Facebook news service troubles

NEW YORK: Facebook is having trouble establishing a service providing its users with news due to the lack of original reporting outlets.

The service was established last year and is currently available in some 400 cities in the US.

Facebook announced yesterday that it was making its research on local news available to academics studying the extent of “news deserts” created by newspaper closures and staff downsizing. It also plans to award some 100 grants, ranging from $5 000 (R70000)to $25 000, to people with ideas for making more news available.