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Google Steps Up Investments to Support News Industry in India

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At a time when access to trustworthy news and information has become increasingly critical, Google  announced a slew of investments in support of India’s large and diverse news industry. These investments will help people find quality journalism, contribute to the sustainability of news organizations, and expand our rograms under the Google News Initiative- enabling newsrooms to engage their readers in new
and compelling ways through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Starting today, Google News Showcase will roll out in India with 30 news publishers including national, regional and local news organizations like The Hindu Group, HT Digital Streams Ltd, Indian Express Group, ABP LIVE, India TV, NDTV, Zee News, Amar Ujala, Deccan Herald, Punjab Kesari, The Telegraph India, IANS (Indo Asian News Service), ANI, and many more.

 

Content from Indian publisher partners in English and Hindi will begin to appear in dedicated News Showcase panels in Google News and on Discover, with support for more Indian languages to be added in the future. As part of the licensing agreements with publishers, Google will also pay participating news organizations to give readers access to a limited amount of paywalled content. This feature will enable readers to have the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s articles than they would otherwise be able to, while deepening readers’ relationships with publishers and encouraging them to subscribe.
Speaking about this commitment to support the news industry, and the expansion of Google News Initiative, Sanjay Gupta, Vice President, Google India, said “The Indian news industry and journalists are embracing technology to engage with readers and make data- driven decisions to improve their business and reporting efforts. We believe it’s important that digital platforms contribute to a sustainable, independent and diverse news ecosystem, working with journalists, news outlets and news associations. We’re proud to be stepping up our commitment at this critical time. News Showcase is just one part of our overall commitment to
the large and diverse Indian news ecosystem. Today, we’re also announcing the expansion of our Google News Initiative efforts to bolster journalist training efforts, and new programs to support over 800 small and mid-sized publications achieve financial sustainability with trainings in audience development and product innovation to support business success for news organizations.”

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Speaking about the launch of Google News Showcase in India, Brad Bender, VP, Product, News, Google, said, “Today’s announcement comes at a particularly challenging moment in India, with Indians seeking out authoritative news and information as the COVID crisis deepens. To support news organizations and readers, we’re introducing Google News Showcase, our new online experience and licensing program. This program incentivises and supports news publishers to curate high quality content on Google News and Discover platforms, connecting readers with the news they need.”

Under the Google News Initiative program, Google will expand its work to strengthen digital skills in newsrooms and journalism schools across India, with increased support from the News Lab to train 50 thousand journalists and journalism students to aid reporting and combat misinformation online.

With the GNI Digital Growth Program, Google will offer new business training workshops in audience development and product innovation, to help news organizations address the needs of their audiences, grow their readership and deepen reader engagement. These workshops will be available for free to Indian publishers, alongside the existing workshops to support business success for news organizations.

Google will also invest in product training sessions and implementation support to help more than 800 small and mid-sized Indian news organizations grow their digital ad revenue with the GNI advertising Lab, and will launch The GNI Transformation Lab, a more comprehensive program for 20 local small and mid-sized Indian news organizations to help them transform every aspect of their business to succeed online.

Indian news publishers now join over 700 news publications globally who have signed agreements for Google News Showcase in more than a dozen countries, including Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the U.K. Australia, Czechia, Italy and Argentina, with discussions underway in a number of other countries. More than 90% of the publications signed up around the world represent local, regional or community news.

These new and expanded programs build on Google’s years of investment in the Indian news ecosystem. In 2018, Google launched the GNI India Training Network in partnership with BoomLive, DataLeads and Internews, which to date has trained over 25,000 Indian journalists in 10 languages, touching more than 1,000 news organizations and more than 700 universities. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Google has provided financial support to 228 news organizations in India through the GNI Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. In addition, Indian publishers including The Hindu, Bloomberg Quint and Chambal Media have benefited from GNI programs like the GNI Innovation Challenges, YouTube Innovation funding and the GNI
Subscriptions Labs.

Several news publishers who have partnered with Google under the Google News Showcase program, welcomed Google’s efforts and investments to support the Indian news industry at this critical juncture.
Bharat Gupta, CEO of Jagran New Media, one of India’s largest media conglomerates, said, “Google News Showcase is an excellent initiative by Google that lets publishers curate and surface factual and credible news content. It will enable serious publishers and news-seeking audiences to connect and engage in a meaningful way, taking a step closer towards sustainable growth models. ”

 

“We are looking forward to working with Google on News Showcase. This, we believe, is one of many significant steps by Google towards creating a sustainable, mutually beneficial environment for both Google and independent journalism to thrive,” saids Sanjay Sindhwani, CEO, Indian Express Online, one of largest print publishers in India.

“We believe that News Showcase will help highlight our premium content to an audience that follows our news regularly. The initiative promises to track with a more immersive experience for NDTV users, which we look forward to. Google’s effort to support journalism in India at a time when publishers are rightly seeking better compensation for their content is very welcome,” said Suparna Singh, Head, NDTV Convergence, a national broadcast news service.

“We are delighted to be a launch partner for Google News Showcase in India. The product comes at an opportune time for The India Today Group as we work to reach new readers and further engage our current readers with the stories that matter most to them,” said Kalli Purie, Vice Chairperson, India Today Group, one of the largest national broadcaster and magazine publishers in India. “Over 45 years, The India Today Group has created a deep legacy of credibility, excellence, trust, and bi-partisanship. We want to be constantly innovating in the ways that we approach how our content is featured across the web. We look forward to working closely with Google and reaching a much wider audience for our brand of journalism.
“The showcase offering from Google will be a distinctive experience for the consumers and bring heterogeneity in the offering of news stories from the publishers on the Google platform. It will give a diverse point of view and deeper understanding to the consumers breaking the monotony of similar content experience. The publishers will also get an opportunity to drive visibility towards their big stories, bring newer users and offer a native experience through their panels.”, said Vikas Khanchandani – Group CEO – Republic Network. “This is a wonderful product from Google that signals a positive shift in the thought process benefitting both publishers and readers. This interesting new partnership with Google will give an opportunity to the publishers to showcase the best of their content in a specially designed window apart from getting it discovered through traditional search engine approach. Publishers get an opportunity to find new audience for their premium content and users get an enhanced news experience” said Vikas Handu, Vice President Digital Strategy, India TV

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