Google To Start Paying Publishers For High-quality News Content

Google announced a licensing program to pay publishers for high-quality content that will form part of “a new news experience” launching later this year.

Brad Bender, Google’s VP of Product Management, News, wrote in a blog post that the company has partnered with local and national publications in Germany, Australia and Brazil. The company has been in discussions with its publisher partners for several months.

The new product, in support of the news industry, will be launched first on Google News and Discover. The company said it is engaged in talks with many more partners and plan to sign more in the coming months.

The company will also offer to pay for users’ free access to read paywalled articles on a publisher’s site. With this, paywalled publishers can grow their audiences, and people will get an opportunity to read content they might not ordinarily see.

Stefan Ottlitz, managing director of Germany’s SPIEGEL Group, which is Google partner, said, “This interesting new partnership with Google will allow us to curate an experience that will bring our award-winning editorial voice into play, broaden our outreach and provide trusted news in a compelling way across Google products.”

According to Paul Hamra, Managing Director and publisher of Australian news titles including InQueensland and InDaily in South Australia, finding new channels and new audiences for its premium content, in safe and curated environments, is a high priority, and the partnership offers that.

Google expects the new endeavor to support its ongoing efforts with the Google News Initiative, which was launched in 2018, aiming to help journalism thrive in the digital age. The News Initiative, amid the coronavirus pandemic, has provided funding to more than 5,300 local publications across the globe.

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