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Welcome to the 2024 Independent News Sustainability Summit, hosted by LION Publishers and presented by Knight Foundation and Google.

Learn more about the Summit.
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Lunch session: Level up your 2024 election plan with Election SOS and the Knight Election Hub (Sponsored by Knight Foundation)
Friday September 6, 2024 12:15pm - 1:30pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
Sure, you'll be covering the 2024 election — but how? If you're a place-based publisher, elections are an unmissable opportunity to serve your community.

But there are a lot of decisions to make in order to meet this moment, and the sooner you start making them, the better this election is going to go for you and your community members. The Election SOS and Knight Election Hub teams are bringing you a series of lightning talks on parts of your election strategy you might not have a plan for yet — but definitely should. Afterward, they'll facilitate small group discussions on some of those decisions and ideas to help you get election-ready.

Presentations and group discussions will tackle:
- How to build an election fundraising plan
- How to background candidates better
- How to expand your election coverage through content sharing with the AP
- How to build a feedback loop with your audience members to do more responsive election coverage

There will be free pizza for session attendees.
Speakers
avatar for Mary Walter-Brown

Mary Walter-Brown

News Revenue Hub, Founder, CEO
Mary is the founder and CEO of News Revenue Hub and former publisher at Voice of San Diego. She launched the Hub in 2016 to help independent newsrooms build robust reader revenue programs. Since then, the Hub has helped its clients raise $106 million in volunteer donations.
avatar for Evan Mackinder

Evan Mackinder

VP of Business Development, News Revenue Hub
Evan has more than 12 years' of experience in the news industry, working primarily in strategic roles related to audience growth, engagement, and revenue. As VP of Business Development at the Hub, Evan currently develops internal revenue strategies and acts as the on-ramp for any... Read More →
avatar for Josh Hoffner

Josh Hoffner

Director of US News, Associated Press
Josh is the director of U.S. news for The Associated Press, where he oversees news coverage across the 50 states. His team consists of reporters, photographers and video journalists who cover the news for readers and clients around the globe. He has worked as a news manager in Arizona... Read More →
avatar for Bridget Thoreson

Bridget Thoreson

Chief Project Officer/Dream Wrangler, Hearken
Bridget Thoreson has managed strategic editorial collaborations and audience engagement projects with more than 130 newsrooms, as a consultant with social impact firm Hearken and the first Director of Collaborations for the Institute for Nonprofit News. Now she is Hearken's Chief... Read More →
avatar for Ariel Zirulnick

Ariel Zirulnick

Consultant, Knight Election Hub
Ariel Zirulnick is a media strategist working at the intersection of editorial, product, engagement, and revenue to help newsrooms do journalism with and for their communities and build systems that make that work sustainable.  Most recently she did that work as the director of news... Read More →
avatar for Brandi Swicegood

Brandi Swicegood

Executive Director, Sunlight Search
Brandi is a veteran investigative journalist. She spent nearly two decades reporting and editing stories about issues ranging from politics and immigration to criminal justice and the environment. She has worked for publications including The Texas Tribune, where she was a founding... Read More →
Friday September 6, 2024 12:15pm - 1:30pm CDT
Grand Ballroom

Attendees (91)


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