By Des Erasmus
The Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) has raised procedural concerns over a Google-backed R114-million fund for small media outlets, even as the first grantees move closer to receiving support for digital transformation.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the AIP board said the Digital News Transformation Fund (DNTF) remained “an essential intervention” for a sector facing severe sustainability pressures.
But it also said it had received “a significant number of concerns and complaints” from members about aspects of adjudication and due diligence in the first funding round.
The board said it was gathering and verifying information “to determine whether material breaches of procedure have occurred” and would seek clarity in a meeting with the DNTF board.
It welcomed a commitment by the fund to publish a clear public report on its processes and said that such should be released urgently.
According to the DNTF’s explainer of its
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