Facebook Could Help Journalism by Making News Easier to Find
By News
Published 4 years ago on
March 31, 2020
Share
[aggregation-styles]
Wired
Facebook announced on Monday that it was going to spend $100 million to help local news outlets during the coronavirus crisis. “It’s a moment where getting accurate news about the coronavirus is vital for all us,” says Campbell Brown, the former television news anchor and Facebook’s vice president of global news partnerships. This urgent need for news comes as ad revenues for news sites are drying up.
“Local journalists are being hit especially hard, even as people turn to them for critical information to keep their friends, families and communities safe,” Campbell wrote in a blog post announcing the grant. As if to put an exclamation point on that notion, also on Monday, the Gannett newspaper chain told employees at 100 newspapers that they would have to take unpaid leave.
Facebook’s gift to local news came after it offered a much smaller $1 million investment two weeks ago. That money was meant to support coronavirus coverage in local publications, but according to Brown, so many requests for that money came in that the company realized that a much bigger sum was needed.
Of the $100 million Facebook is now promising to give out, $25 million will be disbursed as cash grants to local publishers in South Carolina, Missouri and Texas and other places to support their coverage of the pandemic, or to keep them afloat during the crisis.
Read More →
Wired
Facebook announced on Monday that it was going to spend $100 million to help local news outlets during the coronavirus crisis. “It’s a moment where getting accurate news about the coronavirus is vital for all us,” says Campbell Brown, the former television news anchor and Facebook’s vice president of global news partnerships. This urgent need for news comes as ad revenues for news sites are drying up.
“Local journalists are being hit especially hard, even as people turn to them for critical information to keep their friends, families and communities safe,” Campbell wrote in a blog post announcing the grant. As if to put an exclamation point on that notion, also on Monday, the Gannett newspaper chain told employees at 100 newspapers that they would have to take unpaid leave.
Facebook’s gift to local news came after it offered a much smaller $1 million investment two weeks ago. That money was meant to support coronavirus coverage in local publications, but according to Brown, so many requests for that money came in that the company realized that a much bigger sum was needed.
Of the $100 million Facebook is now promising to give out, $25 million will be disbursed as cash grants to local publishers in South Carolina, Missouri and Texas and other places to support their coverage of the pandemic, or to keep them afloat during the crisis.
Read More →
By Steven Levy | 30 Mar 2020
RELATED TOPICS:
BTC Scammy Scams, Impact of Blockchain on Global Markets: Crypto The WonderDog Show
Economy /
9 hours ago
US Vetoes Full United Nations Membership for Palestine
World /
9 hours ago
Barbara Corcoran: 1% Interest Rate Drop Will Send Housing Prices ‘Through the Roof’
Housing /
10 hours ago
Cavinder Twins Are Returning to Miami for Their Last Season
Sports /
11 hours ago
Biden is Off on Details of His Uncle’s WWII Death as He Calls Trump Unfit to Lead the Military
Politics /
14 hours ago
US and UK Issue New Sanctions on Iran in Response to Tehran’s Weekend Attack on Israel
World /
14 hours ago
Will State AG Rob Bonta Jump Into 2026 Race for CA Governor?
Opinion /
14 hours ago
Latest
Videos
Business /
8 hours ago
City Council Finally Gives New NW Fresno Costco a Green Light
Economy /
9 hours ago
BTC Scammy Scams, Impact of Blockchain on Global Markets: Crypto The WonderDog Show
World /
9 hours ago
US Vetoes Full United Nations Membership for Palestine
Housing /
10 hours ago
Barbara Corcoran: 1% Interest Rate Drop Will Send Housing Prices ‘Through the Roof’
Sports /
11 hours ago