Newspaper image via flickr user Jon S under a Creative Commons license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

A local newspaper is among 400 U.S. newsrooms receiving a grant from Facebook to support reporting work on the coronavirus.

The announcement Tuesday names “The Porterville Recorder” as the only Central Valley news organizations to win a $5,000 grant in the latest round of awards totaling $2 million.

“The Bakersfield Californian” also received a $5,000 grant. Both newspapers are owned by subsidiaries of Sound News Media, which is led by a group of Canadian newspaper executives. The company also recently acquired “The Hanford Sentinel,” “Selma Enterprise,” and “Kingsburg Recorder” from national newspaper chain Lee Enterprises.

The Facebook Journalism Project grant program is run in partnership with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Local Media Association in the US and News Media Canada and The Independent News Challenge in Canada.

“The expansion made it possible to help an even greater number of newsrooms navigate the economic impact of the outbreak,” according to a Facebook news release. “The grants will help fulfill needs such as remote work, increasing frequency of publishing, combating misinformation and serving vulnerable and at-risk groups.”