Over the last few months, the need for finding accurate information about developments taking place regionally has grown significantly. The problem is that everything that has happened since the beginning of the year has had a negative effect on the financial situation of the majority of the news companies. In an effort to support struggling local businesses from the media industry, Google announced that it would be launching the Digital Growth Program (DGP), which is part of a bigger project; the Google News Initiative.
The DGP is a free educational program designed for small and medium media companies. The program is primarily going to be available in Europe, but Google’s plan is to roll it out in every other continent within the next few months.
The Google News Initiative is not something that appeared out of thin air, as Google has been funding local news ventures for quite some time. As a program, GNI aims to support the growth of digital media companies that have recently developed digital platforms. Google representatives regularly get in touch with local news editors, in an effort to identify the needs of every business and to find ways that will attract new users. Those who participate in the program will have the opportunity to explore Google’s custom-made digital business strategies, focusing on increasing the business’s audience and gradually generating profits.
One might wonder why Google would involve itself in something that might or might not generate revenues for the tech giants. The truth is that the popular Mountain View-based company has long left behind its role as a search engine provider. Internet users can get a lot more from Google than just searching for listed ghostbusters games at Mansion. Through its GNI workshops, Google’s specialists will be educating media staff members on a series of matters. The workshops will be free of charge, and they will last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
Google’s Digital Growth Program will initially be available in six European countries. Media companies in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and France will have to opportunity to apply and participate in the workshops. Applying is fairly easy, and it can be done through the Digital Growth Program’s webpage.
The program will be localised both in terms of language as well as in terms of cultural requirements. The localisation of the GDP will not stop with these six languages. As soon as the GNI executives are ready for the next step, Google will announce the roll-out of the program in several other countries and languages.
The European part of the project is only a fraction of what Google is planning in terms of supporting international media. The company has, after all, supported publishers in countries like Australia and Brazil, and it seems like it is not going to stop there. Google is known for identifying profit-making opportunities and, investing in something that shows significant potential for profit and reputation will only help the company grow even more.
The question behind the Google News Initiative is what the relationship with Google will mean for all the small and medium news companies.