Google News Showcase launches in Colombia

On the 10th anniversary of Google’s presence in Colombia, we’re investing in the future of news in the country with the launch of Google News Showcase, our new product experience and licensing program for news. Colombia is now the third country in Latin America, alongside Argentina and Brazil, to provide News Showcase for readers.

Nearly 1,000 news publications globally have signed deals for News Showcase since last year. These span more than a dozen countries, including India, Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Australia, Czechia, Japan, the U.K, Austria and Argentina, with discussions underway in a number of other countries. Over 90% of the publications signed up around the world represent local, regional or community news.  

When Google came to Colombia a decade ago, the tech industry was facing an important moment of evolution in the country. Internet access and mobile penetration were increasing exponentially, marking a tipping point for Colombians. We’ve been a part of that growth ever since by partnering with the news industry, the government, industry associations, advertisers and users. With News Showcase launching in Colombia today, we’re looking forward to continuing to collaborate with the news industry over the next 10 years and more.   

News Showcase is backed by our recent $1 billion global investment in news. The primary goal of News Showcase is to support news publishers that are invested in comprehensive current events journalism in the public interest by giving them a new way to curate their high-quality content on Google’s News and Discover platforms. Through News Showcase, these publishers can help connect their readers with the news that matters to them. As part of our licensing deals with publishers, we're also launching the ability for readers to access select paywall content. This feature will give people the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s content than they would otherwise have access to, while enabling publishers to incentivize more readers to become subscribers. 

  • El Diario on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: "Google News Showcase is a great opportunity for our high-quality content and information to reach new audiences throughout the country. From El Diario we are pleased to be part of this project and committed to doing our part so that the project is a success in Colombia." - Luis Carlos Ramírez, CEO of El Diario
  • El Pilón on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: “By joining News Showcase we're advancing our objectives of expanding and reaching new audiences for our newspaper. In addition, this partnership helps improve our sustainability and strengthens our business" - Clara Inés Araujo, General Manager of El Pilón
  • La Crónica del Quindío on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: “In times of so much uncertainty, having an ally like Google with its News Showcase product means we're able to evaluate new ways to reach audiences and develop new tactics. Our audience was acquired over 30 years of serious and responsible journalism. Now with News Showcase, La Crónica opens a window to look to the future with optimism." - Sandra Macias, General Manager of La Crónica del Quindío
  • La Patria on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: “Being part, as a member, of the News Showcase means for Colombian media an innovative alternative to reach new audiences with quality contents and it will contribute to its sustainability and independence.” - Nicolas Restrepo, Director of La Patria
  • La Opinión on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: We have many expectations. We are confident that this new initiative will strengthen the strategic relationship between Google and media industry. From La Opinión, we believe that it is a great opportunity to show many more readers our journalistic work" - Estefanía Colmenares. Directora of the Opinión
  • El Espectador on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: "This partnership between El Espectador and Google is a great step towards recognizing the value of quality journalism and the need to ensure its sustainability in a changing environment. We are pleased to be part of the Google News Showcase project in Colombia and we are committed to continuing to produce the best news content for our audiences." - Eduardo Garces, General Manager at El Espectador
  • Publimetro on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: "Working hand in hand with Google Showcase provides media companies with new tools to connect with different and wider audiences, giving us the opportunity to deliver objective and truthful content that combats misinformation.” - Jose Luis Carulla, CEO Publimetro Colombia

Today’s News Showcase announcement includes 24 regional and national news publications well known to the people of Colombia: BLU Radio, Caracol Radio,El Colombiano, El Diario,, El Espectador, El Heraldo, El Nuevo Día, El Nuevo Siglo, El País, El Pilón, El Universal, Hoy Diario del Magdalena, La Crónica del Quindío, La Opinión, La Patria, Noticias Caracol, Publimetro, Q'Hubo Bogotá, Q’Hubo Bucaramanga, QHubo Cali, QHubo Medellín, Semana, Vanguardia and W Radio. Over the coming months we plan to add more publications. 

Logos of some of our News Showcase partners in Colombia including: BLU radio, Caracol Radio, El Colombiano, El Diario, El Espectador, El Heraldo, El Nuevo Día, El Nuevo Siglo, El País, El Pilón, El Universal, Hoy Diario del Magdalena, La Crónica del Quindío, La Opinión, La Patria, Noticias Caracol, Publimetro, Q'Hubo Bogotá, Q’Hubo Bucaramanga, QHubo Cali, QHubo Medellín, Semana, Vanguardia and W Radio

News Showcase panels display an enhanced view of an article or articles, giving participating publishers in Colombia more ways to bring important news to readers and explain it in their own voice, along with more direct control of presentation and their branding. Readers who click on a News Showcase panel are directed to the full articles on the publisher’s website. This drives valuable traffic to news organizations and enables them to grow their businesses and their audience while deepening relationships with readers.

Example of how News Showcase shows up for readers in Colombia

Starting today, News Showcase panels from our participating publishers in Colombia will automatically start to appear in Google News and on Discover. Readers will see panels from publishers they follow in their personalized feeds, and they might also find panels from publishers they’re less familiar with presented as suggestions in the Google News “For You” feed and inside “Newsstand,” the discovery area of Google News.

Examples of what story panels look like for people using News Showcase in Colombia.

More support for the Colombian news industry

News Showcase is part of a broader set of Google’s efforts to help the news industry in Colombia thrive and builds on the work we have been doing with the Google News Initiative (GNI) through training, scholarships and funding. Some examples include digital skills training with publishers like El Tiempo, and a program with AMI, an association that represents Colombian news organizations, to promote responsible, objective and independent journalism. We've provided support for Colombian news organizations to accelerate the growth of their businesses online through the Digital Growth Program, as well as Labs like the 2020 LATAM Contributions Lab that included 5 Colombian publishers.

We all know the importance of trustworthy journalism in helping us make informed decisions that affect our lives, work and family.  That’s why we have collaborated closely with a number of fact check organizations in Colombia. For example, since 2019, we’ve provided support for workshops and training on fact checking tools with RedCheq, a network of fact checkers.  And we’ve worked on initiatives to promote the use of digital tools to combat misinformation, such as Verificracks. 

Additionally we’ve partnered with journalism organizations such as Fundación Gabo to support innovation in newsrooms and their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Covid-19 hit all sectors of society hard, including newsrooms.  We responded by funding 83 small and medium local newsrooms across Colombia in 2020 through our Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. And in the last year alone we have trained +1800 journalists with our News Lab programs. 

  • Caracol Radio y W Radio on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: “For many years, traditional media players had set the goal to build a better relationship with Google regarding the production and distribution of content. Showcase is the first and most meaningful step in creating a more fair and mutually beneficial relationship that ultimately benefits users and audiences.” - Felipe Cabrales Urdaneta, Director General Caracol S.A.
  • Hoy Diario del Magdalena on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: "The arrival of the News Showcase in Colombia represents a great opportunity for the country's media, as it not only strengthens business models, but also opens a digital window to high-quality journalism and allows readers and different audiences have access to the best content ” - Ulilo Acevedo, Director of Hoy Diario del Magdalena
  • Q’Hubo Q'Hubo Bogotá on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: “Being part of the Google News Showcase program is a great advance for the Colombian news industry. This will help improve the direction of the newspaper in its print and digital version." - Jorge Alberto Rangel Gómez - Manager
  • Noticias Caracol on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: “We are very happy to participate in the Google News Showcase project in Colombia with our news brands Noticias Caracol and BLU radio. We firmly believe in the essential value for society of professional and high-quality journalism and we are sure that this new Google product will give us a very relevant window for the country's digital audiences” - Marcelo Liberini, Digital Vice President of Caracol
  • Semana on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: "We are pleased to be part of the News Showcase project in Colombia. We are committed to continuing to produce high-quality news content that contributes to and enriches the country's news offer” - Sandra Suarez Grupo Semana General Manager
  • El Nuevo Siglo on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: "Being part of the News Showcase in Colombia will allow El Nuevo Siglo not only to expand its digital frontiers but also to promote the differential, quality and well-written content that is the daily commitment to our readers." - Melany Chiari Caballero, General Manager of El Nuevo Siglo
  • El Colombiano on what News Showcase means for their business and readers: "The arrival of News Showcase to the country represents a great opportunity for the country's media ecosystem, as it not only strengthens its business, but also opens a digital window to high-quality journalism and allows readers to access the best content." - Ignacio Gaitán Villegas President of El Colombiano

Over the coming months we’ll continue to work with our news partners in Colombia to incorporate their feedback as we build new features for News Showcase and include more publishers in the program for the future.

Enabling a robust and healthy landscape for news should be a shared responsibility across industries, governments and private and public interest groups.  News Showcase along with our other News products and GNI programs are a clear demonstration of Google’s commitment to support quality journalism for the people of Colombia for the next decade and beyond.