The Washington Informer in D.C. and Baltimore-based AFRO American Newspapers are among 200 U.S. newsrooms awarded grants totaling $16 million through the Facebook Journalism Project.
The grants, which stem from $25 million in local news relief funding, were announced in March as part of Facebook’s $100 million global investment in the news industry.
Overall, the fund, which includes $10.3 million in awards to 144 newsrooms as part of the COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program, supports publishers hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 80 percent of recipients are family- or independently owned and more half are published by or for communities of color.
“We’re proud to support this diverse group of publishers — many of which are family- or independently owned,” said Campbell Brown, vice president of global news partnerships at Facebook. “Not only are these journalists working tirelessly to serve people right now — they’re focused on transformation, building innovative local news businesses that can continue to serve communities beyond the current pandemic.”
Funding was also provided to news organizations in Guam, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Both The Informer and AFRO received $100,000 grants.
Other U.S. recipients include:
Black Voice News
Riverside, Calif.
$100,000
DCist (WAMU 88.5)
Washington, D.C.
$100,000
Washington City Paper
Washington, D.C.
$40,000
New York Amsterdam News
New York City
$96,101
Chicago Crusader Newspaper
Chicago
$30,000
Jackson Free Press, Inc.
Jackson, Miss.
$60,000
St. Louis American
St. Louis
$97,305
MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
Memphis, Tenn.
$72,420
The Richmond Free Press
Richmond, Va.
$100,000
