Google Launches A New Home For Journalists With “News Lab”

Google today announced the launch of a new site called News Lab, that aims to connect journalists with programs, data and other resources to aid in their reporting.
 
The site will feature a number of tools for newsrooms, including tutorials and best practices on how to use Google products in reporting, as well as provide access to the recently updated Google Trends service, and more. It will also showcase Google’s numerous efforts surrounding new media partnerships and citizen reporting.

Here, Google will keep a continually updated list of tools and resources at g.co/newslab, and the site will feature Google’s various media partnerships and projects, including those listed.

  
It also announced a series of initiatives aimed at supporting and verifying news videos on YouTube. These included WITNESS Media Lab, which will produce a number of in-depth projects on human rights issues, and The First Draft Collection, which teamed up journalism experts to train others on video verification, research and ethics.These, too, will be housed and linked to from News Lab, which is now serving as the home for Google’s many projects in the journalism space.

The site currently details some of the partnerships Google has undertaken, such as its efforts with the San Francisco-based media accelerator Matter; grassroots journalism organization Hackers/Hackers; TechRaking summits Google is holding with the Center for Investigative Reporting, and others. Plus, the site offers information on hackathons dedicated to developing new investigative tools, like the use of drones in reporting. And, as a global initiative, Google’s News Lab will also power the training and research arm of Google’s Digital News Initiative in Europe, the company says.

Meanwhile, the “Data” section of News Lab links to the recently updated Google Trends service and highlights media organizations which have used Google Trends data in their reporting.

Credit: Google/Techcrunch