AUSTIN, Texas – May 7, 2020 – KUT News has been awarded a COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant from the Facebook Journalism Project to support continuing Austin and Central Texas Covid-19 reporting and reach new audiences with fact-based news and information.
“The grant will enable our newsroom to more thoroughly and effectively serve Austin and the surrounding Central Texas communities with critical news and information at a time when other media have drawn back in coverage,” said KUT News Executive Editor Teresa Frontado.
“For example, this will help sustain our recently-developed Spanish language translation project KUT En Español, and expand our long-term goal for robust Spanish translation of a significant portion of KUT and Texas Standard reporting, filling a hole left when the region’s primary Spanish language newspaper, ‘Ahora Si,’ folded in 2018,” she continued.
Additional initiatives the $100,000 grant will support include KUT’s daily coronavirus newsletter and leveraging the WhatsApp platform to reach Spanish speakers.
KUT News is one of only two newsrooms in Austin to receive a grant to help publishers continue serving communities during the coronavirus outbreak. More than 2,000 newsrooms from across the country applied for COVID-19 Local News Relief Grants ranging from $25,000-$100,000.
Learn more about the COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant and see the other local newsrooms that have been chosen.
About KUT 90.5, Austin’s NPR station
KUT 90.5, Austin’s NPR station, delivers in-depth stories by and about people in Austin – for Austin – with the highest journalistic standards from a variety of thoughtful perspectives. A founding member of NPR, KUT News has won more than 250 state, national and international awards for journalistic excellence. KUT’s work is directly supported by a community of sustaining members and local businesses whose investments power the news and conversations that matter to Austin.
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Media contact: Erin Geisler