Facebook calls truce with publishers as it unveils Facebook News

Facebook on Friday unveiled Facebook News, its latest foray into digital publishing.

The product is a new section of the social network’s mobile app that is dedicated entirely to news content, which the company is betting will bring users back to the site regularly to consume news on sports, entertainment, politics and tech.

Facebook News will offer stories from a mix of publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, as well as digital-only outlets like BuzzFeed and Business Insider. Some stories will be chosen by a team of professional journalists, while others will be tailored to readers’ interests over time using Facebook’s machine-learning technology. The New York Times will also work with Facebook to offer its articles in Facebook News.

“We feel acute responsibility because there’s obviously an awareness that the internet has disrupted the news industry business model,” Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said in an interview. “We’ve figured out a different way to do this that we think is going to be better and more sustainable.”

Facebook will pay for a range of content from dozens of publishers — including striking some deals well into the millions of dollars — and get local news from smaller publishers in metropolitan markets like Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and Atlanta.

 

Facebook has over the years courted publishers for different journalism initiatives, but those relationships soured as Facebook often shifted its strategy. Zuckerberg acknowledged the tension between Facebook and publishers, and he said past experiences informed his current approach.

“It’s not a one-time thing,” he said of the new partnerships. “That’s why the deals we are structuring are long-term commitments, not two months, not one year, but multiple years.”

He added, “We think we’ve worked out the formula through all these conversations where we now can sustainably pay for content.”

The new Facebook News effort is being led by Campbell Brown, a veteran television journalist who covered politics for NBC and CNN before joining Facebook as head of news partnerships.

© 2019 The New York Times Company