And now Facebook also wants to save local journalism

Journalism is in crisis.There have been decades installed, among EREs, closures and warnings warrant.Some of its ills are external and others are of its own.What if bulos, what if headlines clickbait , that if the advertising money is scarce and nobody wants to pay for news, that if the quality of the content has collapsed...The vicious circle in which many media (but not all) have fallen revolves around the new ones communication stars: social networks.

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Among all of them, Facebook is the one with the greatest force of gravity.Its relationship with the media has been complicated from the beginning.In her, the fake news and hate speech have grown (although they are not his invention).It is the largest social network and, as such, an important source of traffic for news websites At the same time, it draws on the content of the media in a relationship that not many consider fair.The changes in its algorithm It directly affects the visibility and income of the media.And, as if that were not enough, it prioritizes video over written content.

But Mark Zuckerberg wants to fix things.Facebook has just announced an investment of 300 million dollars (262 million euros) in local media .At the same time, they are preparing new measures to reduce the weight of low quality information.

What does Facebook want to do?

"Last year we dedicated ourselves to investigate in depth what types of news people want to see on Facebook.We have also asked our partners in the information sector how we can improve our collaboration in order to make a difference," says Campbell Brown, vice president of global news associations on Facebook."Two issues have been repeated systematically: people want more local news and local news writers seek more support."

Excited to announce a new Facebook investment in news with a big focus on local journalism: https://t.co/bjhSodiSb1

-Campbell Brown (@campbell_brown) January 15, 2019

So Facebook wants to contribute positively to the local media situation, for the moment, only in the United States.On the one hand, they want to support journalists in the work of research and collection of news.On the other, help the media to find a sustainable model.All with the ultimate goal of fostering the interest and participation of Facebook users.

That is, the social network wants, on the one hand, to give a cable to the local media whose situation is delicate, to a large extent, because of the impact that large digital platforms have had on their business model (the advertising).And, on the other, you want to take care that the type of content that generates more activity on your platform continues to be produced .

And now Facebook also wants to save local journalism

What will the 300 million invest in

The investment that Facebook announced at the beginning of the year will extend over the next three years.For the moment, the social network has revealed five of the initiatives that will take the funds.

The Pulitzer Center

This organization is dedicated to supporting the publication of news and reports on issues around the world that do not usually appear in the media.Each year they provide funding for some 150 projects.Facebook will donate five million dollars to launch the 'Bringin' program Stories Home.The initiative will seek to promote coverage of issues that affect local communities in the US media.The money will go to 12 multimedia research projects and their dissemination every year.

Report for America

Supported, among others, by the Knight Foundation, Google News Initiative, the Ford Foundation and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, this initiative seeks to value local journalism as a tool to strengthen democracy.Facebook will allocate two million dollars to that, during the next five years, support the hiring of 1,000 journalists in local newsrooms of media.

Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund

The Knight Foundation and the Lenfest Institute created, last September, a fund to reinforce and transform local journalism in the digital era.Facebook's contribution will be one million euros for the creation of a center for innovation and technology in the information sector.The objective is to improve the use of technology in the collection of news and the development of new products and sustainable business models .

And now Facebook also wants to save local journalism

Local Media Association&Local Media Consortium

These two entities, known as LMA and LMC, group the majority of local media outlets in the United States.The social network will allocate a million euros to some 2,000 journalists, distributed by local newsrooms, develop formats of branded content for Facebook and other platforms .The goal is, once again, to deepen alternative revenue forms.

American Journalism Project

This philanthropic organization has established a series of scholarships and grants for those media that are committed to performing a public service to citizens.Facebook has committed to allocate a million dollars to support this project.

In addition, the social network has included among its efforts to support local journalism the financing of its' Community News Project ', launched in 2018, which seeks to encourage the hiring of scholarship journalists from local communities, and the pilot program' Accelerator ', so that the media develop subscription models and depend less on advertising.

And now Facebook also wants to save local journalism

Hand in hand against the fake news

All these initiatives to support local journalism are included in a project launched two years ago: 'Facebook Journalism Project'.While washing its image after years of conflicts with the media, the social network seeks to foster the creation of new quality informational products and train journalists and other media professionals in the use of digital tools.

This is where initiatives to fight against fake news and the spread of low-quality information are also included." News is one of the cornerstones of Facebook's goal , which is none other than providing people with the power to create communities and bring the world closer, "concludes Campbell Brown." We will continue to fight the dissemination of fake news, misinformation and poor quality news on Facebook , but, at the same time, we also have the opportunity and responsibility to help local news agencies grow and prosper."

Images | Unsplash/Johann Walter Bantz, Ryoji Iwata, rawpixel, Roman Kraft

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