It was one of 17 Australian media outlets identified by the Facebook Journalism Project Relief Fund, an initiative aimed at mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on independent media and reinforcing their long-term financial sustainability.

The initiative is part of the Facebook Journalism Project’s $2 million investment in projects, coaching and training.

“Local news is an essential service that is more important than ever as journalists strive to chronicle their communities’ responses to COVID-19,” said Andrew Hunter, News Partnerships Lead, Facebook Australia and New Zealand.

“The coronavirus has had a devastating effect on many of the rural and local commercial enterprises that pay for news by advertising. These funds will go directly to alleviate those losses and contribute to the sustainability of some of the newsrooms across Australia that need it most.”

The judges selected the projects on the basis of organisational need, public interest and impact. Many of the winning submissions include long-term opportunities for increasing the reach and distribution of regional journalism and new ways to open up advertising and subscriber revenue.

InQueensland Editor and Publisher Peter Atkinson said the grant was a vote of confidence in InQueensland’s commitment to quality, independent journalism by Facebook and the Walkley Foundation, Australia’s respected media advocacy body.

“InQueensland launched as a state-based public interest journalism news site in February this year, just before the pandemic hit,” Atkinson said.

“While the timing was difficult, the need for local quality information could never have been greater, which meant ramping up resources to cover what was happening across Queensland. So this funding could not have come at a better time.”

The judging panel included former Queensland Newspapers Editorial Director David Fagan and Managing Director Jerry Harris, along with ABC-TV Landline Executive Producer Cathy Schnitzerling, ABC product development manager Rae Allen and JProject founder Simon Crerar.

Other grant recipients include Central Coast Newspapers, Echo Publications, Fassifern Guardian, Geelong Independent, Gippsland Times, Latrobe Valley Express, Naracoorte News, Noosa Today and Southern Free Times, North East Media, North Western Courier, Star News Group, Sunraysia Publishing Company, Tennant District Times, The Phoenix Group and Shepparton Advertiser.