Recently, Google announced that it will start paying news publishers for “high-quality content” later this year with the launch of “new news experience”. Until now, Google refused to compensate news publishers for content. Hopefully, this move will change things for the better.
Last year, Google considered ending its news service in Europe after the European Union issued directives asking internet platforms to pay publishers for their content used in search results. Now, Google is thinking otherwise.
Google has already teamed up with local and national publications in Germany, Australia, and Brazil and will expand to other countries in the next few months.
With this announcement, Google is trying to take care of two aspects.
1. Aspect 1
Google will pay participating publishers to include their content in a new news content service that will be launched later this year.
According to Brad Bender, Vice President for Product Management, Google News stated that this program will help participating publishers monetize their content through an improved storytelling experience. This will help people go deeper into more complex stories, stay informed, and know more issues and interests.
2. Aspect 2
Google also plans to pay for paywalled articles and make them accessible to consumers for free. This will help publishers grow the audience for their high-quality content.
The new news experience will be seen in Google News and Discover which displays a curated list of articles on Android devices.
This announcement also brings to light Mountain View-based company’s efforts to support news businesses through the Google News Initiative. For example, the company announced the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to help local news publications affected by the coronavirus pandemic. These local publishers will receive monetary aid.