From MASHABLE/Story by  Vadim Lavrusik:

After years of having its news generated by algorithms, Google News is testing a new “Editor’s Pick” section with publishers, enabling them to select and promote specific content to users.

The new feature — a module of content that is hand-picked by editors at partnering news organizations — with a “small percentage” of users, according to report by Megan Garber of Nieman Lab. Partners include less than a dozen publishers, such as Reuters, Slate and The Washington Post.

Although social media and other web tools have enabled users to personalize their news streams, the ubiquity of content has created an echo chamber that some readers are trying to parse through to find not only what they want to know, but the news they “need” to know as well. This is where human “editors” and curators play a crucial role in helping readers filter through the noise.

And although it is only a small test, it marks a significant shift for Google News, which includes the footer tagline: “The selection and placement of stories on this page were determined automatically by a computer program.”

Read the full story on Mashable.com

Tags: digital media, Google, Google News, Magazines, Media, Newspapers, print is dead, Reuters, Slate, Washington Post

This entry was posted on Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 11:15 am and is filed under Featured, Future of Journalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.