São Paulo – Google News Initiative is about to issue an innovation challenge designed to find new ways of engaging readers and boosting revenue in the Middle East and Africa. Google broke the news this Tuesday (16), the online version of Dubai magazine Arabian Business reported.
Anyone in the news industry can apply, and as much as 70% of each project will be funded, up to a maximum USD 150,000. The idea is to find projects by people who innovate in some way, through new ideas and experimentation, with an emphasis on reader engagement and revenue.
Projects can relate to any aspect that will enhance the connection between a news outlet and its audience – including personalization, content recommendations or the use of computational journalism to help provide automated content or help with decision-making.
March had seen Google announce it would earmark USD 30 million over the next two years to launch five innovation challenges around the world, including North America, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
