Google today announced the launch of new tools and capabilities for both users and writers aimed at assisting local news organizations. The most prominent feature is a carousel that displays local news in response to search inquiries, which will be available in all languages starting today throughout the world. The function was first introduced to give local information for COVID searches, but it has since been expanded to include sports, local government, and other topics. Google has been modifying its systems to make authoritative, relevant local news sources show more frequently alongside national newspapers in Top Stories and other general news sections, according to the company. “This enhancement guarantees that when consumers search for news, they will see authoritative local articles, allowing news publishers’ brands and content to reach a wider audience,” Google stated.
It can also go into specific subtopics of local news, such as high school football. You should obtain more relevant results when you combine it with its location services (if you have them enabled). Google also introduced new data tools for journalists in addition to the new consumer features. The Census Mapper project, for example, is a map that can be integrated in stories to show Census data at the national, state, and county levels. It was created as part of the Census 2020 Co-op, which was funded by the Google News Initiative. It may display Census data at the local level, displaying population shifts over time. Google’s Common Knowledge Effort, a visual journalism project that allows reporters to examine local data, is also becoming better.
Many local newspapers and websites have gone out of business as a result of ad money flowing to multinationals like Facebook and Google. The new features may be cold consolation to them. Both of those internet behemoths have invested money into supporting local media, but it hasn’t stopped the collapse of newspapers that provide an important service to their communities.