The News Minute is happy to announce that one of our reader engagement projects has been chosen for funding in the Asia Pacific (APAC) round of the Google Innovation Challenge, which is run by the Google News Initiative. The project, titled TNM Connect, will look to engage our readers living abroad.
“As part of our effort to help journalism thrive in the digital age, the Asia Pacific Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge looked for creative ways newsrooms across the region could increase reader engagement. Selected among 255 applicants, The News Minute’s proposal showcased an actionable solution, and we're eager to see the outcome of the project," says Fazal Ashfaq, News & Publishing Lead, APAC, Google.
TNM Connect is a membership programme that will cater to the NRI – the Indian expat – living in the US, UAE, or UK. It will enable NRIs to stay in touch with their cultural roots, and allow a community of like-minded individuals spanning geographical locations to come together. The programme will empower members to engage meaningfully with issues back home, whether political or social, celebratory or tragic, allowing them to provide help in times of need or distress.
TNM Connect will continue with The News Minute’s niche of covering south India, from the south.
The project will be launched in the coming months, says CEO of The News Minute, Vignesh Vellore. “We’re very excited that GNI has selected TNM Connect for funding. At TNM, we believe that our journalism should be for public good, and we are going into this project with this motto in our DNA,” Vignesh says.
“Our NRI readers are some of our biggest supporters and cheerleaders, and we hope to form a community with them through TNM Connect,” says Dhanya Rajendran, Editor-in-Chief of The News Minute. “While it’s too early to talk about the specifics of the project, I will say that all of us at TNM are very excited. The funding from GNI has come as a shot in the arm at what is a difficult period for independent media across the world,” she adds.
The other organisations from India selected for funding in this round include Gaon Connection, IE Online Media Services, and The Morning Context.
Read the official announcement here.