Google supports European journalists

The initiative aims to support sustainable development of the media industry and promote innovation in digital journalism through continuous collaboration and dialogue between the technology and media sectors. The program is intended to include other European publishers as well, with all digital media entities eligible to participate in any or all components of the initiative.

Carlo D’Asaro Biondo, Senior Vice President, Google Europe, Strategic Relations, said:

"The internet offers incredible opportunities for developing and spreading great journalism. But a legitimate question arises: how do we maintain high-quality journalism in the digital age? Through the Digital News Initiative, Google will collaborate with media publishers and journalist organizations to create more sustainable models for the media industry. This is just the beginning. We invite others to join us."

The DNI program will focus on three key areas:

1. Product development: Google and publishers will create working groups to establish ongoing dialogue about opportunities to develop products that increase revenue, reader numbers, and engagement.

- The product working group will be a small body composed of representatives from large and small European publishers, reflecting industry priorities. It will serve as a platform for dialogue focused on advertising, video content, applications, data, paid access to information, and Google News services.
- Google, together with partners, will review ideas and products and address upcoming ones as DNI evolves.
- The goal is to foster dialogue for co-developing products that contribute to the global media industry’s growth.

2. Supporting innovation: Google will support and promote innovation in digital journalism over the next three years.

- During this period, Google will commit EUR 150 million (USD 110.7 million) to projects that offer new approaches to digital journalism.
- Applications for support are open to all entities working on innovations in online news, including traditional publishers, online-only platforms, and new tech companies.
- Under the DNI program, projects will be selected based on their innovation, feasibility, and potential impact.

3. Training and research:

- Google will invest in new training and development resources for journalists and news organizations across Europe.
- Google will support research into the evolving media landscape.

Jon Slade, Managing Director, B2C, Financial Times:

"We believe there are opportunities for broader collaboration around creating, monetizing, and developing data tools and analytics for media companies. We hope this will lead to improved user experiences, where audiences recognize and value original content and support premium access models."

Wilfried Ruetten, Director, European Journalism Centre:

"In the digital era, journalism faces completely new challenges and opportunities. To maintain and develop quality, journalists, news services, and publishers must be enabled to respond to these changes. For this reason, significant investments in training and in developing new tools and technologies are highly desirable, especially when driven by one of the main engines of the internet as we know it today."

Summary

Google launches the Digital News Initiative (DNI), aimed at supporting sustainable development of the media industry and promoting innovation in digital journalism. The collaboration is based on ongoing dialogue between the tech sector and publishers, and the program is open to other European publishers.

DNI focuses on three areas: product development, supporting innovation, and training and research. Over three years, Google will contribute EUR 150 million (USD 110.7 million) to projects reimagining digital journalism. The initiative has been positively received by representatives from Financial Times and the European Journalism Centre.