The Current wants other local publishers to steal its event ideas

"At a panel for LION's Independent News Sustainability Summit in St. Louis this month, Mader shared some of The Current's lessons learned establishing two successful annual events that ended up benefiting the small news outlet's brand, revenue, and partnerships. One is an awards show celebrating local unsung heroes; the other is a multi-track summit where leaders from mid-sized communities across the United States can exchange ideas for tackling key civic issues. Mader answered questions from moderator Jennifer Mizgata, who helped him develop the latter event through LION's sustainability lab on unlocking revenue barriers."

""If there's an idea here that you like, you are welcome to it, just take it - do it in your town," Mader told panel attendees. "There really aren't that many styles of events that you can do, and it's okay to just sort of copy." Limits on money, time, and people, Mader acknowledged, can make events seem impossible on top of the lift required for the bread and butter of reporting - not to mention the risk that people won't show up."

"Events are "expensive and terrifying," he said. That's how he felt in the organization's early days as The Current's only full-time employee operating in a community of 120,000 and a parish of about 200,000. (The organization has come a long way; a few days after the conference, The Current announced it would join the Deep South Today network, adding to its newsrooms in Mississippi and New Orleans while preserving its independent brand.)"

Christiaan Mader co-founded The Current Media in 2018 as a scrappy local news nonprofit for Lafayette, Louisiana. The organization established two annual events: an awards show celebrating local unsung heroes and a multi-track summit where leaders from mid-sized communities exchange ideas on civic challenges. Those events boosted the outlet’s brand, produced revenue, and created partnerships that supported growth. Organizers note that limited money, time, and staff make events difficult and risky, but advocate copying proven event formats and putting dates on the calendar as a commitment strategy. The Current later joined the Deep South Today network while maintaining its independent identity.

Read at Nieman Lab