News Corp’s secret Google slayer

Chris Pash
By Chris Pash | 26 August 2019
 
Getty

News Corp is reportedly about to launch a news aggregation service, Knewz.com, to rival platforms such as Google and Facebook which the global media company believes don’t adequately compensate publishers.

The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp, reports the platform will draw from hundreds of news sources, not just its own titles, including the New York Times, Washington Post and NBC News.

“The articles on Knewz.com will link directly to publishers’ sites, and News Corp won’t take a cut of the advertising revenue the articles generate,” says the WSJ, quoting people familiar with the plans .

“News Corp also expects to share data with those publishers. The service will aim to promote original news reports rather than those that are quick rehashes of existing articles.”

Visitors to Knewz.com are told the site is currently "beta testing". 

News Corp Australia, in its submission to the digital platforms inquiry by consumer watchdog the ACC, said: “Google enjoys overwhelming market power in both online search and ad tech services, and ... is abusing its dominant position to the detriment of consumers, advertisers and publishers.”

The ACCC inquiry made 23 recommendations in response to the substantial market power wielded by the digital platforms, their impact on competition in media and advertising markets and implications for news media businesses, advertisers and consumers.

The full government response to the report’s recommendations will be informed by a public consultation process. 

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