The Meta Journalism Project announced Wednesday that The Capital Journal has been selected to participate in the 2021-22 U.S. Reader Revenue Accelerator program.
The program offers publishers training opportunities, tools and a grant to grow their subscription or membership businesses. Meta, which is Facebook’s parent company, has trained over 100 U.S. publishers through the Accelerator program since its launch in 2018.
The Capital Journal has been the paper of record for South Dakota’s capital city since 1881. Participating in the Accelerator will help the organization in its efforts to serve digital audiences, Publisher Jeffrey Hartley said.
“Being a part of this excellent program will help us to grow even faster and explore new ideas for our readers,” he said.
The Capital Journal is one of 30 publishers participating in this round of the Accelerator. The others include legacy newspaper organizations like the family-owned East Bay Media Group in Rhode Island and digital-only publishers like Enlace Latino NC, a Spanish-language nonprofit.
“We continue to be impressed by the quality and volume of applicants for each round of Accelerator programs,” Dorrine Mendoza, local news partnerships manager at Meta, said in the announcement Wednesday. “There are so many publishers doing solid work, and running successful businesses who are ready to take things to the next level.”
The program starts in November and runs through the spring.
“The Accelerator program can have a major impact on our 2022 development as well as our current efforts,” Hartley said. “We’re looking forward to diving in.”
About The Capital Journal
The Capital Journal has been the official printed record of Hughes and Stanley counties since 1881. The publication is owned by Wick Communications, a family-owned local media company based in Arizona.
For more information, contact Wick Communications Digital Audience Editor Reilly Kneedler at [email protected].
