Biznextindia selected for Google News Initiative’s Journalism Emergency Relief Fund

Bhubaneswar : Biznextindia.com has recently been selected for the Google News Initiative’s Journalism Emergency Relief Fund (JERF). In a bid to support local news organisations, the tech giant, in its first wave of announcements, approved Biznextindia as one of the news organisations to receive funds as part of the initiative. It is to be noted that over 12,000 applicants from about 100 eligible countries applied to the initiative.

“The response to this program has been truly overwhelming. It has been humbling and gratifying to help support local news organizations like you,” the Google News Initiative Team stated in its confirmation mail to biznextindia.

The Program is intended to support the production of original journalism during the existential threat facing many publishers around the world posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has affected everyone, and local news organisations have been at the forefront in helping their communities navigate COVID-19. At the Google News Initiative, we are trying to play our part with this funding and other initiatives as we all work towards the common goal of a sustainable, innovative, and diverse news industry globally,” Google said in one of its blog posts.

Speaking on the achievement, T. Moharana, the editor of Biznextindia said, “Being recognized by the Google News Initiative Team is truly a satisfying as well as a humbling experience. In these tough times, the reward comes as a great boost to our endeavour of delivering local stories that make a difference.”

Biznextindia looks forward to use the fund in its news coverage, expanding its network to bring out stories of the common people of Odisha that need to be heard.