Facebook funds European Corona aid fund for media
Facebook is contributing three million dollars to a relief fund for European media outlets affected by the coronavirus crisis. The money is intended to benefit small and medium-sized media companies, as the social media platform and the European Journalism Centre (EJC) announced on Thursday.
The non-profit EJC will evaluate the applications and allocate the funds in amounts ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 euros. Given the current situation, the process should take weeks rather than months, said Facebook manager Jesper Doub, who is responsible for media partnerships in Europe.
Media companies are currently suffering massively from the loss of advertising revenue, among other things. The fund is therefore intended to provide various types of support.
For example, it could be about help to increase the reach with an e-mail newsletter, innovation projects or also directly about money to pay freelancers, said Doub. Applications can be submitted from April 16.
The EJC intends to allocate 5,000 euros for short-term projects. To cover urgent economic needs, media companies can apply for 10,000 or 25,000 euros. However, 50,000 euros will be available for technological innovations or comprehensive projects for reporting on the coronavirus crisis.
This could involve data journalism projects or closing gaps in local TV reporting, for example, it said. (SDA)
