Yo! Vizag selected for Google News Initiative’s Journalism Emergency Relief Fund

Yo! Vizag has recently been selected for the Google News Initiative’s Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. In a bid to support local news organisations, the tech giant, in its first wave of announcements, approved Yo! Vizag 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 Yo! Vizag. 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.

Sharing thoughts on the achievement, Yo! Vizag Editor Shilpanjani Dantu said, “Being recognised by the Google News Initiative Team is truly a humbling experience. In these tough times, the reward comes as a great boost to our endeavour of delivering stories that make a difference.”

With a new spring in its stride, the Yo! team looks forward to putting the fund to the best use in its news coverage and bringing out stories that need to be heard.