BlueLena is thrilled to announce that Nichole Bonner and Sam Hoisington have joined the team as publisher success managers, each dedicated to specialized practice areas focused on growing audiences and direct reader support for journalism. They begin on Monday, Jan. 5.
In their new roles, Bonner and Hoisington will work directly with publishing teams to help deepen audience engagement, optimize revenue strategies and build long-term financial resilience by leveraging BlueLena's integrated suite of technology solutions, strategy consulting, coaching and execution services.
Nichole Bonner will lead a new practice dedicated to subscription-based publications, supporting publishers focused on audience growth, engagement, paid digital subscription acquisition, renewals and reader retention. With deep experience working alongside editorial and revenue teams at Gannett, McClatchy and most recently the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Bonner will help publishers align audience strategy with sustainable subscription growth.
Sam Hoisington will support emerging-stage membership-driven journalism organizations, working with newsrooms that rely on member contributions, donor engagement and community-powered revenue models. Hoisington brings a strong background in audience development and nonprofit journalism, helping publishers strengthen trust, participation and long-term member value.
Prior to joining BlueLena, Hoisington held strategy consulting roles with Indiegraf and News Revenue Hub. He is also the co-founder of Madison Minutes, as well as the founder of Bentonville Bulletin which he continues to operate today.
“Nichole and Sam bring deep experience and valuable skillsets that reflect the diversity of publishing business models today,” said Ned Berke, co-founder and chief strategy officer at BlueLena. “As more organizations invest to strengthen their subscription and membership strategies, having dedicated leaders focused on these distinct models allows us to better serve publishers and accelerate their audience and revenue growth.”
The additions come as BlueLena continues to expand its publisher services and platform capabilities, now supporting over 250 local, nonprofit and independent news organizations with navigating a rapidly changing media and technology landscape.
To learn more about our solutions, email us or visit bluelena.io.
About BlueLena:
BlueLena is a strategy consulting and audience management platform founded in 2020 to support the sustainability of independent local media, collectively raising more than $100 million over five years in direct support for journalism.
By combining cutting-edge technology with expert-driven services, BlueLena has helped 250+ news organizations across North America develop audiences and grow subscription, membership and donation models.
Our unique shared-resource management approach provides publishers, regardless of size, with access to enterprise-level tools and personalized support, enabling them to focus on high-quality journalism while building loyal, revenue-generating audiences.
BlueLena is majority employee-owned, and backed by investors including Automattic (the parent company of WordPress), the Local Media Association and Old Town Media.
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