BBC News is one of several sites to report on a recent concession by Google to restrict access to content from its search engine. Until now, accessing news websites through Google allowed people to avoid the news sites’ subscription charges. Though the sites of vendors such as The Wall Street Journal restrict access using a ‘pay wall,’ meaning that visitors must pay to read the Journal’s articles, the ‘wall’ was avoidable using Google searches. The announcement by Google though means that, after viewing a set number of pages, readers will be referred to the news service’s subscription page, or denied further access entirely.
The BBC is reporting the announcement as a ‘concession’ on Google’s part. This refers to the acrimonious relations the search engine has enjoyed with news services. In particular, the chairman of NewsCorp Rupert Murdoch has previously poured scorn on Google, accusing the internet firm of profiteering from news content created by others. Further, the free access given by Google has done nothing for the ailing newspaper industry. At the World Newspaper Conference, Timothy Balding pointed to the black hole in printing revenues, with falling circulation rates across Europe. Online media has so far failed to recoup these losses.
In recent months Rupert Murdoch has attempted to solve this problem head on. Appealing to news services the world over, he has fought for a consensus that paying for online news is not only necessary for the industry’s survival, but justified. Though Newscorp presently only charges for news at The Wall Street Journal, Murdoch has announced plans to charge across all Newscorp websites - including The Times and The Sun. Given the recent losses suffered by the corporation – in June Newscorp lost $3.4 billion in revenue – the reason for Murdoch’s scheme is obvious. Yet to be effective, news websites must act together.
The announcement by Google goes some way to make Murdoch’s scheme for charged content a reality. Huge numbers of people read the news through Google’s search engine, or its own Google News portal: the site acts as a gatekeeper to news services. By implementing its First Click Free programme, Google is giving news services a greater chance to profit from their online content. As to Google’s motives, the BBC describes the announcement as a ‘reaction’ to Murdoch’s recent pressure. Though news websites depend on Google for their online audience, the internet firm wishes to develop good dealings with news services, which remain powerful.
In an announcement, the tone of Google’s Chris Gaither was conciliatory: “We have conversations with publishers all the time and some have asked us for more control over their content," he said. Though this understates the extent of the news industry’s anger at Google, it demonstrates the search engine’s desire to be amicable. In a second gesture, Google announced that a separate ‘crawler’ will enable news services to decide where they want to be ranked: on Google’s search engine only, or in addition at the Google News portal, which links to pages directly.
The BBC is reporting the announcement as a ‘concession’ on Google’s part. This refers to the acrimonious relations the search engine has enjoyed with news services. In particular, the chairman of NewsCorp Rupert Murdoch has previously poured scorn on Google, accusing the internet firm of profiteering from news content created by others. Further, the free access given by Google has done nothing for the ailing newspaper industry. At the World Newspaper Conference, Timothy Balding pointed to the black hole in printing revenues, with falling circulation rates across Europe. Online media has so far failed to recoup these losses.
In recent months Rupert Murdoch has attempted to solve this problem head on. Appealing to news services the world over, he has fought for a consensus that paying for online news is not only necessary for the industry’s survival, but justified. Though Newscorp presently only charges for news at The Wall Street Journal, Murdoch has announced plans to charge across all Newscorp websites - including The Times and The Sun. Given the recent losses suffered by the corporation – in June Newscorp lost $3.4 billion in revenue – the reason for Murdoch’s scheme is obvious. Yet to be effective, news websites must act together.
The announcement by Google goes some way to make Murdoch’s scheme for charged content a reality. Huge numbers of people read the news through Google’s search engine, or its own Google News portal: the site acts as a gatekeeper to news services. By implementing its First Click Free programme, Google is giving news services a greater chance to profit from their online content. As to Google’s motives, the BBC describes the announcement as a ‘reaction’ to Murdoch’s recent pressure. Though news websites depend on Google for their online audience, the internet firm wishes to develop good dealings with news services, which remain powerful.
In an announcement, the tone of Google’s Chris Gaither was conciliatory: “We have conversations with publishers all the time and some have asked us for more control over their content," he said. Though this understates the extent of the news industry’s anger at Google, it demonstrates the search engine’s desire to be amicable. In a second gesture, Google announced that a separate ‘crawler’ will enable news services to decide where they want to be ranked: on Google’s search engine only, or in addition at the Google News portal, which links to pages directly.
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