WF partners with LION Publishers for regional LION Sustainability Audit pilot

The Wichita Foundation (WF) and LION Publishers (LION) are teaming up to offer Sustainability Audits to four Wichita-based publications as part of WF’s Press Forward Wichita grants.

The pilot program will examine four grant recipients of Press Forward Wichita, powered by WF – The (Kansas) Community Voice, The (Kansas Leadership Center) Journal, Wichita by E.B., and Wichita Life ICT. WF is also funding a one-year LION Publishers membership for the cohort.

“This partnership highlights our commitment to fostering a vibrant, sustainable local news ecosystem,” said WF Chief Strategy Officer Courtney Bengtson. “By providing resources through the Sustainability Audit, we are investing in the future of storytelling in Wichita and connecting our community with the information they need to thrive.”

LION’s Sustainability Audit, introduced in 2021, is a thorough assessment of a news business with recommendations and resources to help enhance organizational sustainability. The Audit process consists of: 

• A questionnaire to define the current state of the organization in terms of operational, financial, and journalism metrics
• An interview with an expert analyst to dive deeper into the business
• An audit report compiled by the analyst and LION staff summarizing organizational strengths and recommendations for action to enhance organizational sustainability

“The LION Sustainability Audit seemed like a great opportunity for me to talk with people that have experience building a news business,” said Wichita Life ICT Founder Landon Huslig. “As someone from outside of the industry, I don’t know what I don’t know and this will allow me to save time, prevent headaches and ultimately create a truly sustainable business.”

“We’re very excited for these publishers to join the hundreds of publishers who have already experienced how the Audit has helped their news business,” said LION Executive Director Chris Krewson. “We know having a shared language and set of guideposts will help even more publishers reach sustainability and ultimately strengthen the local news industry, which is why LION set a strategic goal of making the Sustainability Audit an industry standard.”

LION has performed more than 300 Sustainability Audits using this framework. The program will run during Q3 and Q4 of 2024.

About the Wichita Foundation 
The Wichita Foundation invests in people and ideas to spark change. Since 1986, the Foundation has partnered with people, families and organizations to build community through the Fund for Wichita and nearly 300 charitable funds. 

About LION Publishers 
LION Publishers is a national nonprofit serving local journalism entrepreneurs, with more than 570 member organizations across the United States and Canada. The mission of LION is to strengthen the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses.