Facebook announced Tuesday plans to invest $300 million in news programs, partnerships, and content over the next three years.
The investment is intended to bolster local news, by supporting local journalists and newsrooms with newsgathering needs, as well as helping the organizations build more sustainable long-term business models.
Approximately one-third of the money has already been allocated to local news non-profits and programs, in addition to Facebook’s own local news initiatives. This includes $5 million to the Pulitzer Center, $2 million to Report for America, $1 million to Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, $1 million to be shared between Local Media Association and the Local Media Consortium, $1 million to the American Journalism Project, $6 million to the Community News Project, and $20 million into expanding Facebook’s own Accelerator pilot.
Facebook’s commitment echoes a similar commitment made by Google last year that allocated $300 million toward supporting news organization.