LINA’s role is to provide hands-on, capacity-building support to digital and hybrid publishers in a range of areas including business operations, technology, legal and policy, audience engagement and journalism.
Audience engagement
Access resources, training and guides on SEO, social media, newsletters, graphic design, audience surveys and much more.
Business operations
LINA works to generate economies of scale and shared business services that small newsrooms might not be able to access on their own. This includes resources like HR support, on-demand technical and IT assistance, insurance and other discounts and a range of policy templates and guides that can be used by both emerging and established organisations.
Journalism
Find story ideas and leads, access syndicated services and content sharing, get your articles sub-edited before publication, and learn about best-practice journalism for covering a range of areas, including reporting on emergencies, mental health, courts and more.
Grants and funding
LINA offers micro-grants to support public interest journalism stories, and an environmental reporting fund for larger projects. We also provide direct support with grant applications and award nominations, opportunities that members hear about through our monthly newsletters. Get onboarded to LINA’s Impact Tracker tool so you can prove your value in grant applications.
Legal and policy
We love the fun stuff, but we also love making sure you, your staff, and your audience are safe, insured, and legally protected. Here you’ll find information on media law, tailored insurance, policy templates, training, and services to stay secure.
Revenue growth
Producing quality journalism costs money. One of LINA’s key focuses is on helping newsrooms grow and diversify their income. Here you’ll find programs, guides, tips and training on how to support your newsroom financially.
Technology
Navigate the ever-changing world of technology with practical tools, templates and expert advice to support smart, sustainable decisions in your newsroom. Whether you need to audit your tech stack, check your SEO settings, stay across the latest AI developments, or plan a whole website overhaul, we’ve got you covered.
Training and learning
Whether you’re new to running a newsroom or have been publishing for 50 years, there’s always more to learn. From legal basics to AI tools, audience growth to newsroom leadership, LINA brings together guides, webinars, and expert advice to help you build confidence and capability—wherever you’re at.
Representation and advocacy
One of LINA’s roles is to ensure the needs of local and independent newsrooms, particularly smaller and emerging media, are represented in public policy. This includes supporting newsrooms to access government grants, philanthropic funding, government advertising, and more.
1:1 support
Many local and independent newsrooms don’t have the luxury of having in-house staff to call on when things go wrong. LINA offers free, direct on-demand support to problem-solve IT and tech issues, help with grant applications and award nominations, and give advice on HR and pre-publication article legal reviews.
Estimated value and impact of LINA membership
Resource support.
- Award nomination and grant application service
- Extensive library of templates and resources
Discounts.
- Exclusive discount to AAP Newswire
- First 12 months of Canva Pro free
- Group membership to Broadstreet ad manager
Subsidies & grants.
- Environmental reporting grants
- $2,000 micro-grants for public interest journalism
Legal services.
- Pro-bono pre-publication article review by ABC Legal
- Tailored legal training for newsrooms
Training opportunities.
- Regular networking and training events with expert guests
- On-demand training on journalism and newsroom operations
Operational support.
- On-call technical advice on websites and administrative systems
- Subsidised sub-editing service
- On-call HR support
Representation & fundraising.
- Participation in annual 'Our News. Your Voice' collective fundraising campaign
- Representation in policy forums
Total annual value of a LINA membership*:
* Estimated annual value for a member engaging in all LINA offerings and discounts, etc
