Google Bringing Program That Pays News Publishers to the US

Google is bringing a program that pays news publishers to the United States.

The tech giant’s News Showcase program will launch in the U.S. by the end of summer and will include partnerships with more than 150 news publications, Google Head of Local News, Global Partnerships Chris Jansen said in a Thursday (June 8) blog post on the company’s website.

The program is already active in 22 countries and has added more than 2,300 participating publications since its launch in 2020, according to the post.

In the program, journalists select stories to feature in New Showcase panels that then appear in Google News and Discover and send readers directly to the full article on the publisher’s website, the post said. In addition, Google pays the participating publications to give readers access to some of their paywalled content.

“This access means readers will have the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s articles than they would otherwise be able to, encouraging them to learn more about the publication — and potentially subscribe,” Jansen said in the post.

Among the 150 publications that have signed on News Showcase in the U.S., 90% are local and regional and the remainder are national and global publications like Bloomberg, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, according to the post.

Google also announced in the post that it is updating the Following tab on Google News to feature local publications more frequently and to make it easier for readers to follow topics, sources and locations. This update will be available on Android “soon” and on iOS later this year.

In addition, the firm will add a feature to its Reader Revenue Management product that will help publishers survey their readers in order to provide more relevant content and advertisements, according to the post.

These announcements come about a week after Meta said it will remove news from Facebook and Instagram if it is forced to pay for it by a California bill.

The proposed California legislation, the Journalism Preservation Act, would require online platforms to pay a fee to news providers whose content appears on their platforms.