Everything from one shoot

A whole storytelling operation in one place.

Ingest footage, let Cue understand it, then cut, publish, and steward — with a human approving every step.

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Capabilities

▦
Ingest & auto-understandTranscribe, tag, and shot-type every clip
✂
Editroom & ClipsOne shoot into finished cuts and social clips
◷
Storyboard & YouTube PackPlan the shoot, publish the upload
♡
Donor Snacks & StoryBoostSteward givers, amplify what moves people
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Benchmarks~5,000 nonprofit channels, tracked daily
Cue · MCP + API

Your whole story library, readable by AI agents.

StoryOS exposes an open Model Context Protocol surface, so the tools your team already uses can read and act on the story graph — human-approval gates intact.

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For the mission economy

One platform, built for your world.

StoryOS ships as a purpose-built edition for each mission vertical — same engine, tuned to how you tell your story.

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NonprofitsTurn every shoot into a year of storiesNewsroomsBuild a YouTube library that compoundsFoundationsStorytelling across every grantee, in one placePerforming ArtsTurn every performance into a season of storiesNGOsMine decades of field footageUniversitiesOne system across the institutionStudios & agenciesRun every production on one systemPublic infrastructureDocument a public space's story
MedicalComing soonPatient, research, and care storytelling
A reporter and community members on a city street — the local-news ground truth behind the LION census

The State of Local News on YouTube · 2026

Most independent newsrooms are missing from the biggest stage in news.

We studied all 474 newsrooms on the LION Publishers member list on YouTube.

474newsrooms studied
26%publish video actively
72%absent from active video
See where your newsroom ranks

The breakthrough

The newsrooms breaking through on video.

A statewide nonprofit leads the field — proof an independent newsroom can build real scale. Right behind it, the outlets closest to a single community in its own language punch well above their size, with millions of views and the engagement to match.

Ranked by YouTube subscribers. Lifetime views shown alongside as the truer measure of reach.

1

The Salt Lake Tribune

StatewideNonprofit
78.9Ksubscribers
87.4Mviews
  1. 2

    #EnNYConMás

    LatinoSpanish-language
    63.7Ksubscribers
    14.1Mviews
  2. 3

    L.A. TACO

    LatinoImmigrant
    46.2Ksubscribers
    12.0Mviews
  3. 4

    Honolulu Civil Beat

    StatewideInvestigative
    32.1Ksubscribers
    12.1Mviews
  4. 5

    The Baltimore Banner

    MetroPolitics
    19.7Ksubscribers
    8.8Mviews

What thriving looks like

A thriving channel is measured in views. The Baltimore Banner averages 23,500 views per video. The TRiiBE — a Black-led Chicago newsroom with 2,600 subscribers — reaches 30,900.

The cohort

The languages of local news.

The audiences breaking through are reached in the language they live in, and they over-index on serving one community closely.

Languages of local news

Spanish13 outletsHaitian CreoleAmharicIndonesianFarsiNepali

Who they serve

Immigrant-focused25
Latino16
Black15
Indigenous8
LGBTQ8
Asian8

The pattern

What the leaders do differently.

2.8×

more subscribers for newsrooms that publish monthly or more — a median of 1,180 versus 416 for occasional posters.

1 in 3

of the 474 newsrooms even has a findable YouTube channel. Showing up consistently is itself the differentiator.

Community

The newsrooms with the largest video audiences over-index on serving one community in its own language.

The census

By the numbers.

Every LION Publishers member newsroom, studied on YouTube. Figures verified June 2026.

474

newsrooms on the LION Publishers member list, all studied on YouTube

159

have a findable YouTube channel

127

publish video actively (≥1 upload in 90 days)

466

median subscribers among the active channels

Free newsroom benchmark

See where your newsroom ranks.

Tell us your newsroom and we'll send where you stand against the 474 newsrooms on the LION list — and the cadence the leaders keep.