In the news: In a recent pivot, Google has announced plans to start paying some publishers for news content, raising questions about its motives.

Google is launching a new initiative to pay publishers for their news content. Lucinda Southern of Digiday.com reports that Google will start in Australia, Germany, and Brazil, and is reportedly in talks with several other countries.

The move has some publishing veterans wondering what Google’s true motives are. It may be a PR move; according to Southern, “Writing a check to publishers in regions where it’s feeling the heat from regulators for not paying publishers buys some goodwill, according to sources.” Other publishers note that Google has left itself plenty of loopholes in its carefully worded statement. Read Southern’s piece here and Google’s statement here.

Also Notable

AP Now Capitalizing “Black” and “Indigenous”

The AP has recently updated its style guide to capitalize Black when used in a “racial, ethnic, or cultural context.” They will also capitalize Indigenous when referring to the original inhabitants of a specific place. Read more here.

Note from the editors: STRAT and its sister newsletter, Editors Only, have adopted these recent style changes.

A Critical Juncture for Newspaper Publishing?

This week could spell big changes for the newspaper industry. Ken Doctor of Nieman Lab reports on critical junctures facing news publishers Tribune and McClatchy in the coming days. “On [June 30], Tribune Publishing will reach the end of two ‘standstill’ periods. Tribune’s two major shareholders -- Alden Global Capital, with 33 percent of the company’s shares, and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, with 25 percent -- had promised not to actively buy or sell any shares until June 30.” Elsewhere, Doctor reports, “On [July 1], final bids for McClatchy’s 30 newspapers are due, as the country’s second-largest chain prepares to wind toward some exit from bankruptcy.” Read more about these two developing stories here.

NYT Ends Partnership with Apple News

This week, the New York Times ended its partnership with Apple News. According to Kathryn Hopkins of Women’s Wear Daily, “the service failed to boost readership numbers, chief operating officer Meredith Levien said Monday [June 29]. She also pointed out that Apple does not give partners enough information about user data.” Hopkins reports that the NYT hopes to draw readers directly to its website and app. Read more here.

The Future of Media Post-Covid

What will the print media landscape look like once the Covid-19 pandemic has receded? Sean M. Wood of Editor & Publisher considers the question in a June 29 piece. “The COVID-19 pandemic may be the single greatest defining event for local print publications reshaping distribution, advertising, staffing and community engagement,” he opens. “Unfortunately, for a number of local dailies, alternatives, weeklies and free publications, the pandemic could be an extinction-level event.” Read Wood’s take on the problems print publishers have faced, are facing, and will continue to face here.

The Covid-19 “Engagement Surge”

Publishers need to be thinking about how to keep the “engagement surge” momentum going after the pandemic has ended, writes Caysey Welton in a recent Foliomag.com piece. Welton discusses the surge in traffic many publishers have seen on their websites and how they can keep those readers after things have returned to a new normal. The article examines how several publishers plan to parlay recent surges in traffic into more long-term gains. Read more here.

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