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Google's News Showcase - which launches in New Zealand today - will highlight curated content from partners and evolve to include access to a selection of paywalled content, the tech giant says.
Media companies that have signed up so far include NZME, Radio New Zealand, Newsroom and Pacific Media Network.NZME will contribute content from a number of titles in its stable including the NZ Herald, Kāhu News, Newstalk ZB, BusinessDesk, The Northland Age, The Waikato Herald and Kāpiti News.
"As part of our licensing agreements with publishers for News Showcase, we're also paying participating news organisations to give readers access to some of their paywalled content," Google head of news partnerships Australia and New Zealand Shilpa Jhunjhunwala said.
"This feature means readers will have the opportunity to read more of a publisher's articles than they would otherwise be able to, encouraging them to learn more about the publication - and potentially subscribe."
Publishers control what stories appear in Showcase "panels" that appear on Google News and in Discover - a news feed that appears on the home page of Google's iOS and Android app.
News Showcase is part of the broader Google News Initiative that has also included digital training for journalists in data visualisation and other skills, and support for a training camp at Ngā Kete Wānanga Marae for 25 journalism cadets on the Te Rito programme (established by NZME, Whakaata Māori, Discovery and the Pacific Media Network, with support from NZ On Air's Public Interest Journalism Fund in February this year).
NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said: "NZME is pleased to be one of the media launch partners for Google News Showcase – supplying selected high-value news content to the platform."
The partnership would see a range of NZME's quality, trusted news content published for an even wider audience to enjoy on both a local and global scale, Boggs said.
"Being able to further extend the reach of our content and highlight the talent of NZME's 300 editorial staff across our newsrooms is a really positive development. NZME is strongly focused on transforming our business digitally, and the Google News Showcase partnership supports that focus.
"This will help further bolster NZME's digital growth and increase our audience reach, further driving digital revenue and enhancing our digital subscriptions business."
BusinessDesk general manager Matt Martel said: "By helping us build deeper relationships with readers, Google News Showcase will support the development of the BusinessDesk brand, which in turn boosts our editorial operation.
"Our relationship with Google is a key factor in growing our newsroom from five to more than 20 journalists."
Don Mann, chief executive of Pasifika community focused public interest broadcaster Pacific Media Network, said: "Pacific people from all over the world follow the news and journalism of our New Zealand-based newsroom," He said "We aim to be the preeminent Pacific media entity for the Pacific diaspora and our relationship with Google will help us achieve this."
And RNZ's interim chief content officer Megan Whelan said, "This new agreement is another way to make sure trusted public media content is available to more people via Google News, and that's definitely a good news story".
Jhunjhunwala said New Zealand had become the 17th country to get Google News Showcase and the fourth in Asia-Pacific after Japan, India and Australia - after some front-foot jabs by both sides that lead to a deal for a reported A$200m.
Participating publishers control panels in Google News Showcase, which can be used to highlight stories - including paywalled content. Under a licencing deal, Google pays for Showcase users to get free access to selected paid content. Image / Google
On August 8, in a draft decision, the Commerce Commission granted a number of news media outlets, including Stuff, Otago Daily Times Publisher Allied Press, and a number of regional papers preliminary permission to collectively bargain with Google and Facebook owner Meta over a pay-for-news deal. The regulator will release its final determination in October.
Jhunjhunwala said discussions were ongoing.
In a recent guest op-ed for the Herald, Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson said that a number of news organisations had been able to reach terms with Google and Facebook, but he was wary of a potential "bargaining imbalance" between the tech giants and other local news outlets.
"I'm actively exploring how the Government can support news media to realise the value of the content they produce, particularly in relation to the use of that content by digital platforms like Google and Facebook," Jackson said.
"I am considering how the Government can support the whole sector so that fair recognition is given," Jackson said.
