Wednesday 16th August: The value of news to Google is way more than you think

Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Peter.

The value of news to Google is way more than you think

Big Noises guest Barry Adams shared this report on a Swiss study that suggests the value of news to Google is much greater than the search giant maybe wants to acknowledge. The study looked at the value of journalistic content on Google Search in Switzerland and found, “The integration of journalistic content increases user satisfaction and success rates, highlighting the value users place on news reporting.”

Basically, without news content, Google's users would trust the search engine less, and may go to a rival platform to find relevant and up to date content. This of course undermines the argument that Google has been making for years, that news is a relatively insignificant aspect of their search success.

The researchers suggest that if Google faced real competition, fair compensation for the value that media content provides to Google search would amount to about 40% of total revenue. Whether the numbers are right or not, it supports Barry’s argument that Google won’t ignore publisher needs completely in their efforts to deliver AI-driven, click-free search results.

Back from holiday and fully recharged by the looks of it, Adam Tinworth has embarked on a comprehensive takedown of Elmo’s ‘everything app‘ ambitions for the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He says, “If you’re not planning an X-it (sorry), you’re not serious about maintaining the relationships that you’ve built with readers and sources over Twitter.” As the ‘global town square’ implodes, the opportunity is to take ownership of those relationships and build your own.

This is an interesting question, if only because I have no real answers. If there are any dedicated migration reporters employed at any of the major outlets, that fact has totally passed me by. If I had to hazard a guess though, maybe dedicating a reporter to focus on the facts of the immigration crisis rather than feed the outrage engine would be bad for business at at least some titles.

Pop culture accounts that started on Twitter are becoming serious players in online news, according to Vox. The development makes sense if you think about larger shifts in digital news consumption where social media and alternative news sources are replacing traditional media and “incidental exposure” - encountering news without actively searching for it - is on the rise. Is this good or bad? Honestly, not a clue!

More from Media Voices