New York: Google has launched a new initiative, committing $300 million to help news publishers get more paid subscribers while stemming the flow of misinformation.
The internet giant described the Google News Initiative as part of an "effort to help journalism thrive in the digital age."
The announcement in New York followed a series of commitments to help the troubled sector by Google, which has been accused by some in the news industry of sapping revenues from the digital ecosystem.
"I have always believed that the future of Google and the future of our publishing partners were linked,"Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler said in announcing the initiative.
"If you are not successful, we are not successful."
Google will enable its users to subscribe to news sites in as little as two clicks through their Google accounts, and will step up efforts to help news organizations add paying subscribers.
The initiative was developed with some 60 media partners including the Washington Post, Financial Times, French-based Le Figaro, Brazil's Grupo Globo and Italy's La Republica.