We are pleased to offer LMA member news organizations a News Sustainability Audit, supported by the Google News Initiative and delivered in collaboration with FT Strategies. News outlets can choose among one of four audit options. The audit is free for the first 100 newsrooms to complete registration by June 30.
To apply for the free consultation, simply complete this short registration form.
What is the News Sustainability Project?
GNI and FT Strategies – the specialist media consulting arm of the Financial Times – launched the News Sustainability Project in 2021, to more deeply understand, measure and enable publisher sustainability across the world. As part of the project, detailed financial and survey data from 700+ news publishers across the world were collected, anonymised and aggregated.
Based on that work, FT has produced two types of free performance assessment tools: (1) an in-depth, comprehensive sustainability diagnostic, and (2) topical health checks specific to subscriptions, AI & tech readiness, and business strategy for emerging news publishers.
You can read the findings about worldwide news sustainability in the most recent 2025 report here.
What is a consultation and what will I receive?
While this tool is available for free to all publishers, GNI is funding a series of additional strategy consultations for publishers that are part of the LMA, valued at $6,000USD. These provide an opportunity to discuss the report and receive more tailored, in-depth advice with FT Strategies consultants.
Participating news organisations receive:
- A tailored report with benchmarks and a readiness score,
- A 1-hour strategy consultation with FT Strategies experts,
- An in-depth follow-up report with tailored recommendations to support your growth
More than 100 publishers across 40+ countries have received a consultation, giving it a customer satisfaction rating of 4.8 out of 5.
Which consultations should I take?
Each of the four assessments is designed for different types of publishers based on their scale, access to financial or performance data, as well as the time they can commit to completing the diagnostic.
(1) The Sustainability Diagnostic is the most in-depth, holistic consultation.
- Data required: some financial data and performance metrics.
- Suitable for: medium/large news publishers.
- Time to complete: 30 minutes (depending on easy availability of financial data).
(2) The Tech & AI Preparedness Health Check provides insights on how to leverage technology to optimise operations, drive innovation and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving media landscape.
- Data required: no financial or performance metrics.
- Suitable for: news publishers of all sizes.
- Time to complete: 10 minutes.
(3) The Reader Revenue Health Check assesses your subscription or contributions business against industry best practice.
- Data required: no financial or performance metrics.
- Suitable for: small/medium publishers with subscriptions or contributions
- Time to complete: 10 minutes.
(4) The Business Strategy for Emerging News Publishers assesses if you are well positioned for future growth and sustainability.
- Data required: some performance metrics.
- Suitable for: emerging digital native news organisations
- Time to complete: 15 minutes.
Complete this short registration form by 6/30 to apply for a News Sustainability Audit.
Note: Newsroom data is securely stored by Use All Five and used only by FT Strategies for the purpose of this project. No raw data will be shared externally. Learn more here. If preferred, non-disclosure agreements (NDA) can also be signed to ensure full confidentiality.