How Inkstick Rethought Its Real Challenge

FREDERICK, MD (April 17, 2026) — Inkstick Founder and CEO Laicie Heeley came into the Media Transformation Challenge thinking her independent national security journalism outlet had a revenue problem. It turned out to be something more fundamental.

“I started out thinking we had a capacity problem,” she said. “But working through it, I discovered that the real issue is that people don’t know about us. So, how do we get in front of the right people?”

Heeley’s North Star now reflects a clearer ambition: “Inkstick will grow from a newsroom that does the hard work quietly into one that shapes how the country understands militarization, not just in policy circles, but at kitchen tables.”

Instead of chasing funding first, Heeley began building toward visibility, influence, and reach. A focused push on social media led to an early win: improved quality and engagement across the organization.

“Our social media looks so much better today. And our engagement is so much better,” she said. Freelancers and fellows began contributing once momentum took hold.

If the problem is visibility, the solution is not just growing your own audience, but influencing the broader information ecosystem. That can mean partnerships, co-publishing, and getting stronger, more accountable reporting into larger outlets and their audiences.The work is less about adding capacity, then, and more about using existing capacity with intention.

Just as important was her shift in perspective about scale. Entering the program unsure what a small, mission-driven newsroom could share with global organizations and JSOs led to another insight win.

“I walked in thinking, ‘What could I possibly have in common with AP and Reuters and all these really massive organizations?’ And it’s actually a lot!” she said. “We’re all wrestling with how to adapt to this day and age of journalism, and how do you best get that journalism to people.”

That realization clarified the work ahead; Inkstick does not need to become bigger to have greater impact. It needs to be seen, trusted, and distributed in new ways so its reporting can move beyond policy circles and into the everyday conversations that shape how people understand the world.

That’s the work of the Media Transformation Challenge: helping leaders name the real problem, work backward from it, and turn clarity into early wins that build impactful momentum.