Facebook grant supporting local journalism

ODESSA — Free Press Publishing, The Odessa Record’s parent company, is one of only two Eastern Washington media firms to be awarded a $5,000 Facebook Journalism Project grant.

Facebook announced the winners last week.

The only other media company east of the Cascades to be selected is El Mundo Communications of Wenatchee, which provides news in Spanish.

In Western Washington, several media companies were selected, including Beacon Publishing of Mulkiteo; CapitolHillSeattle.com, Cascade Public Media, South Seattle Emerald, The Seattle Times and Entre Hermanos, all of Seattle; Lewis Publishing Co. of Lynden; and the Woodinville Weekly of Woodinville.

The grants will help fulfill needs such as remote work, increasing frequency of publishing, combating misinformation and serving vulnerable and at-risk groups during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

— The Record