Facebook will prioritize local news to users
Social network Facebook has just announced a new adjustment in News Feed, according to which computers will show more local news to readers, regardless of whether they choose to follow or not.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (center) - Photo: Facebook
"Starting today, we'll show you more news from local media where you live," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on his personal page.
This change means that people who follow a local newspaper will see its news more often; and people who don't follow will also see more local news if their friends share the link.
Mr Zuckerberg explained that the new change was the result of his travels across the US last year.
"Many people have told me they think we should tone down divisive issues and instead focus more on local issues so we can move forward together," Zuckerberg wrote in explaining the new messaging policy.
This is the third announcement of changes to the News Feed made by Facebook in the past month. The first was to demote media and commercial content; the second was to help users determine the sources of information they trust.
Observers predict there will be at least one more announcement from Facebook, likely focusing on "information-rich content."
The reason is that on January 19, Zuckerberg emphasized that Facebook wants to promote news that is "trustworthy, rich, and local." Now the young billionaire has announced two criteria, only one remains.
Back to the new change, Facebook said it will identify “local” publications by tracking who clicks on links within a narrow geographic area.
In theory, this definition means that national publications can still appear locally if they are widely read in that area.
Facebook will start with media organizations in the US and intends to expand to other countries.
Additionally, the new change won't prioritize any particular type of content beyond traditional news. Facebook will only prioritize "local sports, arts, and humanities news."
While Facebook is reducing the amount of news in users' News Feeds, that doesn't mean it's going away entirely. According to Zuckerberg, news used to make up about 5% of News Feed content, but now it's down to 4%.
On the other hand, new changes, whether cutting back or promoting news (like this one), do nothing to help newspapers solve their business-advertising problem.
But anyway, before finding a solution to revive, maintain or gain more readers is still better than nothing!
