Google is continuing to roll out its News Showcase product that it announced back in October 2020 and it promises to improve the way Google News users get their news. The product incentivizes news publishers to provide curated content and beyond-paywall access. While News Showcase isn’t yet available everywhere in the world, Google hopes that it will help to strengthen the relationship between news creators and consumers as it continues to be rolled out.
Google has put a $1 billion commitment behind News Showcase to pay publishers for creating its story panels that appear in Google News and to subsidized the paywall access. It is available via the Google News apps for Android and iOS, as well as through Google Discover and Search. Google says the new product benefits both publishers and readers: publishers will be able to have editorial control and package stories that appear in Google’s news products with elements like timelines, bullets, and related articles based on what suits them best and readers will get “more insight on the stories that matter.”
Google News Showcase is now available from over 450 news publishers in over a dozen countries, most recently launching in the U.K. and Argentina, with over 120 and 40 partner publications, respectively. The News Showcase panels provide readers with an “enhanced view of an article or articles, giving participating publishers more ways to bring important news to readers,” and readers can also access certain paywalled content that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to view without a subscription.
Will Google Be The Savior Of The News Industry?
It’s no secret that the news industry as a whole has faced several challenges in recent times. The rise of social media has made information more freely available than ever before, and it has left publishers that operate under a paywall with the tough task of making content that readers can justify paying for. Often times, the result is readers who refuse to pay for content — regardless of how valuable or important it may be — which translates to fewer page views and revenue for publishers.
What Google is instituting is a solution, in theory, to both sides’ problems. Publishers receive funding and are able to create content without having to worry whether or not it’s eye-catching enough for readers to invest in. Readers, meanwhile, get access to a greater selection of news and content without necessarily having to pay for it, with the possibility that the information they find will eventually inspire them to subscribe and support news outlets and publishers on their own.
For the time being, it seems like a strategy that may help matters, although, without question, there are concerns over the longevity of a plan like this. It certainly feels like Google is attempting to boost the journalism industry and give it the tools it needs to eventually thrive (again) on its own. If the massive financial stake that Google has in the matter is softened over time, though, will Google News Showcase have influenced enough readers to individually support publications for them to survive without Google’s backing? It’s the outcome that Google and its hundreds of partner publications will be hoping for, but only time will tell if that ends up being the case.
