NEW YORK (AP) — The Washington-area news organization Axios says it will return the $4.8 million federal loan it received as part of the Paycheck Protection Program passed to help small businesses grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei says the program has become more politically divisive since it started.

He also says Axios has found an alternative source of money to protect its 190 employees.

Government aid has always been controversial for news organizations, which stress their independence.

But the coronavirus economic slowdown has hurt news companies that already face precarious financial outlooks.