Later today, across the UK we will begin rolling out Facebook News, a destination within the Facebook app that features news from hundreds of leading national, local and lifestyle outlets. The product puts original journalism in front of new audiences and provides publishers with more advertising and subscription opportunities to build sustainable businesses for the future. This is the beginning of a series of international investments in news.
We’re also announcing a number of new partners for Facebook News, including Channel 4 News, Daily Mail Group, DC Thomson, Financial Times, Sky News and Telegraph Media Group. These are in addition to outlets already announced including The Economist, The Guardian, The Independent, STV and hundreds of local news sites from Archant, Iliffe, JPI Media, Midlands News Association and Reach as well as lifestyle outlets such as GQ, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Vogue and many more.
With Facebook News, people in the UK will see the top headlines and stories of the day next to news personalised to their interests. During major news cycles, Facebook News provides timely news digests, highlighting original and authoritative reporting on the biggest stories. For example, we’re currently highlighting a collection of COVID-19-specific stories, giving people access to timely and relevant news and information about the pandemic. Facebook News gives people control over the stories they see in the app and the ability to explore news on a wide range of topics from a variety of news outlets. News articles shared by people and Pages will continue to appear in News Feed, just as they do today.
Key features of Facebook News include:
- Today’s stories chosen by a team of journalists to catch up on the latest news as it breaks throughout the day
- Personalisation based on the news you read, share and follow, so you can find new interests and topics from your favourite news outlets or publications you haven’t previously followed, creating a fresh and interesting experience every time
- News sections to dive deeper into business, entertainment, health, science & tech and sport
- Controls to make sure you see the articles, topics or publishers you want to see and hide those you don’t.
We’ve been partnering with news organisations for many years and our goal has always been to work out the best ways we can support the industry in building sustainable business models. This product is a result of those conversations. As we invest more in news and pay publishers for more content in more countries, we will work with them to support the long term viability of newsrooms. We also recently announced we’re extending the Community News Project for another year. The £2.25 million annual training fund in partnership with the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) trained reporters in 80 local newsrooms across the UK, building on the initial £4.5 million investment.
Facebook News was built to bring people closer to the stories that impact their lives and the community around them. Our aim is to build on our efforts to sustain great national and local journalism and create more value for publishers. We’ll continue to learn, listen and improve Facebook News as it rolls out across the UK and into other markets, including France and Germany, where we are in active negotiations with partners. In order to bring Facebook News and other news products that help publishers transition in the digital age to more countries, it is critical that regulatory environments invite this kind of investment and innovation.
Read more about Facebook News and where to find it.
