Earlier in the week we had reported how the Australian Govt was about to pass a tough law forcing Internet biggies such as Google to pay for news Content taken from local news producers. It had even led to a mini-spat between the search engine and the Australian authorities, with the latter negotiating with Microsoft if Google made good its threat of walking out from the Aussie market.
Well, that may not happen so soon. Looks like Google has taken the 1st step in pulling back from the brink by introducing one of its products, “News Showcase” in the Australian market. Though the announcement on Google’s official blog, The Keyword was a bit confusing, as it was almost made out to be as if News Showcase was an exclusive product for Australia, well, it is not.
Announcing the roll out of “the 1st version” of a product which would “benefit users & publishers in Australia”, Google said it was being done with “a keen focus on leading regional & independent publishers given the importance of local information & the role it plays in people’s everyday lives.”
Google said the product was designed to bring value to both publishers & readers by providing a licensing program that would pay publishers to curate Content for story panels across Google services, & gives readers more insights into the stories that matter.
But News Showcase, in Google’s own words, was launched last year. It had more than doubled the number of publications that were part of News Showcase; now, there are over 450 publications across a dozen countries such as the UK, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada & Japan.
The difference then is this: starting today, many of the Australian publishers will be paid to provide Content for News Showcase. The initial publishers featured in today’s launch were among the first globally to sign up, providing early feedback & input on how the product could help bring their journalism to the fore for readers, Google pointed out.
We have been continually working with Australian news publishers of all sizes to provide their readers with a different kind of news experience under News Showcase. As this early version of News Showcase rolls out, the partnerships will provide financial support for some of the country’s most respected independent, local and regional publications including The Canberra Times, The Illawarra Mercury, The Saturday Paper, Crikey, The New Daily, InDaily and The Conversation. We are looking forward to bringing more Australian media partners on board in the coming weeks and months as we further build out the experience for publishers and users.
-The Keyword
But guess what? Some of the big Aussie publishers have already rejected the Google offer. A report in the Guardian said publishing houses of the Sydney Morning Herald & The Age had rejected taking part in News Showcase till the new law called the “Media Bargaining Code” came into force.
All this drama happened a day after Sundar Pichai, the head of Google’s parent company Alphabet, met with Prime Minister Scott Morrison to discuss the Media Bargaining Code that was currently being considered by Parliament. Looks like the Google in Australia story may get even more interesting in the coming days.
