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Newry.ie is one of forty five independent community news websites to sign up to a Google News Showcase intitiative. This will help us to better connect with audiences and strengthen our offering to Newry and the world. The financial support provided by Google will help build much-needed sustainability and help cement the sector within the wider journalism ecosystem.
The deal is one-of-a-kind for independent publishers in the UK and it has been made possible by the Independent Community News Network (ICNN) via their public interest news gateway Ping News
The initiative will help Newry.ie become more financially sustainable. Editor/ Director, Columba O'Hare said "The major challenge with a small independent publication like Newry.ie is making it pay for itself. While there is no shortage of passion, enthusiasm and energy in the hyperlocal news sector, at some point financial constraints unfortunately become the 'bottom line' and many have no choice but to quit the business they have dedicated years to. This initiative and resultant funding from Google via ICNN's Ping News will go a long way towards preventing that, and indeed help us to enhance our news offering
"I'd like to thank Matt and all at ICNN/ Ping News and of course Google for including Newry.ie in this initiative."
The iniative will see news from Newry.ie appear on the Google News Showcase on a daily basis. To date the majority of organisations that have partnered with Google on the Showcase project have been traditional news publishers.
Access to trusted news is essential for a robust democracy, and nowhere is journalism more trusted and more valued than at the local and hyperlocal level.
Uplifting hyperlocal independent journalism has been ICNN’s mission since it launched in 2018. With the upcoming launch of our public interest news gateway Ping News ICNN has sought to create new revenue streams for the independent sector.
This partnership with Google does just that. Publishers now have access to new ways to reach their audiences, grow their readership and generate additional income.
Speaking of the game-changing initiative Deputy Director of ICNN, Matt Abbott said: “This is game-changing for independent journalism in the UK and we are delighted to expand our relationship with Google to bring this partnership together.
“Google News Showcase is an extremely important initiative that highlights the value of local news.
“By partnering with Ping News, Google is not only helping the independent sector become more sustainable but is acknowledging the enormous contribution hyperlocal journalism makes to public interest news in the UK.”
He added: "Additionally, Google's support of the Ping! platform – the Public Interest News Gateway – means regional and national publishers will soon be able to access rich multimedia content from every region of the UK on demand, from hundreds of professional independent community journalists."
Ping! developed and built in partnership with Bristol-based web app development company Omni Digital, is due to launch in May 2023.
Vice President of Google and Managing Director of Google UK & Ireland, Debbie Weinstein said "In uncertain times, having easy access to reliable information through trusted sources on the internet is more important than ever. That’s why for more than two decades we’ve focused on connecting people with facts and journalism they can trust.
“Today, we’re excited to extend Showcase licensing deals to 45 smaller independent news titles thanks to a partnership with Ping News, a new public interest news gateway set up by the team at ICNN."
Check out Google News Showcase
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