Facebook aims to support local news with fund to train United Kingdom journalists
- by Xavier Trudeau
- in Financer
- — Nov 21, 2018
The social media service has today launched its Community News Project which is created to increase the creation, consumption and distribution of reliable and relevant community news. These regional publishing partners include the Midlands News Association, Archant, JPIMedia, Reach and Newsquest, allowing the scheme to be tested in a range of locations and different-sized businesses.
Facebook is to donate £4.5m to fund 80 trainee local newspaper jobs over the next two years.
The trainees will be placed in local newsrooms on a two-year scheme.
Local newspapers were hit hard by the move to online news, as many advertisers switched from print to online, including on Facebook, which made it difficult for papers to afford enough reporters to fully cover their communities.
Facebook said the NCTJ and publishers will aim to employ trainees from a variety of backgrounds, ensuring the reporters reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.
Some 228 local newspapers folded in Britain between 2005 and 2017, according to the Press Gazette, many of them closed by the publishers involved in the Facebook scheme.
The NCTJ chief executive, Joanne Butcher, said: "Our experience of working with Facebook has been a very positive one".
The community journalists will have access to a full training programme from the NCTJ, while working.
"This collaboration with Facebook will enhance our service to readers by reaching out to communities that have important stories to tell", Harrison noted.
Karyn Fleeting, head of audience at Reach said it was the "next logical step" for the publisher, which already works closely with Facebook.
"Community news is shared widely on Facebook, on pages and in community groups, and this collaboration will help us reach communities which don't now benefit from in-depth community news", said Karyn Fleeting, head of audience at Reach, in the blog post. The company announced in a blog post that it wants to "do more to support" local publishers, due to the important role it plays in the spread of modern news.
Laura Adams, content director at Archant added: "We are excited to be part of an initiative that clearly aligns with our commitment to the local communities in which we operate and our mission to provide top-quality journalism".
