Earlier this fall we introduced BlueLena Academy, a one-year audience and revenue development training program that blends accelerator-style coaching with hands-on execution support in a peer-based learning environment. The Academy was created specifically for Google News Initiative grantees or other qualifying publishers interested in growing audiences and building direct reader support for independent community journalism.

Our pilot group included Bay Area Reporter, NEXTPittsburgh and Tagg Magazine. 

Today we are excited to welcome the addition of nine independent community news organizations that will begin the program in January:

The Academy’s mission is to help community news organizations develop, implement and execute strategies to achieve long-term sustainability. BlueLena designed the program curriculum based on proven best practice approaches established through our support of over 200 independent publishers with strategy development, technology integration and managed services since 2020.

Among the benefits of the program:

  • Program management led by Sam Bennet, VP/Operations, Christine Holbert,  Engagement Manager, Teresa Ristow, Audience Strategist and Katie Kutsko, Strategy & Solutions Consultant
  • BlueLena’s email marketing and audience management platform (powered by ActiveCampaign) with unlimited send volume
  • Integration with your CMS including design, configuration and ongoing support of donation and membership programs
  • Fully managed services including newsletter automations, new donor/member onboarding series, abandoned cart series and more
  • Strategy consulting and messaging playbook development to promote your mission and value proposition to build long-term brand loyalty
  • Proven best practices that build and nurture reader relationships and bolster your reader revenue funnel
  • Audience listening tools including surveys and onsite collection methods to inform your editorial and content strategies
  • Peer-based learning opportunities along with dedicated program management
  • Robust training on platforms, solutions and workflows to manage and advance your audience development program for years to come

You can learn more about the program here.

Our next cohort will launch in April. If you are interested in learning more we invite you to complete this form and a member of our team will contact you to schedule an overview of the program and the criteria for participation.

Apply for the April 2024 Cohort

Meet the newest Academy participants

Cardinal News is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news site that serves Southwest and Southside Virginia. Our mission is to report the untold stories of Southwest and Southside Virginia, and strengthen the voices of the people in our communities who have been sidelined in the commonwealth’s political, economic and cultural conversations simply because of where they live.

Dallas Voice is the premier media source for LGBTQ Texas. Dallas Voice was founded in 1984 as a community newspaper. Today we have evolved into a trusted media machine, celebrating 40 years of uncompromising journalism with unparalleled local LGBTQ News and Arts+Entertainment information. Our award-winning coverage reflects and illuminates the fabric of LGBTQ Texas.

The Los Angeles Blade is Southern California’s leading LGBTQ news source and a sister publication to the Washington Blade. Under the leadership of publisher Troy Masters, the Los Angeles Blade focuses on LGBTQ news, politics, opinions, arts & entertainment, and international coverage.

Montclair Local is an independent local news organization founded in 2017 with the mission to “spark dialogue, objectively inform and build community in Montclair.” The mission of the Montclair Local is to make our hometown stronger through independent, in-depth, factual reporting on the issues and events that affect our community.

The New Bedford Light is a free, nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news outlet dedicated to community-based coverage of important local issues — health and safety, education, environment, economy, arts and culture, government and politics, and social justice. We seek to inform and nourish the civic culture of New Bedford and surrounding towns by providing in-depth, fact-based journalism and a broad platform for diverse community voices.

Founded by Publisher Mark Segal in 1976, Philadelphia Gay News has been a part of Philadelphia’s thriving LGBTQ+ community for decades. As a community newspaper, PGN’s mission is to be a platform for the LGBTQ+ community to communicate with each other on various viewpoints, as well as to communicate with the mainstream community. PGN reaches out to, builds rapport with and listens to its readers and supporters — and critics.

The Racine County Eye is the dedicated news source for Racine, Wisconsin and its surrounding areas. The publication was founded in October 2013 by Denise Lockwood and Heather Asiyabi and emerged as a digital-first platform. Its vision was to create a news source deeply rooted in the community, focusing on local news, events, and issues that directly impact the residents of Racine and its surrounding areas.

The Washington Blade is an LGBTQ newspaper founded in 1969 and based in Washington, DC. It is the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States. The Blade is often referred to as America’s gay newspaper of record, and the New York Times said the Blade is considered “one of the most influential publications written for a gay audience.

Watermark is a multi-faceted media company using opportunities and innovations to communicate and advance LGBTQ interests. It was founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando in 1994, and expanded to Tampa Bay in 1995. The award-winning newspaper employs a full-time staff of 12, along with several part-time and freelance contributors.

About BlueLena

BlueLena was founded by an experienced team of publishers, journalists and newsmedia marketing executives to create a sustainable future for independent local media. We do so by deploying world class technology, and delivering the expertise and professional services to build and support subscription, membership and donation models for long-term success.

In the short time since our founding in early 2020, we have quickly grown to support leading community-based media brands coast-to-coast across the United States and Canada, including in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, St Louis, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Tampa, Orlando, San Antonio, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Raleigh, Omaha, Little Rock, Washington, DC and many other markets.

Our 200+ member publishing consortium represents a diverse mix of non-profit and for profit newsrooms, pure digital and print plus digital publications, as well as established and new media brands. Our clients represent membership with Local Media Association (LMA), LION Publishers (LION), the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), the Black Press Association (NNPA), the National Association of Hispanic Press (NAHP) and the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN).

We facilitate the sharing of best practices through a weekly newsletter, a community Slack channel, and monthly Zoom meetings where we spotlight success stories from across the BlueLena publisher consortium.

BlueLena is founder-funded and backed by investment from Automattic (owner of Newspack), Local Media Association and Old Town Media, a New York-based firm that has supported the American Journalism Project, The Colorado Sun, Block Club Chicago and Chalkbeat, among other successful media-related projects.