Facebook Invests $390,000 to Support South Africa Newsrooms During COVID-19
Today, the Facebook Journalism Project (FJP) is announcing $390,000 to help South African news organizations navigate the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis. We will provide funding and training to support their coronavirus work and high-quality journalism across the country.
As part of these funds, Facebook will work with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a non-profit organisation with a history of working with publishers across the world. ICFJ will provide $140,000 in these grants to South African publishers, as well as a $250,000 video training program for 10,000 journalists across the continent covering COVID-19 through video reporting. “The news industry is working under extraordinary conditions to keep people informed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As people turn to local journalists for critical information on how to keep their friends, families and communities safe, these journalists are affected especially in the current economic crisis,” said Jocelyne Muhutu Remy, strategic media partnerships manager of Facebook Africa. “We’re working with our partners and the industry to understand their needs, which includes support to help them continue creative, innovative and impactful storytelling.
“Sub-Saharan Africa’s newsrooms will need to play a key role in informing the public in a highly vulnerable region,” said Johanna Carrillo, ICFJ’s vice president of programs. “With this new grant from the Facebook Journalism Project, we can build on our work together helping newsrooms and publishers in the region at this difficult time.”
This investment builds upon Facebook’s ongoing COVID-19 focused work in South Africa and across the continent. Focused on helping provide accurate information to various communities, our work has included launching the Coronavirus Information Center on Facebook, as well as COVID-19 Connect, a WhatsApp-based health helpline developed in partnership with the Minister of Health and local Facebook partner, Praekelt. An additional $100,000 from Facebook will be invested in Kenya this year, for a Video Storytelling Fellowship
FJP’s commitment to newsrooms in South Africa follows Facebook’s $100 million investment to support the news industry during the coronavirus crisis, as well as $2 million in grants for US and Canadian local news, $1 million in grants for fact-checking organizations, and a $1 million donation to the International Fact-Checking Network. Previously, FJP committed $300 million to serving journalists around the world through diverse and inclusive news programs and partnerships.
Applications open 5 May 2020, visit the FJP website / the ICFJ website to find out how to apply.
