SAN DIEGO — Facebook's chief operating officer says her fast-growing company is looking to strengthen its relationship with the news media.

Sheryl Sandberg told the American Society of News Editors on Thursday that the social network helped boost online traffic to media websites fourfold in the past year.

Facebook's "like" buttons have become ubiquitous in the year since they launched. News sites, blogs and other media outlets sometimes use the less enthusiastic "recommend," but the effect is the same — people share the stories with their friends on Facebook, and those friends click on the links to read the stories.

Sandberg says that engagement can help an industry looking for more ways to boost online traffic and revenue. She says Facebook can facilitate that by providing the technological tools to share content. (AP)