AAP, SBS, Independent Australia and Women’s Agenda latest to join Google News Showcase
Australian Associated Press (AAP), SBS, Independent Australia and Women’s Agenda have become the latest media outlets to join Google News Showcase.
The news comes after Guardian Australia announced last week it was boosting its state coverage, including the hiring of editorial and support staff, as a result of its inclusion in Google News Showcase.
AAP, SBS and Independent Australia are currently live on Showcase, with Women’s Agenda to follow in the coming weeks.
Google’s head of ANZ news partnerships & APAC news program management Shilpa Jhunjhunwala, who was promoted to the role last month, said: “We’re pleased to reach agreements with these outlets, which are all well regarded for producing comprehensive public interest journalism. These latest agreements build on the significant support we’ve provided to the Australian news industry over the last two decades.
“Over the past few months, we’ve signed agreements with 18 Australian news outlets, networks and associations. These range in size from large publishers to small community newspapers. We are continuing talks with a range of other Australians news publishers.”
AAP CEO Emma Cowdroy said: “We are pleased to feature on Google News Showcase, which will see the inclusion of our independent newswire stories. Our high-quality journalism is vital to the Australian journalism industry and Google’s support helps us to continue our objective of creating quality news content which helps better inform all Australians.”
In 2020, the AAP faced closure but was later saved through a sale to a consortium led by Nick Harrington and supported by former News Corp executive Peter Tonagh. In the 2021 budget, the Federal Government committed to giving the AAP an additional $15 million following an initial commitment of $5 million at the end of 2020.
In an opinion piece for Mumbrella, media analyst Ben Shepherd urged both Google and Facebook to fund the AAP.
On the SBS front, director, news and current affairs Mandi Wicks commented: “SBS has a unique role in Australia’s media landscape providing trusted, accurate and impartial news and information in more than 60 languages, including essential services to multicultural and First Nations Australians. Through SBS’s agreement with Google, we hope to reach more Australians. The Showcase agreement recognises the importance of exploring and celebrating diverse perspectives for the purposes of increasing understanding between Australians.”
The Google News Showcase was launched earlier this year in February. As part of the program, participating publishers will receive a set monthly fee to feature their content, including content usually behind a paywall. In exchange, showcased articles will appear as panels within Google News.
Other publishers that have joined Google News Showcase include but are not limited to Yahoo Australia, Country Press Australia, News Corp, Seven West Media, Nine and Junkee Media.
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topics
AAP
Australian Associated Press
Emma Cowdroy
Google
Google News Showcase
Independent Australia
Mandi Wicks
SBS
Shilpa Jhunjhunwala
Women's Agenda
