YouTube surfaces, supports new voices in news
Connecting with Google Blog | 04 January 2023
In 2023, I will have worked with Google for 10 years. I currently lead the partnership efforts for YouTube’s largest digital news publishers and independent journalists, where I focus on helping the news industry tell great stories in digital video while growing sustainable businesses on the platform.
Our mission at YouTube is to give everyone a voice and show them the world. With more people turning to YouTube every day to get their news, we are focused on supporting and building partnerships with the news industry. My team has been working on a range of products and programmes to support the news ecosystem on YouTube, connecting people to trustworthy news coverage.
Elevating news coverage on YouTube
News appears in many places on YouTube, and we work to connect you with the best possible content. That’s why we offer products to help news organisations of all sizes strengthen the relationship between their newsrooms and their audiences.
A few of these initiatives are:
- Breaking news: When a major breaking news moment happens, we want to ensure people discover the latest information. One of the ways we’ve done that is through the Breaking News shelf that appears directly on the YouTube home page, which features news events from authoritative sources.
- Top news: When you proactively look for news, we want it to be easy to find the best results. That’s why we launched a Top News shelf on the search page, so you can learn about specific topics from news channels.
- Elevating authoritative sources: We also prioritise authoritative voices in “Up Next” panels, which recommend additional videos based on your current viewing.
If you’re interested in learning more about where and how news appears on YouTube — and hear tips from other news publishers — take a look at our recent video, “Getting Started as a News Organisation.”
The next generation of news partners
For its entire 17-year history, YouTube has been a platform for showcasing new voices in digital video.
We are continuing this effort by supporting the next generation of independent journalists in reaching new audiences and building sustainable businesses on YouTube.
In April of 2021, we opened applications for a new programme for the next generation of reporters and newsrooms: YouTube’s Creator Programme for Independent Journalists provided training in industry best practices. This included comprehensive sessions on video production, audience development, entrepreneurship, and achieving financial sustainability on the platform. Altogether, the participants represented 25 countries, spoke nearly 20 different languages, and reported on many marginalised communities.
Many journalists are just getting started on YouTube. To help them launch channels and grow their audiences, we produced a series of News Creator Workshops. This six-part series was live-streamed to more than 1,400 people around the world and will become available on demand in early 2023.
While there’s still more work to be done, we continue engaging the news industry to provide access to authoritative information for everyone who comes to YouTube.