LINA Summit 2025 Resources

The third annual LINA Summit for local and independent news publishers was held in Melbourne, Victoria, in April 2025. We’ve compiled key takeaways and tips for newsrooms from each session, so LINA members who were unable to attend can find resources on topics ranging from audience trust and solutions journalism, to SEO and newsletter strategies.

Session Summaries

Session summaries

Presentation slides available to LINA members only.

Keynote presentation

International News Media Association – Jodie Hopperton

The words news and journalism are often used interechangeably, but they’re not the same. Jodie Hopperton joined us to explore this idea and the role of local news in the information economy.

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Aligning profit with purpose

Croakey Health Media – Melissa Sweet, The Klaxon – Anthony Klan, The Conversation – Margy Vary

This panel explored the alignment of profit and purpose in journalism, focusing on defining and measuring impact, systems thinking, and accurate social impact reporting.

The Digital Guide – Tracy Sheen

From founder to leader

Nurture HR Consulting – Eva Wright

Eva Wright from Nurture HR Consulting shared how to identify and develop leadership styles to suit different situations and a growing team. She also provided a framework for succession planning to ensure the team continues to thrive and evolve.

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Reporting with care: mental health

Mindframe – Elizabeth Paton, Star Observer – Chloe Sargeant

Elizabeth Paton shared best-practice advice and tools to support responsible reporting of news related to mental health, suicide and alcohol and drugs, while Chloe Sargeant spoke of the harm of irresponsible reporting on LGBTIQA+ communities.

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Building audience relationships

International News Media Association – Jodie Hopperton, Western Weekender – Troy Dodds, Western Echo – Melanie Grevis-James, Murray Bridge News – Peri Strathearn

Do you know what your audience wants? How? Troy Dodds (Western Weekender), Melanie Grevis-James (Western Echo) and Peri Strathearn (Murray Bridge News) shared some innovative ways to understand your audience and strengthen your community connections.

Ethics in reporting

Australian Press Council – Paul Nangle, MEAA / Brunswick Voice – Mark Phillips, Tasmanian Inquirer – Bob Burton, LINA Board Member – Alan Sunderland

Panel discussion focused on ethics in journalism and media accountability. Key topics included the importance of transparency, maintaining editorial standards around advertising, disclosing political donations, and protecting source confidentiality.

Establishing good workplace culture

Nurture HR – Eva Wright

Eva Wright from Nurture HR Consulting shared her knowledge on how to keep teams engaged, by establishing and maintaining good workplace culture. The session explored how to be mindful of ‘unwritten rules’ that can impact team morale and how to foster a sense of belonging in the workplace.

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Revenue ideas workshop

Bastion Agency – Jenni Ryall, State of Digital Publishing – Vahe Arabian, 8CCC – Benjamin Erin, Interplay Media – James Spinks

Panelists shared insights on innovative revenue models. Topics included experimentation, community engagement, brand partnerships, and evolving revenue strategies with a strong emphasis on video, cross-platform opportunities, LinkedIn, and email monetisation.

James Spinks (Interplay Media) and Benjamin Erin (8CCC)

Keeping it clean: Publishing and the law

ABC – Corey Jankie, Copyright Agency – Josephine Johnston, In The Cove – Jacky Barker

This panel discussion covered best practice for avoiding problems with copyright and defamation and provided general advice on what to do when your own work’s copyright has been infringed.

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Reach your peeps: newsletter strategies

Future Media – Ricky Sutton

In this session, Ricky explained how the platform can help local news publishers make money and share their content and provided some tips on how to write and market a great newsletter.

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Civic engagement & social change: nuanced conversations in news

James Blackwell – Croakey Health Media, Georgina Harrisson – Amplify, Andrew Jaspan – 360info

This panel covered how news can spark discussions of important topics in our communities with care, nuance and facts.

Media kit workshop

Kenny Katzgrau – Redbank Green/Broadstreet

In this workshop, Kenny walked step-by-step through the media kit he uses at his local news publication Redbank Green in the US. He provided specific tips on how to close a sales deal with digital and print advertising, and which elements of a media kit are the most useful. Then, he invited audience members to show their media kits to him and be reviewed.

News publishing & Big Tech

Claire Stuchbery – LINA

This session explored the relationship between news publishing and big tech, with a focus on the role of LINA in supporting its members in this evolving landscape. Key topics included the challenges and opportunities presented by AI, the need for collective bargaining and legal representation when dealing with tech giants, and the importance of inclusive policies that support smaller publishers based on editorial standards.

How to build your listings revenue

Google – Chris Burgess

Aggy and Jamie of Newsport demonstrated a software tool that Newsport has been developing: NewsREAM. This tool has allowed Newsport to leverage their existing relationships with their local real estate sector to sell local advertisements. In its second year, the tool produced over $50,000 in revenue.

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Improving accessibility: Reach more of your community

Conrad Browne – Vision Australia Radio

Conrad explained who Vision Australia are, and why their role in improving accessibility is so important. He then shared some specific and helpful tips for news publishers to ensure their articles and multimedia content are accessible to those navigating vision loss. 

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Policy forum

Claire Stuchbery – LINA

LINA Executive Director Claire Stuchbery outlined the four main policy priorities that LINA is currently working on, and sought feedback from newsrooms. Claire and Nell (LINA’s Policy Officer) regularly visit Canberra for advocacy, primarily focusing on federal politics due to team capacity constraints.

Combatting burnout

Amrita Sidhu – Medianet, Dr Caroline James-Garrod – University of Melbourne, Eva Wright – Nurture HR Consulting, Genevieve Swart – Illawarra Flame

Amrita Sidhu opened this panel discussion with findings highlighting the issue of burnout among Australian journalists, and Dr Caroline James-Garrod followed this with takeaways from her research into technologies impact on this. The panel shared techniques for managing time poverty and mental health challenges due to stress.

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Producing news in languages other than English

Esra Dogramaci – Canva, Christopher Gogos – Neos Kosmos, Eduardo Jordan – Radio 4EB

Australia has a rich linguistic landscape, with around 400 languages spoken across the country, including many Indigenous languages. While English is the official language, the 2021 census showed that 23% of Australians speak a language other than English at home. In many instances, journalists relay not knowing how to report on people from minority groups for fear of misrepresentation or stereotyping.

Christopher Gogos, Eduardo Jordan and Esra Dogramaci

Lightning talks

10 news publishers

Ten news publishers shared an elevator pitch on inspiring ideas and learnings in this quick-fire show-and-tell session.

ACMA policy update

Sam Holthouse – ACMA

Manager of Media and News Diversity at ACMA Sam Holthouse presented an update on the Media Diversity Measurement Framework. The framework, developed over several years with stakeholder input, consists of six indicators across three domains measuring news media diversity in Australia. The first three indicators relate to source diversity, the fourth indicator focuses on content diversity and indicators five and six look at exposure to diversity.

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Lais dos Santos – Google

This session focused on improving visibility and effectiveness of news content on Google platforms, involving participants linked to the Google Initiative and local news partners. The session aimed at educating attendees on Google’s policies, optimisation techniques, and tools available for enhancing news presence.

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Growing media literacy: How newsrooms can help combat mis and disinformation

Ben James – Australian Associated Press (AAP)

The discussion highlighted the importance of media literacy and fact-checking. It emphasised using a three-question approach to evaluate information sources and the role of pre-bunking in addressing misinformation. The conversation also touches on challenges posed by AI, foreign misinformation sources, and the value of hyperlocal fact-checking.

Our News, Your Voice: Collective fundraising campaign

Tammy Schlitz – Balanced Effect

Tammy Schlitz (Balanced Effect) talks newsrooms taking part in the 2025 Our News, Your Voice fundraising campaign through preparation and execution three weeks out for this year’s giving week.

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AI policies and processes

Matt Brown – ABC, Josephine Johnston – Copyright Agency, Shaun Davies – Bastion Agency

An outline of copyright implications and content protection involved in the AI data chain and practical applications for AI tools in newsrooms.

Earning and keeping trust

Matt Martino – ABC, Silvia Montaña-Niño – Centre for Advancing Journalism, Bob Burton – Tasmanian Inquirer

This presentation covers earning and keeping trust in journalism, including the importance of fact-checking and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. The speakers (ABC Verify Lead Matt Martino, Centre for Advancing Journalism Lecturer Silvia Montaña-Niño and Tasmanian Inquirer Publisher Bob Burton) discussed the changing landscape of fact-checking, the value of FOI requests and provided practical guidance on how to conduct both.

Making money from multimedia

Angela Priestly – Women’s Agenda, Jonas Jaanimagi – IAB Australia, Vanessa Robb – Mercato

Mercato CEO Vanessa Robb took publishers through digital retail media, IAB Tech Lead Jonas Jaanimagi outlined new trends and predictions in digital advertising, and Women’s Agenda Co-Founder Angela Priestly described the partnerships that have made podcasts a successful revenue source for the publication.

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Big tech and AI update

Jodie Hopperton – International News Media Association (INMA)

This session explored changing consumer behaviour in news consumption, detailed the impact of AI and new technologies on news delivery and covered audio content trends and opportunities.

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Building brand recognition

Jenn Donovan – Small Business Made Simple podcast

Marketing expert and host of ‘Small Business Made Simple’ podcast Jen Donovan shared her knowledge of how to tell the unique stories behind newsrooms, as well as tools and tips to build brand awareness.

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Preparing explainers

Felicity Lewis – The Age, Jean Anselmi – The Westsider, Jordan Hayne – ABC, Suzannah Lyons – 360info

The discussion explored the role and evolution of explainer journalism across various platforms. Panelists emphasised understanding audience needs through data, crafting engaging content with expert input, and presenting complex topics accessibly. The conversation highlighted the importance of visuals and multimedia in storytelling, especially for reaching diverse and younger audiences.

Reporting on councils

Cat Holloway – Spark Shoalhaven, Josie Vine – The Westsider

This discussion covered council reporting challenges and strategies, relationship building with local government and the importance of transparency in council coverage.

Revenue Growth Program 2025: Show and tell

Jenni Ryall – Bastion Agency, publishers in the 2025 Revenue Growth Program

Publishers shared their projects, experiences and outcomes (so far) of participating in the ongoing Revenue Growth Program, ran by LINA and Bastion Agency.

Successful business models around the world

Miguel Loor – Sembra Media

Miguel Loor (Sembra Media) shared insights from news businesses in South and North America and Europe and business models and income streams that are working in other jurisdictions.

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2025 Debate and final plenary

Various speakers

A debate on whether AI would erode public trust in media featured teams arguing for and against, with the negative side ultimately winning audience support. Their key argument was that AI itself cannot erode trust, only people misusing it can do so, while proper AI implementation could enhance journalism.

During the final plenary participants shared key takeaways and future actions.


Workshops and discussions

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Member profile presentations

The Westsider

Barbara Heggen – The Westsider Editor, Kelly Kayne – The Westsider Founder

Brunswick Voice

Mark Phillips – Founder and Editor, Brunswick Voice

The Conversation

Lisa Watts – CEO, The Conversation

With gratitude to our event supporters

With the kind support of

LINA partners

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