We’ve got a lot to share this week: new workshops, new collaborations, and a packed schedule at ONA. Here’s what’s happening:

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🎓 Going Solo Fall ‘25: Registration is Live!

The workshop for journalists building independent careers is back. Going Solo is designed to help you clarify your editorial strategy, grow your audience, and build the foundation for a sustainable business. The next cohort kicks off Oct. 2, and registration is now open. Spots are limited – we’d love to see you in the room.

This round is bigger and better: We expanded from six to eight weeks, spent the summer updating the curriculum to keep up with the fast-changing creator space, and added a new payment-plan option.

Why Going Solo?

This course isn’t about freelancing. It’s about building a business you own: your IP, your revenue streams, your voice, your decisions. What you’ll walk away with:

• A launch + growth strategy for your first year

• Templates for editorial planning, audience growth, and partnership outreach

• Our annual personal finance worksheet

• 20% off up to three 1:1 coaching sessions with our instructors

• One year of membership in Project C’s private Slack community (100+ independent journalists + your peers)

• The confidence – and peer support – to go out on your own and thrive

NOTE! We intentionally cap each workshop at 20 creators so you’ll build a tight peer group – and a network that lasts well beyond the eight weeks. Spots will go fast. Secure yours today.

✨ Journalists Pay Themselves + Project C = ❤️ 

We’re thrilled to announce that Lex Roman’s Journalists Pay Themselves newsletter is merging into Project C. Lex is THE voice to follow on the financial realities of independent journalism and I’m just so dang glad we meet a year ago and started pulling in the same direction. Their work will now live inside the Project C bundle –strengthening the resources available to our community.

That means Lex will join me as an author of this newsletter – you’ll hear from them at least twice a month. And for members of the Project C Community we co-launched earlier this year, Lex will continue showing up in the Slack as usual and hosting regular virtual members-only events and drives, like this month’s Back Indie Media Drive.

If you’re a JPT subscriber or member of the Community, you can find out more here re: what this means for you and your subscription – plus read Lex’s reasons for the merger and about the rest of their ambitious work outside the Project C umbrella.

📚 New Course: Revenue 201 with UT Austin

Enrollment opens soon — more details are on the way later this week!

This fall, Blair Hickman and I will be teaching a brand-new online course with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at UT Austin:

📌 Revenue 201: From Surviving to Thriving as a Creator-Journalist (Nov. 3–Dec. 7, 2025). This five-week course will help creator-journalists move from “making it work” to building thriving, sustainable businesses. We’ll dig into everything from subscription growth and sponsorship packages to mindset shifts and media kits.

And if you haven’t already checked it out, download Knight Center Associate Director Summer Harlow’s smart ebook: Content Creators and Journalists: Redefining News and Credibility in the Digital Age

📍 Find Us at ONA

If you’re heading to ONA in New Orleans this week, come see us on the Midway. Project C is hosting the first-ever Creator Cohort, and we’re part of a full track of programming on creator-model journalism — panels, meetups, and workshops designed for this community.

Check out the sessions below, stop by our table, and come say hi! We’d love to see you there:

📆 Wednesday, Sept. 10
Noon · From Newsrooms to News Brands: Going Solo in Journalism: Liz leads a conversation with independent creator-model journalists Kiran Chawla, Caitlin Dewey, and Matt Kiser.

2:30 p.m. · Creator Meetup: An unstructured chance to meet your people at ONA!

📆 Thursday, Sept. 11
Noon · The Creator-led Future of Journalism: Ryan Kellett talks with Kelcie Pegher (WSJ), Jonathan Hunt (HubSpot), and Francis Zierer (Creator Spotlight).

2:30 p.m. · What’s Hot and Not in Video: Sky Dylan-Robbins (The Video Consortium) leads a discussion with Adriana Lacy (Adriana Lacy Consulting), Jill Nicholson (Chartbeat), and Michael Guidry (Deep South Today).

📆 Friday, Sept. 12
Noon · Media Literacy in the Age of Independent Journalism: Ryan Kellett interviews the LNI Media team: Dave Jorgenson, Micah Gelman, and Lauren Saks.

2 p.m. · Mutual Influence: Building Respectful Creator-Newsroom Partnerships: An interactive workshop with Mollie Muchna (Trusting News) and Samantha Ragland (API).

Saturday, Sept. 13
10 a.m. · Going Solo Creator Journalist Workshop (by application): A half-day session led by Caitlin Dewey, Blair Hickman, Ryan Kellett, and Liz Kelly Nelson. (Note: We’re at capacity, but you can still get on the waitlist just in case!)

And see the action-packed full ONA schedule here.

Project C is part of a coalition building the future of independent creator journalism. Thanks for being part of it!