4,400 people applied for Facebook-funded community news reporters scheme, it has emerged.
The candidates were vying for 83 regional newsroom positions which are to paid for by Facebook.
The scheme is part of a £4.5m partnership project with the UK's National Council for the Training of Journalists. Facebook will cover the salaries, expenses and training costs for new journalists.
The Press Gazette go on to report how the social media giant invited the first group of 33 community news reporters to its London offices in June where they were given a two-day training session covering digital news gathering and content creation.
NCTJ head of partnerships Will Gore, a former Independent executive editor, told Press Gazette that recruitment for the project was “90 per cent there”.
He revealed that two reporters left the scheme shortly after starting but have since been replaced and said retention on the scheme had been “remarkably good”.
The first Facebook community reporter was hired by Newsquest in March and started work at the publisher’s Worcester office.
