Three Nigerian media outfits — Channels Television, The Guardian, and Legit.NG are part of the 87 recipients of the Google News Initiative (GNI) – YouTube innovation funding. The idea of the fund is to aid newsrooms and publishers to strengthen their video capabilities and innovate new formats for video journalism.
The Google News Innovation is a program designed to “help quality journalism thrive in the digital age” by providing grants – cash without equity – to media organizations that are considered to have potential. The initiative started in Europe in 2015 with a $170 million fund. This later extended to YouTube after the Google News Innitiative set aside $25 million and pledged to work with media figures to combat fake news and develop new features.
Several proposals were tendered by many organizations via an open application announced in July, 2018. The 87 winners pooled from 23 countries across the world, representing an impressive range of broadcasters, traditional and digital publishers, local media, agencies, and creators committed to quality journalism and innovative spirit.
It is the belief of Google that most of these projects are absorbed on expanding newsroom video operations and trying out new ways of reporting news through video — from reaching younger audiences online to exploring live and fact-checking formats. While other projects mirror the sustainability of news organizations – new business models and programs to support a healthy news ecosystem in the world.
The GNI is a development that fortifies Youtube’s commitment to supporting a strong future for news video. In the next months, the video-streaming company will be sharing insights gained from the projects and giving newsrooms the opportunity to benefit from the learnings, as they work together to support the development of long-term, sustainable news video businesses.