The logo for Facebook is displayed on a smartphone in an arranged photograph taken in Little Falls, New Jersey, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. Facebook Inc. is tightening its rules on content concerning the U.S. presidential election next month, including instituting a temporary ban on political ads when voting ends, as it braces for a contentious night that may not end with a definitive winner. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the platform, which is live at Bulletin.com, and introduced some of the writers that the company has recruited in a live audio room on Facebook.
Facebook is pushing to compete in the fast-growing email newsletter trend, as high-profile journalists and writers have left media companies over the past year to strike out on their own.
Self-publishing platform Substack is a leader in helping writers sell email subscriptions, and has lured journalists with cash advances. Other tech companies are also competing in the field, including Twitter Inc, which acquired newsletter platform Revue.
Facebook said it would not take a cut of Bulletin creators' revenue at launch and that creators can choose their own subscription prices.
It said the articles and podcasts would also be available through the Facebook News Feed and through Facebook's News section.
"We built Bulletin on a separate website to enable creators to grow their audience in ways that are not exclusively dependent on the Facebook platform," the company said on the new site.
Facebook is launching the platform with a number of creators including sportscaster Erin Andrews, author Malcolm Gladwell and "Queer Eye" star Tan France.
The company said it was primarily launching with U.S. creators and it was not accepting new ones. But it said the Bulletin site was available worldwide and it would look to add more international names after the beta test. (Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford and Sheila Dang; Editing by William Maclean and Angus MacSwan)