Local news, for local people, by local creators (sponsored by Facebook)
Facebook's local news investment, Greenwald's Yes, Minster moment and more news from the "new media" trenches.
Where Substack leads, Facebook follows
Hot on the heels of Substack's local journalism initiative, Facebook arrives, bearing a big old stack of cash. This looks like great news if you're into rebuilding local news in the US — yes, this is a US-only initiative despite my distinctly British League of Gentlemen image above — from the ground up:
We’re committing $5 million to support local journalists interested in starting or continuing their work on our new platform for independent writers which you can learn more about here.
However, as a careful reading of the above quote will show, this is not a completely altruistic move (any more than Substack's is). Facebook requires you to use its tools as part of the deal. As always, I have questions about how portable Facebook-based subscriptions will be, and I'd always recommend that people take this money with their eyes firmly open to the degree to which it ties them a singular platform.