Caribbean Television Network (CTN) has been named a finalist for the 2026 LION Sustainability Awards, a national honor recognizing excellence among local independent online news organizations. CTN is one of just 45 member organizations selected as finalists from a field of 232 submissions, and stands among 58 finalists competing across 10 award categories.
CTN was named a finalist in the Community Engagement Award category, in the tier for newsrooms with less than $500,000 in annual revenue — a distinction reserved for newsrooms that demonstrate an intentional, systematic approach to telling stories for, with, and by the communities they serve.
In naming CTN a finalist, LION Publishers pointed to a body of work created for a community facing real and pressing decisions.
The organization described CTN as having “produced original service journalism for the Haitian diaspora during a period of acute immigration uncertainty”—coverage aimed at people trying to make sense of a shifting, often frightening legal landscape.
LION cited three specific pieces of that coverage: an explainer on Massachusetts Real ID and Standard Driver’s License eligibility; a Know Your Rights guide for ICE encounters; and a series on “what to know before crossing into Canada.” Each addressed a concrete question that CTN’s audience was actively asking.
Central to the recognition was CTN’s trilingual approach. LION noted that “each piece was produced in English, French, and Haitian Creole and distributed across video, web, newsletter, and social platforms” — ensuring the guidance reached community members in the language they are most comfortable navigating, on the platforms where they already are.
The judges also emphasized the sources of the stories. With the coverage “stemming from conversations with community members,” LION observed, “the goal of this coverage was to replace abstract policy coverage with practical, decision-ready guidance.” That distinction — between explaining a policy and helping someone act on it — is at the heart of CTN’s approach to its work.
LION summed up the newsroom’s philosophy in a single line: CTN, the citation stated, “built its journalism around the questions its audience asked, in the languages they speak, with the solutions they actually need.”
That standard — journalism as a service to a community navigating urgent decisions — is the one CTN has worked to uphold since its founding, and it is gratifying to see it recognized on a national stage.
About the LION Awards
The LION Sustainability Awards, now in their eighth year, are presented by LION Publishers, a national organization supporting local independent online news businesses. The awards celebrate not only journalistic excellence but also the business operations and infrastructure that make a news organization sustainable over the long term. This year’s finalists were selected by an independent panel of 51 volunteer judges from among 232 submissions.
Winners will be announced live at a celebration during the 2026 Independent News Sustainability Summit, to be held September 9 through 11 in San Diego.
For CTN, the recognition marks a meaningful milestone. As a multilingual newsroom serving the Haitian and broader Caribbean community across video, social, streaming, and digital platforms, CTN has centered its coverage on the questions and needs of a diaspora that is too often underserved by mainstream media. Being named among the nation’s leading independent newsrooms affirms that a small, community-rooted organization can meet its audience where it is — and make a measurable difference in the lives of the people it serves.
CTN extends its gratitude to LION Publishers, the volunteer judges, and, above all, to the community members whose questions, trust, and engagement make this work possible. The recognition belongs as much to them as to the newsroom.
CTN will share news of the final results following the September ceremony in San Diego. The full list of finalists is available at lionpublishers.com, and more of CTN’s service journalism can be found at ctninfo.com.
https://ctninfo.com/ctn-named-a-fina…inability-awards/
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Editorial Disclaimer: This article was originally written in English. The French and Haitian Creole versions are produced using AI translation, and errors are possible — the English version is authoritative. CTN also uses AI to convert text into audio. Readers and listeners should rely on the English text where any discrepancy arises.
