Google News updates its desktop site with a new layout that lets you track local and global news on one screen. The redesign puts the Your Briefing, Local News, and Top Selections section on a single page in different columns to make it easier to keep up to date with news about topics and regions that matter to you.
So far, if you’ve signed in to Google News, you’ll see the headlines section first, along with the weather widget next to it. You could access other sections such as World News, For You and Local by scrolling down or clicking on these topics from the sidebar.
How Google News looks in its old avatar
The redesign moves all topics from the sidebar to the top of the screen to better fit other columns, such as Local News and Top Selections. The weather widget now occupies a small space at the top right of the screen. Google has tried to reproduce the feeling of reading a newspaper or magazine, but through a desktop website.
“This change is just the latest way we offer local news to users around the world. Last year, we expanded a feature in Google Search so that readers around the world can now see a carousel of local news “When Google finds local news coverage, it’s relevant to your query. It helps them easily find stories from local news publishers,” the company said in a statement.
The new look of Google News
In addition, you can click the customization button next to the Your Themes section to select the themes you want to see on the home page, and even shuffle their order of appearance.
Image credits: Google
The redesigned Google News also includes a revamped fact-checking section, which now also shows you the original claim and the verified assessment for more context. Earlier this year, Google released a new “highly cited” search tag to highlight the original source of a story.
The revised fact-checking section, which provides more context
The company noted that along with these changes, Google News returns to Spain after eight years, thanks to the new copyright law. The firm claims that Google News is already present in 125 countries and 40 languages, and generates 24 billion clicks on publishers’ websites each month.
Google said it is opening applications for its News Equity Fund, a grant for freelance journalists or small news organizations to produce original stories. The company will accept applications until July 21 from almost every country in the world except China and Russia.
Yesterday, Google silently dropped its appeal against a € 500 million antitrust news license sanction in France. This came after the French authorities accepted the company’s promises of behavior offered in December. In a blog post, Google noted that it has made content agreements with more than 150 posts across the country.