Google and News are always in a rather rocky relationship. On the one hand, people have started using Google, especially Google’s search results, to find the latest information and updates about events or topics today. On the other hand, news publishers have complained about how they lose traffic because of that or how Google’s footage violates copyright. Google’s solution was the initiative of the Showcase News and its main news finally came to the desktop after being exclusive for cellular for months.
It was announced in October last year, Google News Showcase is quite a large collection of news articles that are usually hidden behind paywall but is available for everyone for free. The trick here is that Google is the one who pays for them with an investment of $ 1 billion. In other words, it is Google’s efforts to calm several publishers with online subscriptions while still trying to draw strange seekers to Google News and, maybe, paid programs of the publisher.
As you can imagine, not all news publishers are interested in being part of this initiative but Google can collect the main publications of the UK, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Czech and India. In addition to limitations on the market, news showcase was also previously limited to cellular devices. Now, it makes way to the desktop through a web browser and become an integral part of the Google News website.
On the market where news showcases are available, users will see parts in their top stories dedicated to suggested articles from partners in this program. There will also be certain parts for news events that can be accessed from the left navigation where users can see all participating partners. Finally, every participating partner will have their own specific section for the main article if the user wants deeper diving about what the publisher has to offer.
Although this announcement focuses on the new Desktop Form Showcase News, Google also provides a new mobile version. Publishers will be able to create a list of related stories in their panel that users can knock to get more context on the news displayed specifically.