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Google Doesn’t Want To Own Content, But To Focus Instead on User-Generated Content

When Rupert Murdoch made his $60 a share bid for Dow Jones, and when word came of Thomson’s bid for Reuters, the financial markets started looking for who else might turn the offers into a bidding war, and more often than not Google’s name came up.

But Chief Executive Eric Schmidt made clear to reporters at a briefing at Google’s World headquarters in Silicon Valley that the company’s strategy was not to own its own content, but rather do deals to use other people’s.

Schmidt explained, “We made a decision to focus primarily on user-generated content and not on businesses where we would own the content.” In other words, Google is not a media content owner, and does not intend to become one. He said Google would rather do partnership deals with such companies for their content.

Although he didn’t mention them, Google recently made deals with the Associated Press and Agence France Presse to use their content in a product yet to be released. – May 14, 2007

Keywords:user generated content

Media Measurement Moves Forward and Everywhere NEW

Includes: mobile and internet metrics, electronic measurement systems and device descriptions, RAJAR (UK) debate, with comments. 57 pages PDF (May 2007)
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Further Complicated: Advertising, Children and Television

Advertising and television face more complaints, criticism and new rules. ftm reports on the debate in Europe and North America 43 pages PDF file (March 2007)

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The State of the Print Media in the World

ftm reports from the World Association of Newspapers Congresses. Includes WAN readership studies, Russian media and Russian politics, press freedom and the state of journalism. 62 pages. PDF file (October 2006)

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French National Newspapers
publishers, designs, editors all change, with comments. 40 pages PDF (updated July 2006)

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