Established in 1904 in Oklahoma, the Lawton Constitution is one of more than 5,600 recipients of the Google News Initiative Journalism Emergency Relief Fund (JERF). Committed to serving local community journalism, the newspaper’s publisher, David Stringer, knows how difficult it is to fulfill its mission even with best intentions. “No matter how low the cost, we know that some residents want to read the paper but simply can’t afford it,” he says. So the Lawton Constitution has used JERF funds to subsidize half the cost of a subscription for those in need who want to stay informed, giving the community access to important information and building relationships for the future.

In South Korea, Kim Hong-tak from the Jeonnam Ilbo is using JERF funds to highlight the resilience of the local businesses affected by COVID-19. The publication has created a designated column focused on local small and medium sized businesses to highlight their strengths and values and serve as a bridge to connect them to the right government agencies for further support.

In the United Kingdom, DC Thomson used the funding to support new content teams to help generate 10,000 subscribers during lockdown. In Argentina, El Diario published an editorialdescribing how the funding will allow them “to continue..to keep the voices of the city and the region alive”. And, In Canada, Narcity Media will use the funds to increase their staff by hiring at least 1-2 new reporters. 

These are a handful of stories among many we received since launching JERF in April. When COVID-19 was turning the world upside down, we didn’t know what to expect. The intent was simple: help address a very real need from local publishers and news sites globally that are facing financial hardship as a result of the economic and advertising downturn. 

In the last few months, we have provided $39.5 million in funding to more than 5600 publishers in 115 countries. The money is being applied in diverse and creative ways, from ensuring basic reporting needs and giving emergency stipends to allow reporters to cover the crisis, to driving audience engagement and generating subscriptions.

Within two weeks of our announcement, we received more than 12,000 applications. The massive response gave us the opportunity to understand what “local” means in different parts of the world, and how dynamics ranging from newsroom size to ownership structure can differ depending on the region and the kinds of communities served. For instance, the average newsroom size varied from 20 in Asia Pacific to eight in North America. 

We learned from publishers that advertising continues to be the sole source of revenue for most JERF recipients, with 50 percent claiming to be totally advertising dependent. A survey we carried out also showed that less than 30 percent of recipients operate some form of a paywall, while less than 18 percent rely on community contributions or memberships to support their journalism. That situation is changing, though, with 60 percent of the recipients planning to diversify their revenue streams by developing subscription, membership or contribution models. 

Additionally, around 20 percent of publishers told us they are prioritizing a need for cultural change that includes a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as organizational and business management.

The pandemic has affected everyone, and local news organizations have been at the forefront in helping their communities navigate COVID-19. At the Google News Initiative, we are trying to play our part with this funding and other initiatives as we all work towards the common goal of a sustainable, innovative and diverse news industry globally.

COVID-19 has upended the news industry, hitting local news particularly hard with job losses, furloughs, cutbacks and even closure. To provide some help, last month the Google News Initiative launched the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. Today we’re announcing that more than 5,300 small and medium local newsrooms around the world will receive funding ranging from $5,000 - $30,000. Applications covering a number of publications under one organization will be capped at $85,000. As we await a final funding tally, we expect to spend tens of millions of dollars through the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. 

In just two weeks we received more than 12,000 applications from 140 eligible countries, with 90 percent of those applications from newsrooms of less than 26 journalists. We reviewed each application against a set of criteria: publications operating locally, serving a specific geographic community and using the money to continue doing so. More than 300 Googlers joined forces to check the submissions and across the world we held dozens of webinars and office hours to answer questions and guide people through the process. 

About 50 percent of the applications didn’t meet the publicly established criteria. Reasons varied from not producing core news (i.e., lifestyle or sports news) to employing less than 2 journalists. The goal was to be as inclusive as possible while sticking to the eligibility rules. We still have a small percentage of projects to review but below our teams have provided a snapshot of some of the recipients and how they plan to spend the funding.

North America:Chris Jansen, Head of U.S. News & Publishing

As we read their stories, we were struck by the number of news organizations in the U.S. and Canada  keeping their communities informed with fewer than 10 full-time employees. As small businesses, many applicants are trying to figure out how to keep the lights on, literally and figuratively. They’re passionate about providing high-quality journalism, and it’s an honor to support them during such a critical point.

• The Daily Memphian (Memphis, TN, U.S.) will continue to produce 20-30 daily stories focused on issues around COVID-19 and its impact on the poor and on African American communities.

• Chestnut Hill Local (Northwest Philadelphia, PA, U.S.): will replace their “archaic website” with a new platform to get content online more quickly and more often. 

• The Discourse Cowichan (Canada) serves a rural region on Vancouver Island, B.C., including Cowichan Tribes, the largest First Nation in the region. It will increase reporting capacity to cover the impact of COVID on vulnerable communities.

• Madison365 (Madison, WI, U.S.) focuses on communities of color in Wisconsin. It will use funds for additional journalists, video content production and server capacity to provide rapid response coverage on issues impacting people of color across the state.

• WTIP North Shore Community Radio’s (Grand Marais, MN, U.S.) emergency response organizations rely on WTIP to broadcast lifesaving information. WTIP will keep its news team employed and on the air, delivering live and local broadcasting throughout the crisis. 

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: Mark Peters, Director, EMEA Partnerships 

We received applications from 88 countries, and so far we’ve offered funding to more than 1550 publishers, each demonstrating the diversity and strength of local communities and the journalists that continue to serve them through the crisis.

• Mediacités’ (France) fact-checking tool “Veracités” has seen a huge increase in questions from local readers but can currently only answer 10 percent of them. The fund will allow them to invest in the tool and answer more peoples’ questions. 

• Eco di Bergamo (Italy) Data journalism techniques have helped local communities understand what’s happening in the Bergamo area which suffered heavy losses during the crisis. Funding will be used to increase investment in new means of production (video, audio, photo, data) to give readers a deeper more analytical knowledge of what’s happening in their territory. 

• Bihoreanul(Romania) intends to provide information necessary to fight the spread of COVID-19, and talk about the consequences of the pandemic to its readers.

• Rochdale online (UK) will keep their journalists working during the crisis. They’ll focus on helping the community understand the latest advice on COVID-19 and promote the work of local businesses, charities and volunteers.

• Baraka FM (Kenya) will focus on on-air campaigns to encourage listeners to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They’ll buy personal protective equipment to keep reporters safe when conducting interviews and give emergency stipends to reporters who’ve traveled to cover special reports.

Asia Pacific: Rohan Tiwary, Head of Media, News & Entertainment Partnerships, APAC

Asia Pacific has dealt with COVID-19 for longer than any other region—since January, in some places—so we know how urgently this support is needed.  When we looked at the more than 2,000 applications, we considered Asia Pacific’s enormous diversity—not just across ethnicities, religions and languages, but also in terms of the news landscape. We’re supporting more than 800 news organizations in 30 countries and territories, a few examples below.

• The Murray Pioneer (Australia) will set up two online meeting rooms so they can communicate with remote journalists, local governments and interest groups. Their advertising department will also maintain virtual contact with clients and coordinate campaigns more effectively.

• Saitama Shimbun (Japan), a 75-year old newspaper covering the Saitama prefecture, plans to detail the impact of the pandemic to preserve a record for future generations.

• Suara Surabaya (Indonesia) goes beyond being a news portal, allowing readers to submit complaints like a public service hotline and working with stakeholders to find solutions. They will use funding to bridge cash flow impacted by COVID-19.

• Minnambalam (India), a Tamil language publication from Chennai, will be able to keep their newsroom going, the funding giving them the confidence and financial support needed to carry on with their work.

• East Mojo (India), a digital-only news organization, plans to allow journalists to go to remote parts of Northern India to shed light on the impact of COVID-19 once the country’s lockdown is lifted. 

Latin America:  Camilo Gomez - Online Partnerships Group Lead, LATAM

The process behind reviewing each of the 2,000+ applications in the region was an opportunity to connect with the amazing journalism and stories that support local communities.

• Agencia Amazonia(Brazil) will support Project #CoberturaCovid19Amazônia, which investigates the socio-cultural impact of the coronavirus on traditional populations in the Amazon region, giving priority to stories about indigenous, quilombolas and riverside dwellers.

• El Colombiano (Colombia) will maintain the quality and resources that characterize the  journalism of Medellin newspaper (the second most important city in the country).

• La Discusion (Chile) will help finance an integrated radio-digital platform, developing informative, interpretive and opinion content across a variety of subjects like health, minorities, education, and sports etc that have been affected by COVID-19.

• El Imparcial (México) will drive their strategic business plan, which includes improving multimedia content, newsroom training and growing their community. 

Today’s news builds on a number of otherefforts we’ve recently made in light of the pandemic. The GNI will announce more in the coming weeks and of course continue working to help the industry towards a more sustainable future in an ever increasingly digital world.