Eugene Weekly was one of the local papers which received a $25,000 grant from the Facebook Journalism Project as a means to weather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money will be used to sustain publishing operations allowing the Weekly to continue with its arts and entertainment reporting and its investigative and solutions journalism. The funds will also be used to restore the coverage of local government to the Lane County area.
Plans are also underway to start a weekly email newsletter for readers.
In addition, the Facebook Journalism project has also awarded Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism with a $100,000 grant for its coverage related to the coronavirus pandemic through investigations, data checks and litigation.
In CPI’s case, the money will be invested in journalists, photojournalists, analysts and data experts, litigation expenses, equipment, publication in social networks, as well as in the general administration of the entity’s operations, among other areas.
“We’re proud to support this diverse group of publishers — many of which are family or independently owned. 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,” says Campbell Brown, VP of global news partnerships at Facebook.
