Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has committed $1 billion to be used in building alliances with news publishers and also investing in the “future of news.” The search engine giant is shining the spotlight with the launch of its first initiative, which is called “News Showcase.”
Google shaping experiences of readers and publishers
News Showcase is a new product benefiting publishers and readers with interactive stories that will be rolled out initially to Google News for Android in Germany and Brazil. The company is planning to bring to Google News on iOS and finally to Discover and Search going forward.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google in a blog, will be paying publishers for creating and curating high-quality content for different types of online readers. He said that the platform also has editorial curation newsrooms that offer readers deeper insights on stories that matter and help publishers develop deeper relationships with audiences.
According to Sundar, Google’s mission is to organize the globe’s information by making it useful and universally accessible. He said that the company has taken steps in supporting the news industry ranging from sending up to 24 billion news websites visits each month to its Google News Initiative. It committed $200 million that includes an emergency fund to publishers to help with the impact of COVID-19.
News Showcase to offer more insight into news
News Showcases comprises story panels that will be appearing on Google news. The panels offer publishers the ability to packaging stories appearing within Google News products to have enhanced insight and context with features like timeline, related articles, and bullets. Other components, such as audio, daily briefing, and video will be added later.
The CEO said that this approach will be different from other news products since it focuses more on editorial choices that publishers make regarding stories they will show readers and present them. The company has already signed various News Showcase partnerships with almost 200 publications across Brazil, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK.