a free-for-members “Independents' Meeting” on June 6 and 7 at Temple University’s downtown campus as the Investigative Editors and Reporters Conference happens in Philadelphia.

The organization’s gathering in Philadelphia June 6-7 and full conference in Chicago Oct. 1-3 will be opportunities for members to discuss common issues and problems, share success stories and encourage the founding of new local news sites. Each event will feature an informative slate of speakers, workshops and panels on topics relating to local publishing, covering real-world strategies for revenue, hands-on technology demonstrations, effective reporting tips, and experts speaking on business and legal issues.

For more information and to register for both events, visit LION's website.


The 'networked beat' as a local business model

Amy Gahran has an interesting post at Knight Digital Media Center on how to build a "networked beat."

It suggests education, community development, transportation or coverage of a dominant local employer or industry as good candidates for the approach, which "involves complementing traditional journalistic reporting on agencies and institutions (where knowledge is held by a few people) with community knowledge, insight, and experience."


LION member spotlight: CTNewsJunkie.com

What makes LION member CTNewsJunkie.com unique?

"Tenacity. We are relentlessly connected. We're not afraid to compete with big news organizations. And we're maintaining an uncompromising standard of news coverage as well. No clickbait here."

As part of a weekly series spotlighting LION members, check out our Q&A with publishers Doug Hardy and Christine Stuart.

Of particular interest is their explanation of how CTNewsJunkie is diversifying its revenue base beyond traditional display advertising.


Special JAWS discount available to LION members

The Journalism and Women Symposium, or JAWS, is offering a special discounted membership to members of LION Publishers.

JAWS is a national networking, training and leadership development organization for women in journalism. It runs an annual "camp," a vibrant national listserv and regional chapters.

Approximately one-third of LION publishers are women, and many of the other LION sites have women in key leadership positions.

There's more on the LION website.


Barbary Coast News acquired by Hoodline.com

LION member Barbary Coast News in San Francisco's waterfront district has been acquired by Hoodline.com, a local news site that already covered other sections of the city.

Geri Koeppel, Barbary Coast News publisher, has been hired by Hoodline and will serve as the district editor for the Barbary Coast neighborhood.


Have you registered for a free LION member webinar?

It's not too late to register for the first free LION member webinar, "What happened to my Facebook reach?," scheduled for 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 3. Others in the series include a program on advertising revenue that goes beyond simple display on April 23, something on foundation funding and underwriting in May, and a webinar on benefit corporations in June. More information can be found at the LION website.


Crosscut finds success with events business

Reynolds Journalism Institute has a nice spotlight here on Mary Bruno and the work that LION member  Crosscut is doing with events in the Northwest.


Billy Penn unveils neighborhood tracking feature

LION member Billy Penn, launched in the fall in Philadelphia by Jim Brady, has unveiled a new feature allowing readers to subscribe to updates by neighborhood.

Using EveryBlock, they've "built pages for 17 neighborhoods around the city. Each will feature overnight crime reports and calls made to the city’s 311 center. With a click, you can sign up to follow your neighborhood — say, Mt. Airy, or Fitler Square, or East Passyunk — and (you'll get an email) every morning with that snapshot of the activity."

“This is just the start of what we hope to be able to do with the massive amount of neighborhood data EveryBlock provides,” Brady said.


Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue

MOBILE: Local search on mobile is outpacing desktop. And a new study shows that one in five American adults access the Internet only on their smartphones.

YELLOW PAGES: Apparently local businesses still buy ads in the Yellow Pages. What an opportunity for independent local news sites.

A FUTURE WITHOUT ADVERTISING?: The Economist is trying to prepare for a future without advertising by diversifying its revenue now.

ENTREPRENEUR TRAINING: Syracuse University's Newhouse School will offer a "media entrepreneurship" course this summer in New York City.

NATIVE ADVERTISING: You've heard of banner blindness. "Content blindness" might be coming as native advertising explodes.

FACEBOOK, TWITTER DOMINATE: Prediction: Facebook and Twitter will own 33 percent of the digital ad market by 2017.


Tools and Tips: Journalism

DATA HELP FROM INN: The tech team of the newly renamed Institute for Nonprofit News (formerly Investigative News Network) is now offering data consulting.

ENGAGEMENT: Twelve ways journalists can effectively work with communities.

VIDEO: Pretty cool post here on best practices for video, respectively, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

LOCAL EXPLAINERS?: Ken Doctor on whether the explainer format of journalism pursued by sites such as Vox could work as a local news business model.

FACEBOOK: At least part of the dropoff you've seen recently in reach of Facebook posts was a "glitch," according to the company.

Meanwhile, most Facebook users still don't know that their news feeds are filtered by an algorithm.

And finally, Facebook has created an "events subscription" feature that will allow users to actually reliably see at least one form of content that you post - Facebook events. They'll get a notification every time you create a new event.

TWITTER: Finally, Twitter has launched its own version of a Storify-like tool for curating tweets.


Industry News

AMAZON: Even local service businesses such as oil change places and piano teachers are starting to see competition from Amazon.

DFM TO GANNETT SHUFFLE: Gannett will acquire Digital First Media dailies in El Paso, Texas, and York, Pennsylvania, and surrounding communities as the rest of DFM's 75 dailies are purchased by a hedge fund this month.

FRONT PAGE LOST IN TRANSLATION: You probably saw the striking front page that the Gannett daily in Indianapolis put out as Indiana drew national criticism over a law allowing businesses to discriminate against gay people. It's online presentation of the same package was not so great.

FUTURE OF NEW YORK TIMES: Ken Doctor examines the quick rise of Kinsey Wilson at the New York Times and what it means for digital strategy and experimentation there.

KNIGHT MONEY: The Knight Foundation announces recipients of millions of dollars in funding for projects aimed at improving city life.

LOCAL NEWSPAPERS SOLD TO CHAIN: Two more local, independent community newspapers have come under chain ownership as Berkshire Hathaway buys dailies in Virginia.

NY DAILY NEWS FOR $1?: That's not a new single copy price, but what the owner of Newsday is offering for the whole company.

PAYWALL: The Toronto Star has dropped its paywall and joined Snapchat.

RACISM NEXT DOOR: Next Door, a social networking startup aimed at communication within specific neighborhoods, says its users, not the company, are to blame for widespread racial profiling on the site.

SCRIPPS MERGER: Scripps newspapers have completed their merger with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and the new company will be publicly traded on the stock market. 

TRIB 'LOCAL' REBRANDS: Trib "Local" (remember Journatic?) has rebranded as "Pioneer Press" after purchasing a chain of weeklies.


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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