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In a bid to bolster the digital journalism landscape worldwide, Google has unveiled an upgraded curriculum designed to empower news organizations, journalists, and entrepreneurs. Since 2015, Google has been at the forefront of imparting digital skills to over 620,000 journalists and journalism students, as well as countless news organizations worldwide. Now, Google is taking its commitment a step further with a comprehensive new curriculum comprising over 50 lessons and video tutorials, available in 19 languages.
The revamped curriculum is poised to serve as a beacon of knowledge for the digital age, addressing key challenges faced by the news industry. Broken down into three core pillars, this educational resource offers a plethora of insights and practical guidance:
Achieving success in the digital journalism hinges on cultivating a devoted readership. Google's curriculum shares strategies for building and nurturing a loyal audience, steering news organizations toward traffic growth and user engagement. The lessons span across a spectrum of digital tools, including Google Search, YouTube, Google Analytics, Search Console, Publisher Center, Core Web Vitals, and Flutter. Furthermore, specialized technologies tailored for the news industry, such as News Consumer Insights and Realtime Content Insights, are unveiled. The curriculum doesn't stop at tech; it extends into optimizing newsletters, web notifications, social sharing, surveys, recirculation, and reaching diverse and younger audiences.
Financial sustainability is a cornerstone of a thriving news organization. Google's curriculum equips news business leaders and entrepreneurs with the knowledge to develop the right business model and amplify revenue streams from digital advertising and reader-centric sources like subscriptions, memberships, and contributions. From foundational insights into revenue models and financial sustainability to diving deep into digital advertising with lessons on potential ad revenue and Google AdSense and Ad Manager, the curriculum is a treasure trove for revenue optimization. Additionally, guidance on reader revenue management and subscription promotion ensures a comprehensive approach to financial growth.
At the heart of any news organization are its newsrooms, and Google's third pillar is dedicated to nurturing the skills of journalists and editors. Whether you're a freelancer, a newsroom professional, or a budding journalism student, these courses are tailored to enhance digital reporting capabilities, explore innovative storytelling formats, and combat misinformation. The lessons demystify a host of invaluable tools, including Google Search, Google Trends, Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Translate. For those venturing into novel reporting and storytelling tools, there are immersive trainings on multimedia storytelling, data journalism, business reporting, election coverage, machine learning, and a tool known as Pinpoint, designed to aid investigative journalists in efficiently analyzing large datasets. Lastly, the curriculum encompasses essential training on digital verification, safety and security, and fact-checking tools to combat misinformation.
Beyond the new curriculum, Google News Initiative conducts live workshops, such as an upcoming series focused on audience development. Additionally, specialized application programs called "labs" are available to groups of news organizations, where they can collectively tackle shared challenges with expert guidance.
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With this initiative, Google reaffirms its commitment to advancing digital journalism globally, fostering innovation, and strengthening the foundations of news organizations in an ever-evolving digital era. Embracing these resources promises to be a transformative step for the journalism community worldwide.
