Facebook Journalism Project Reveals Latest Accelerator Class

Facebook Journalism Project revealed the 30 news organizations that will be joining its Accelerator program for reader revenue in North America. Accelerator program manager David Grant and Dorrine Mendoza, who works on local news partnerships for the social network, said in a blog post Tuesday that 55% of the 30 news organizations are owned or led by Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latinx or people from other communities of color, while three-quarters of them focus on local news. During the three years that the Accelerator program has been in existence, about 175 newsrooms generated over $60 million in customer lifetime value, more than 200,000 new paying supporters and over 2.5 million new registered audience members. The current edition of the Accelerators program will run from Tuesday (April 20) through mid-July, followed by a six-month period to execute specific grant-funded initiatives. Grants will be distributed by the Local Media Association, Facebook Journalism Project’s partner. The program for news publishers is built on four pillars: Virtual workshops where participants listen to experts and participate in hands-on exercises.Weekly calls with a dedicated, world-class expert coach.Grant funding to execute projects using lessons learned.A community of shared practice in which people work together to support each other’s progress. The coaching team of media professionals from a diverse array of backgrounds and leadership roles includes: Dork Alahydoian, a member of Blue Engine Collaborative and former head of marketing at theSkimm and product lead at The New York Times.Idalmy Carrera-Colucci, a member of Blue Engine Collaborative and vice president of audience engagement and retention for Tribune Publishing.Cierra Hinton, a member of Blue Engine Collaborative, executive director-publisher of Scalawag and a creative strategist.Claudia Laws, marketing and analytics director at The Salt Lake Tribune and Accelerator alum.Fran Scarlett, a member of Blue Engine Collaborative, media consultant and coach.Ryan Tuck, a partner at Blue Engine Collaborative and former editor, product manager and customer insights specialist for organizations small and large.Priya Ollapally Wellington, a freelance product manager with more than a decade of experience in digital media and more than 15 years building digital products. Nearly 300 applications were reviewed by Accelerator coaches and staff from Facebook and the LMA, and participants were separated by size and scope, with one group made up of larger publishers with 30 to 100 employees, and a second comprised of smaller publishers with 15 or fewer. A mix of subscriptions and membership revenue models will be represented in each cohort. The larger publishers group includes: The AFRO-American (Maryland), America’s longest-running African American family-owned newspaper.Black Press Media (British Columbia), one of Canada’s largest privately owned media companies.Central Oregon Media Group/The Bulletin (Oregon), a daily newspaper serving central Oregon since 1903.Chicago Reader (Illinois), a media company creating and curating political and cultural coverage by and for Chicagoans, including highlighting underrepresented communities and stories.Chicago Sun-Times (Illinois), the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in Chicago.Embarcadero Media (California), which operates three community newspapers, six community and lifestyle websites and publishes specialty publications and digital media enterprises on the San Francisco Peninsula and the East Bay.The Gazette (Iowa), eastern Iowa's leading daily newspaper and an independent, employee-owned source for local, state and national news coverage.The Guam Daily Post (Guam), a daily newspaper and the island's fastest growing media outlet.The Hill Times (Ontario), Canada's leading political and policy news source.Long Beach Post (California), a daily online source for local news, politics, business, life, sports, food and LGBT issues.Record-Journal (Connecticut), an independent, family-owned company anchored by its daily and Sunday newspaper, the Record-Journal, plus a group of weekly, community newspapers that cover central Connecticut.Southeast Missourian (Missouri), a daily community newspaper serving southeast Missouri, based in Cape Girardeau, Mo.The Sumter Item (South Carolina), the oldest continuously family-owned newspaper in South Carolina, serving Sumter County and the surrounding area since 1894.Yakima Herald Republic (Washington), the No. 1 source for news and information in the Yakima Valley. The smaller publishers group is made up of: The Breach (Canada), an independent, ad-free, nonprofit media outlet offering transformative journalism.Chatham News + Record (North Carolina), a newspaper serving the people and communities of Chatham County since 1878.La Converse (Quebec), a francophone nonprofit community-powered media fueled by dialogue journalism.Documented (New York), a nonprofit news site devoted solely to covering New York City’s immigrants and the policies that affect their lives.The Juggernaut, a premium publication and community that publishes smart journalism for the South Asian diaspora.Madison365 (Wisconsin), a nonprofit news outlet serving and amplifying the voices of Wisconsin's communities of color.The Michigan Banner (Michigan), an independent, nonpartisan media outlet that reports diverse and multicultural news, happenings and stories in the Great Lakes Bay region and surrounding areas.Mississippi Free Press (Mississippi), a nonprofit journalism website and multimedia network that publishes deep public-interest reporting into causes of and solutions to the social, political and structural challenges facing all Mississippians and their communities.Montana Free Press (Montana), an independent, nonprofit source for in-depth news coverage of politics, government, and other issues that matter to the people of Montana.Native News Online, a Native-led news site dedicated to changing the narrative about Indian Country by producing high-quality journalism that inspires, uplifts and informs.Peterborough Currents (Ontario), a reader-funded, independent news outlet serving Peterborough, Ontario, and the surrounding area.The Plug, a news and insights platform covering the Black innovation economy.QCity Metro (North Carolina), an independent, online news site devoted to covering Charlotte’s growing Black community.The Sacramento Observer (California), an African American–owned weekly newspaper in Sacramento, Calif.Shawnee Mission Post (Kansas), a community news site serving the most-populous county in the state.The War Horse, a nonprofit newsroom educating the public on military service, war and its impact. Accelerator global executive director and Blue Engine Collaborative founder and CEO Tim Griggs said in a statement, “It’s been so incredibly inspiring to see the Accelerator family grow over the past three-plus years. Now, we’re seeing this awesome community of alumni encourage and support other teams in their quest toward sustainability and growth.” LMA chief operating officer Jay Small added, “We are delighted and encouraged to see the diversity of applicants overall, and the selected participants in particular. We at LMA are familiar with quite a few of the participants and know their strong commitments to quality local journalism. Others are new to us but show those same commitments. We look forward to seeing them all grow through their work in the Accelerators.”