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Programs and Events

October 16, 2017

An online alt weekly approach to local news in a red state community

Tasneem Raja is a writer and radio producer with lots of national news experience at outlets many would consider firmly in the “big city and coastal elite media bubble.” So why did she launch a local independent online news site in the red state community of Tyler, Texas, and what is she learning? She’ll be spekaing at the 2017 LION Summit Oct. 26-28 in Chicago, the country’s largest gathering of local independent online news publishers. We asked her for a preview:

October 14, 2017

One-on-one business coaching offered at LION Summit

Attendees of the 2017 LION Summit in Chicago this year can sign up for a 20- to 30-minute appointment with a veteran local independent online news publisher or consultant for one-on-one coaching on a market- or organization-specific problem or challenge you are facing with your local news site or your plans for launching one. Coaches will include longtime publishers with experience in both for-profit and nonprofit news organizations, and conference speakers and consultants including advertising sales expert Eleanor Cippel.

October 12, 2017

Why you should downplay CPM ad rates and think 'earnings per visitor' instead

Maximizing the amount of advertising revenue a news organizations gains from each visitor to its site relates to a lot more than traditional CPM (cost of an ad per thousand impressions) rates, according to Gavin Bechtold, a business development specialist at advertising optimization firm Ezoic, which is a sponsor of this year’s LION Summit, the country’s largest gathering of local independent online news publishers.

October 10, 2017

An indie publisher on monetizing local news with sports, mobile and agency services

Steven Ludwig, the CEO of BIGR Media in Tennessee, is a local independent online news publisher, a LION member, and a speaker at and sponsor of the 2017 LION Summit in Chicago Oct. 26-28. We asked him to share his experiences in helping pay for local journalism through monetization of local sports coverage, mobile strategies and serving as a marketing agency for his company’s small business advertisers.

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