Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Google News plans threaten indy sites:
"Search giant Google is planning to revamp its news aggregator to rank stories using a controversial rating system that could penalise small, independent news sites.
New Scientist last week reported that Google has applied for a patent for a new version of Google News. The current news tool lists search results by date and relevance, but the new system would be built around a database of news sources with 'credibility' scores calculated on story length, volume of web traffic and number of reporters and international bureaus. Scores will then be used to rank the search results from individual news organisations.
Brian Dominick, editor of alternative news site the New Standard, described the new system as 'horrendous' and said that factors of scale are almost meaningless to an individual news story.
'I can understand the desire to unclutter Google News search results, but suppressing duplicate copies of AP stories doesn't address the fact that most mainstream media run essentially the same piece on everything that comes down the line, anyway,' said Mr Dominick.
'Independents that produce original content add value, and they need and deserve the relatively even playing field Google News has provided thus far.'..."
"Search giant Google is planning to revamp its news aggregator to rank stories using a controversial rating system that could penalise small, independent news sites.
New Scientist last week reported that Google has applied for a patent for a new version of Google News. The current news tool lists search results by date and relevance, but the new system would be built around a database of news sources with 'credibility' scores calculated on story length, volume of web traffic and number of reporters and international bureaus. Scores will then be used to rank the search results from individual news organisations.
Brian Dominick, editor of alternative news site the New Standard, described the new system as 'horrendous' and said that factors of scale are almost meaningless to an individual news story.
'I can understand the desire to unclutter Google News search results, but suppressing duplicate copies of AP stories doesn't address the fact that most mainstream media run essentially the same piece on everything that comes down the line, anyway,' said Mr Dominick.
'Independents that produce original content add value, and they need and deserve the relatively even playing field Google News has provided thus far.'..."
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