The membership of one of the most active organizations working to rebuild the nation’s very fractured news industry is coming to San Diego for its annual convention.
Local Independent Online News (LION) will hold its annual Summit at downtown’s Wyndham San Diego Bayside from September 9 to 11.
This will be the first time the 14-year-old nonprofit has held an annual meeting on the West Coast. The previous two Summits were held in St. Louis and Chicago.
LION Executive Director Chris Krewson said California has by far the largest number of LION members in the country (some Canadian news sites are also members). He believes attendance this year is tracking to be around 450, comparable to the last two meetings.
San Diego rose to the top of a very short list, Krewson said, with the Wyndham (formerly the Holiday Inn San Diego on the Bay), being walking distance to desirable locations. The hotel (1355 North Harbor Drive) is proximal to the San Diego Bay, Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter.
There are roughly 30 breakout sessions scheduled for the Summit, most focusing on giving journalists an understanding of the business side of the industry.
“Our LIONs are trying to do a hard thing by keeping news websites afloat,” Krewson said. “We want to offer helpful and practical advice.”
From 2008 to 2025, newsroom employment in the U.S. dropped by 40 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Krewson said the most common feedback the organization gets from new members who attend their first Summit is that they’ve “found their tribe. That they’ve met up with people from all over who are doing the same thing they’re doing. It brings solace to many people.”
Besides journalists, Krewson said the Summit will draw support system vendors as well as funders. Add the San Diego-based Prebys Foundation to the list of funders helping support LION’s local journalism causes.
In 2026, LION was supportive of statewide government affairs issues aimed at getting money to media organizations. The first California Civic Media Program grants were offered this year. The total funding pool is $20 million. LION also endorsed AB 2222, known as the Community NEWS Act, which creates refundable tax credits for California local news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ. (At press time, AB 2222 passed the state legislature and was awaiting a signature or veto from Governor Gavin Newsom.)
Krewson is pleased about such programs, which are similarly on track in states like Oregon, Washington and Connecticut, but wishes they were better connected to helping smaller news outfits.
“LIONs are part of the present and the future of news,” Krewson said. “It’s hard and lonely work that seems to get harder every year. This is an incredibly dynamic space. There are challenges. The good news is that more funders are getting involved.”
For more information about the 2026 Summit, go to: LION. SDSun
(Disclosures: The San Diego Sun is a member of LION, a Prebys grantee and an applicant to the California Civic Media Program.)
