Over the past few years, online news has seen a rise in popularity across the country, with many people joining the queue to launch their own portals or websites. While some websites have proved to be highly engaging and have gained substantial readership, many small and medium scale news publishers are facing challenges in establishing a strong presence among a wider audience in India. To address this concern, Google has launched a program to support local language publishers by providing them with training and funding opportunities to improve their operations and expand their reach.
The program has been launched under the Google News Initiative (GNI), the tech giant’s digital skills training program aimed at guiding journalists and newsrooms in combating misinformation.
Google Indian Language Program
As stated by Google, GNI’s Indian language program is for small and medium-sized local news publishers in India, which will support English and other Indian language publishers.
The company, which it calls its “most diverse” technology program, will offer support in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati and Marathi languages.
Through this program, an elite pool of news publishers will be given training and funding to scale up their operations and increase their reach among readers. As part of this, publishers will be trained to measure performance parameters such as key web vitals and page speed and will also be guided on content formats, building additional revenue growth solutions and mobile usability.
Additionally, they will receive consulting and technical implementation support to develop an exceptional user experience for their websites.
Publishers will also have the opportunity to participate in virtual workshops, guest talks and Google-led sessions on website optimization, YouTube and data analytics.
Eligibility for the new Google News program
Any Indian-language news organization registered with an operational website in India will be eligible to apply to Google’s Indian language program.
News organisations, including digital natives, broadcasters and traditional media outlets, that have been in operation for at least 12 months and employ at least 50 full-time staff members are eligible to apply by June 30, 2023 .