Here’s how Facebook will pamper journalists
Facebook has announced it will invest $ 5 million to pay journalists by entering into multi-year deals under its new newsletter platform
The Facebook group is ready to attract independent journalists to its platform with an investment of 5 million dollars.
After sharing initial details of its upcoming newsletter platform last month, Facebook yesterday said it will invest $ 5 million to remunerate local journalists, starting with the United States.
As reported by Reuters , Facebook's new funding will come in the form of multi-year deals with established signatures to use its newsletter platform.
The move is part of Facebook's response to the e-mail newsletter trend. The Menlo Park group will focus on journalists "who are often the lone voice covering a given community".
There has been a boom in newsletters recently. More and more journalists are activating their own newsletters, generating revenue through the creation of their own dedicated audience. Newsletter platforms like Substack and Revue are following the trend to expand their offerings.
Facebook's interest in journalists and the news industry doesn't come by chance.
Like Google, Mark Zuckerberg's social network has long had a strained relationship with the media industry over paying news organizations for content posted on digital platforms.
Suffice it to say that last February Facebook threatened to shut down the platform in Australia in a tug-of-war with the Canberra government. Following the conflict, the social network pledged to invest $ 1 billion in the information sector globally over the next three years.
All the details.
FACEBOOK INVESTMENT TO PAY REPORTERS
Facebook has set up a $ 5 million fund to pay multi-year licensing fees to local reporters. The social network thus intends to help them create an audience and generate revenue thanks to its self-publishing platform.
HOW MUCH FACEBOOK HAS SPENT SO FAR ON JOURNALISM
Since 2018, Facebook has invested $ 600 million to support journalism and is investing $ 1 billion in news over the next three years.
THE NEWSLETTER PLATFORM AND WEBSITES
As we said at the beginning, Facebook shared some first details of its upcoming newsletter platform in March.
This is a free self-publishing tool with options to create individual websites and an email newsletter. An integration with Facebook pages to allow publishing in various media formats including photos, live videos and stories.
Through this tool, journalists will be able to send newsletters or create their own website.
JOURNALISTS WHO CAN ACCESS THE PROGRAM
The company announced that independent journalists in the United States can apply for the program starting April 29.
Facebook also specified that priority will be given to journalists who intend to cover "black, indigenous, Latin American, Asian or other colored audiences", in places without an existing news source.
The Menlo Park group said it will partner with the Washington-based International Center for Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists to evaluate applications and would give reporters select access to experts and services to help them build a business. news.
MONETIZATION SYSTEM
Journalists will thus be able to earn from the publication of stories using Facebook tools, starting with subscriptions. According to Facebook, every journalist-writer can set their own price for their content on the platform.
GROWTH OF PAID NEWSLETTERS
As always, Mark Zuckerberg does not want to miss the news of the moment that attract the interest of the public (and offer opportunities for profit).
The growth of paid newsletters has rocked the media world. As Reuters recalled, high-profile reporters from outlets like The New York Times and Vox Media have left to go their own way on platforms like Substack and Patreon, lured by cash advances and boundlessly earning potential from subscriptions.
Substack announced this month "Substack Local," a $ 1 million program to pay up to 30 local journalists to build their subscription business.
TWITTER HAS ACQUIRED REVUE
Even Jack Dorsey's social network was not indifferent to the revival of newsletters. Earlier this year, Twitter acquired Revue, giving it an immediate link to the newsletter space, which it is now trying to translate into an integrated Twitter offering, to help users monetize their presence on the platform.
JOURNALISTS EMPLOYED BY MR ZUCKEBERG?
New income tools for journalists therefore with social platforms.
However, as noted by Andrew Hutchinson SocialMediaToday , writers through these newsletter offers (such as Facebook), they will put their earnings into the hands of the social network, which could decide to stop that flow of income at any time.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ecco-come-facebook-coccolera-i-giornalisti/ on Fri, 30 Apr 2021 12:47:49 +0000.