Google announced on Thursday, April 16, a Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to deliver urgent aid to thousands of small, medium, and local news publishers globally including the Philippines.
The fund is open to small- and medium-sized local news organizations with both a digital presence (website and/or social media) and a newsroom size of between 2 and 100 staff journalists.
Local publishers employing more than 100 full-time employees journalists can still apply and will be considered subject to Google’s discretion, based mainly on differing needs by country/regions.
Media organizations can apply via this simple application form. Applications will close on Wednesday April 29, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. At the end of the process, Google will announce who has received funding and how publishers are spending the money.
“Local news is a vital resource for keeping people and communities connected in the best of times,” said Richard Gingras, VP for News at Google. “Today, it plays an even greater function in reporting on local lockdowns or shelter at home orders, school and park closures, and data about how Covid-19 is affecting daily life. But that role is being challenged as the news industry deals with job cuts, furloughs and cutbacks as a result of the economic downturn prompted by Covid-19.”
Additionally, Google.org is giving $1 million collectively to the International Center for Journalists, which plans to provide immediate resources to support reporters globally, and the Columbia Journalism School’s Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma which is helping journalists exposed to traumatic events experienced during the crisis.
