Google yields to publishers ever so slightly
Yesterday, Google gave publishers access to a system that will allow them to remove their content from its news search service. Publishers will not be able to remove content from Google’s standard Web search, however.
From the Wall Street Journal:
For several years, Google has allowed publishers to make individual articles that are behind a pay wall free through Google, through a service called “First Click Free.” Previously, users could access an unlimited number of stories this way. Now, it will allow publishers to impose a cap of five free stories a day while continuing to allow them to grant access to more.
In case you missed it, Eric Schmidt wrote about how Google can help newspapers last Tuesday. Here’s the clincher:
It’s understandable to look to find someone else to blame. But as Rupert Murdoch has said, it is complacency caused by past monopolies, not technology, that has been the real threat to the news industry.
Meanwhile, Microsoft said it has “no real intent” to pay newspaper publishers to remove remove content from Google’s News Search service. So much for all that speculation.
