A few people asked if I knew about a newer resource called ‘Lion publishers’ — I did not. It didn’t take long to realize this appears to be a trojan horse for up-and-coming papers and media outlets like mine to get aid from Big Tech Censors.
Excerpt from the site’s “About” section:
We believe in being:
Data-informed: We can’t make an impact without defining how to measure our impact. We strive for excellence in our work by gathering data, consistently articulating what success looks like, measuring our progress….
Equitable and inclusive:
We stand against racist and discriminatory business and editorial practices that oppress historically marginalized communities.
We believe the most impactful journalism effectively reflects a community’s diverse perspectives while prioritizing the stories of those who have been historically overlooked or marginalized.
While legacy newsrooms often haven’t been welcoming or supportive to people from marginalized or underrepresented backgrounds, we believe it’s our job to ensure the independent news industry is creating space for these leaders and voices to thrive.” [end excerpt]
Funding and History
From their site—“In 2019, LION received its 501(c)3 status and received a $1 million grant from the Knight Foundation that allowed it to hire three senior staff members for the first time. Since then we have nearly tripled our staff, launched signature programs and expanded our membership benefits.”
Note the buzzwords below: sustainable, framework, resilient; they note a global outlook — without explicitly saying so.
“In 2021, our team at LION started with a hypothesis: If we could identify the building blocks of a strong and sustainable news business, we could help more publishers bring more vital news and information to more communities – and we’d find more founders willing to take that leap with LION and become independent news entrepreneurs.
As the calendar turns now to 2022, I’m glad to report we’ve made tremendous progress, not only by developing a framework for news business sustainability that’s been cited by news executives and industry leaders around the world, but by using its insights to help our members build stronger, more impactful, more resilient small businesses that can serve as a model for those who follow in their footsteps.”
Explore more at: https://www.lionpublishers.com/about/
I say if you are an independent publisher, stay away from Lion; those who give you power have the power to take it all away. #censorship #samizdat