Google launches Journalism Emergency Relief Fund

Deadline: 29 April 2020

Google has launched a global Journalism Emergency Relief Fund through the Google News Initiative to support small and medium-sized news organizations producing original news for local communities.

The Fund’s aim is to support the production of original journalism for local communities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating globally, it will provide an easily-accessible route to financial assistance at this critical time.

Funding Information

Eligibility Criteria

• Small and medium-sized news organizations producing original news for local communities during this time of crisis.
• Eligible applicants must have a digital presence and have been in operation for at least 12 months.
• The Fund is targeted at newsrooms employing between 2 – 100 full-time employee (FTE) journalists.
  • Local publishers employing more than 100 FTE journalists can still apply and will be considered subject to Google’s discretion, based mainly on differing needs in different countries/regions.
• Organizations must be incorporated or registered in one of the eligible geographies. Unincorporated organizations must be based in one of the eligible geographies.
• Eligible applicants need to have a focus on core news provision, i.e. not lifestyle, sports, business-to-business.
• Eligible applicants can include for-profit or nonprofit traditional news organizations, digital natives, radio and/or TV broadcasters.
• Government-owned entities and individuals are not eligible to apply.

Eligible Geographies

• Asia Pacific
  • Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Cook Islands, East Timor, Easter Island, Fiji, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam
• Europe
  • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• Middle East and Africa
  • Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, KSA, Kenya, Kuwait, Lesotho, Libya, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, UAE, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe
• North America
  • Canada, United States, United States Overseas Territories
• Latin America
  • Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay

 Selection Process

Initial selection of proposals will be done by teams of Google staff who have knowledge and experience in digital publishing and journalism in the regions detailed above. Applicants will then be contacted by email and offered funding before being asked to sign a funding agreement with Google. Selected applicants will then be required to enroll as a Google partner (if they are not already) in order to receive the funding.

For more information, visit https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/journalism-emergency-relief-fund/