Google supports local journalism in new feature
Google announced on Tuesday the release of its latest feature directed at local journalism readers and reports to assist in organizing local news outlets.
The latest feature will deliver more transparency to homegrown news content when individuals seek information concerning their community. According to the search engine, its latest feature is not a new one but relatively very similar to previously deployed COVID-19 searches feature.
The Big Tech giant had previously rolled out a feature that incorporates a package of local news stories based on users’ search queries. Now, the latest release will not only cover the pandemic’s news, but also sports, local government, and a whole lot more, as reported by The Verge.
For instance, if a searcher types in basketball, the search engine will reveal a bundle of stories about sports.
The Big Tech giant stated it is currently working on some adjustments to its systems to pave the way for authoritative and prominent local news outlets to augment their appearance. Aside from national publications to appear in Top Stories and more generalized news features.
“This improvement ensures people will see authoritative local stories when they’re searching for news, helping both the brand and the content of news publishers reach more people,” Google stated in a statement.
The added tool will also allow searchers to narrow down chosen subsections about specific topics about local news, such as high school sports. In parallel, if the user has already enabled their location feature in its device’s setting, the search engine will generate much more accurate and relevant outcomes.
“For example, if you are in Detroit and search for football, we will now show you results for local high school and college teams, rather than just showing you results for, say, the professional team,” the giant elaborated.
With all the alterations Google is making to its platform, the Big Tech titan did not suffice with the news feature for readers, as it also announced its most recent data tools exclusively for reporters.
The Census Mapper project is a map that users can incorporate into their stories to show Census data on a state and national scale. Primarily, Google News Initiatives was the leading entity supporting the project via the 2020 Census Co-op.
The 2020 Census tallies everyone in all U.S.-states, including the District of Columbia and five of the country’s territories. It delivers an image of the nation to help identify the best results to build governmental entities, such as schools, hospitals, and even businesses. Also, it helps determine federal funding dispersal and how congressional seats are distributed.
In Google’s case, Census Co-op can reveal Census data on a domestic scale, revealing how each community’s population changed throughout existence.
The role of tech titan is to intertwine its services to enhance local services, all while playing a fundamental role in changing the wind as to how traditional news outlets work, which will also reach a new technological level.
The company is enhancing its Common Knowledge Project, “a visual journalism project that allows reporters to explore local data,” according to Engadget.
This feature is expected to deliver some kind of relief to a multitude of local newspapers and sites that have declared bankruptcy or closed due to the heavy monetary flow of ads led by Big Tech giants, Facebook and Google. Now, both tech moguls have invested immersive investments to bolster local journalism.