Mat-Su Sentinel Awarded New Business of the Year
Photo Credit: Mat-Su Sentinel
The Mat-Su Sentinel, a nonprofit news source covering the Matanuska-Susitna Borough that launched in June 2024, has been named the 2025 New Business of the Year by LION Publishers, a national organization that supports independent local newsrooms across the country.
The award recognizes news organizations founded after January 2024 that demonstrate strong potential for long-term sustainability through financial health, operational resilience, and meaningful journalistic impact.
Why the Sentinel Was Chosen
Judges highlighted the Sentinel’s quick growth since launching in June 2024 and its commitment to connecting Mat-Su residents with nonpartisan, community-centered coverage. They noted the newsroom’s voter guides, borough and city government reporting, and innovative community events as examples of journalism designed to serve the public good.
“This award is about more than the Sentinel’s first fourteen months of work,” says founder and editor Amy Bushatz. “It’s about the Mat-Su community recognizing the value of having local, trustworthy reporting and standing behind it. I’m honored that LION Publishers saw the impact of this work and chose to recognize it.”
The award was announced September 3 at a ceremony in St. Louis, Missouri.
Bushatz says the Sentinel’s success and this award are the direct result of support from the people and organizations who believe in local news. Sponsors, grant-makers, and hundreds of contributors make it possible to cover news across Mat-Su, including the borough assembly and school board, city council decisions in Palmer, Houston, and Wasilla, local elections, and area issues with depth and clarity.
“We could not have done this without the generosity of donors and sponsors who understand that journalism is a public service,” Bushatz says.
Bushatz previously covered the Mat-Su for the Anchorage Daily News and the Frontiersman. Prior to that she worked as executive editor of Military.com. She established the Mat-Su Sentinel as a grantee of the national Tiny News Collective, which helps first-time news founders build sustainable organizations.
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Also in this issue: building a company and planning an exit strategy; several ESOPs, and UAS’ foray into a new model for tuition. Enjoy!