Local Independent news publisher John Jensen of the Lake County News showed up to provide a presentation about Lake County News and local media on short notice Wednesday morning to the assembled group of around 15 NSBA members at Judy's Junction

After a hearty breakfast the lively attendees enjoyed learning about how Lake County News came to exist in Lake county some ten years ago and captured the local media market through a fanatical devotion to accuracy and love of community.
Ten years in and John and Elizabeth are the only award winning independent news agency in Lake county. They publish seven days a week at lakeconews.com and offer great freebies to local residents and businesses including free business directory listings, obituaries, calendar entries, press release tips and best of all free email delivery of the daily headlines!
Who doesn't like useful free stuff?
During the presentation we learned about the formal journalistic stuff that makes Lake County News what it is and certain local challenges they face as independent journalists.
The topics covered included the who, what, where, when, why and how of LCN as well as:
John also emphasized the importance of locally owned media because it is inherently accountable and as a result provides higher quality local news coverage while recirculating any profits back into the local community.
The way he put it was that he and Elizabeth make their home here and have no intention of going anywhere "so we work very had not to make mistakes otherwise we might hear about them in the grocery line from our friends and neighbors".
Seems LCN Publisher/Editor Elizabeth Larson and her husband John are so committed to that they helped form a nationwide group of nearly 200 independent online publishers called LION publishers with whom they communicate and collaborate daily to improve local journalism and share triumphs and challenges.
We got a lot of info from the meeting and, like a true journalist, John walked away with three story ideas from the meeting and a potential new contributor.
In return the NSBA got to know our own award winning, local independent media a bit better and an exceptional advertising deal was proposed for the members to help them grow their businesses.
John kept saying "your success is our success" and we're on board with that. More to come on that as Chuck and John work out some of the details for the group.
Ten years in and John and Elizabeth are the only award winning independent news agency in Lake county. They publish seven days a week at lakeconews.com and offer great freebies to local residents and businesses including free business directory listings, obituaries, calendar entries, press release tips and best of all free email delivery of the daily headlines!
Who doesn't like useful free stuff?
During the presentation we learned about the formal journalistic stuff that makes Lake County News what it is and certain local challenges they face as independent journalists.
The topics covered included the who, what, where, when, why and how of LCN as well as:
- Core strengths and capabilities
- How does LCN compare in the local media market
- Why locally owned media is important
- How to submit press releases and use the calendar
- Advertising opportunities including group buys
John also emphasized the importance of locally owned media because it is inherently accountable and as a result provides higher quality local news coverage while recirculating any profits back into the local community.
The way he put it was that he and Elizabeth make their home here and have no intention of going anywhere "so we work very had not to make mistakes otherwise we might hear about them in the grocery line from our friends and neighbors".
Seems LCN Publisher/Editor Elizabeth Larson and her husband John are so committed to that they helped form a nationwide group of nearly 200 independent online publishers called LION publishers with whom they communicate and collaborate daily to improve local journalism and share triumphs and challenges.
We got a lot of info from the meeting and, like a true journalist, John walked away with three story ideas from the meeting and a potential new contributor.
In return the NSBA got to know our own award winning, local independent media a bit better and an exceptional advertising deal was proposed for the members to help them grow their businesses.
John kept saying "your success is our success" and we're on board with that. More to come on that as Chuck and John work out some of the details for the group.