A little bit of an editor’s note: I’m in Chicago, attending the LION Publishers conference through the end of the week.
The full name of the organization is the Local Independent Online News Publishers, of which East Cobb News is a member. I joined LION the day I started East Cobb News in July, because it’s a great resource for newcomers to news entrepreneurship like myself. 
For nearly three days, around 200 of us will be learning about how to build and sustain local news businesses, supporting the journalism we do with measures to develop revenue streams, master the latest technology and better engage with our readers and communities.
I’ll still be posting stories here over the next few days, so don’t hesitate to contact me with calendar items, news tips, event coverage and photos and questions at wendy@eastcobbnews.com. I might not be able to respond or post right away, because the conference schedule is packed with so many things I need to learn to continue to improve East Cobb News.
This is a new thing that many of us are embarking upon, doing online news similar to how local and small-town newspapers evolved a century or so ago. They were started by people in their communities, and covered only their communities.
While I’ve lived in East Cobb a good deal of my life and have been a journalist for a very long time, I’m new to the business of running a news site. I have a lot of ideas in my aim to make East Cobb News an indispensable source of news, events and information for this community.
But I need to learn from those who have been successful in what one of those publishers refers to as “locally sourced news.” With the holidays just around the corner, I’m especially eager to shift into a higher gear as I develop East Cobb News, and with the support of so many of you. Enjoy the rest of your week, and please stay in touch!
