LONDON: Google says it will start paying some publishers for their news content, in a move that could pave the way for reduced tensions between the internet search giant and the beleagured news industry.

The company said on Thursday that it plans to launch this year a licencing programme to “pay publishers for high-quality content”. The programme will start with local and national publications in Germany, Australia and Brazil, “with more to come soon”, Brad Bender, vice president of product management, said in a blog post.

“This programme will help participating publishers monetise their content through an enhanced storytelling experience,” Bender said, describing it as a significant step forward in how the company will support high-quality journalism.

The first news companies to strike deals with Google include Germany’s Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit, Tagesspiegel and Rheinische Post, Australia’s Schwartz Media, The Conversation, Private Media and Solstice Media and Brazil’s Diarios Associados and A Gazeta.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2020