According to the latest information, Facebook says it will spend $5 million paying local journalists on the new publishing platform. Reuters reported that independent journalists could start applying for the program today. The company is currently focusing on journalists in areas without news sources – called “news deserts” — who plan to cover “Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian or other audiences of color.”
Facebook declared its new local news platform last month. The platform includes a self-publishing tool that allows journalists to launch newsletters and charge for subscriptions, as well as integration with existing features such as Facebook pages and groups. Reuters reports that Facebook will make multi-deal with select journalists, who could make more money through subscriptions.
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Earlier, the Facebook platform said, “independent local journalists who have a voice covering a given community have an option.” It also competes with other self-publishing platforms – especially the newsletter provider Substitute. Substack launched a $1 million initiative called Substack Local in mid-April, saying it would select up to 30 local news reporters to receive one-year advances of up to $100,000.
Facebook announced a million 5 million investment in local news programs last year. It also pays national news outlets to publish content on its social network. But these efforts, instead of working with large outlets that have an unreliable relationship with the company, tend to create something closer to a home news platform.
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