Summarized by AI Model:google/pegasus-multi_news
– Google and the Association of Independent Publishers in South Africa have announced the creation of the Digital News Transformation Fund, which will provide funding to small, independent news publishers in the country to help them "build and grow their digital operations, increase audience reach and engagement, and improve the sustainability of their journalism," per a statement. "Local, independent publishers are crucial to a healthy democracy because they serve as watchdogs for their communities and elevate the voices of grassroots citizens," AIP chair Anetta Mangxaba says. The fund, which will provide funding over the next three years, will be managed on its own by Tshikululu Social Investments, with financial supervision provided by a monitoring board. recipients must be members of the Press Council of South Africa and small, independent, local publishers or industry collectives dedicated to digital transformation and public interest journalism. "This fund, in our opinion, is a vital chance to help independent and small news publishers expand, adjust to the needs of the digital age, and fortify their position as strong and resilient community voices," Mangxaba says.The Digital News Transformation Fund (DNT Fund), an initiative to promote the digital transformation of small, independent South African news publishers, was established by the Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) in partnership with Google. The DNT Fund aims to acknowledge the role that independent and local news publishers play in preserving a thriving, reliable, and varied public interest news environment, according to a statement. Additionally, it seeks to address the resource constraints that have hindered these publishers’ capacity to prepare for and initiate digital transformation projects.
The DNT Fund will offer project-based support to small, local news publishers to assist them build and grow their digital operations, increase audience reach and engagement, and improve the sustainability of their journalism. The fund has committed R114 million over three years, or R38 million annually. The DNT Fund, according to AIP and Google, is an essential step towards media sustainability and digital transformation in South Africa.
The DNT Fund is an essential lifeline for independent journalism in South Africa, according to AIP chairperson Anetta Mangxaba. According to Mangxaba, “local, independent publishers are crucial to a healthy democracy because they serve as watchdogs for their communities and elevate the voices of grassroots citizens.”
However, South Africa’s grassroots media outlets confront tremendous financial strains and the difficulties of the digital divide in the current difficult environment for public interest journalism.We appreciate that AIP and Google are working together to proactively meet the particular requirements of independent and community publishers in South Africa. This fund, in our opinion, is a vital chance to help independent and small news publishers expand, adjust to the needs of the digital age, and fortify their position as strong and resilient community voices. According to AIP and Google, they have created a comprehensive framework that will guarantee the DNT Fund can accomplish its goals in a transparent, credible, and equitable manner.
Tshikululu Social Investments will manage the fund on its own, with financial supervision provided by a multi-stakeholder advisory and monitoring board. A list of all financed projects and recipients will be made public, and the DNT Fund will be subject to strict transparency and reporting requirements. Recipients must be members of the Press Council of South Africa and small, independent, local publishers or industry collectives dedicated to digital transformation and public interest journalism. In addition to not having to employ Google products or services in their digital transformation projects, beneficiaries are not need to be AIP members.
The goal of the DNT Fund, according to Marianne Erasmus, Google News partner lead for Sub-Saharan Africa, is to assist independent, community, local, and vernacular language public interest news publishers in creating a strong digital foundation and useful data strategies that will result in a robust business model.
“In order to create a funding framework that will significantly support the digital transformation requirements of the local and community news ecosystem, we have conferred with and listened to news publishers and policymakers in South Africa.”We’re determined to work with the AIP to accomplish these objectives, and this new R114 million investment will support digital transformation initiatives that have a specific, measurable technological or business objective, as suggested by the local news ecosystem.
The Google News Initiative will provide continual training on digital skills and foundations during the three-year funding period, according to Erasmus. Following industry and stakeholder engagements on its funding strategy and the completion of its structures and procedures, T he fund is anticipated to begin its first round of applications by March 2025.
