The second important change in journalism is the aggregation of content through online providers, most notably Google News, Yahoo News and The Huffington Post. The Economist describes them as, “The Wal-Marts of the news world.” Google News works by using automated programs to search the web and find news stories from various outlets, which it then brings together into one easy to use location. Before aggregators, a person would have to actively search out various sources of news in order to find differing reporting styles or viewpoints. A person who watched Fox News would rarely come across stories from MSNBC unless they changed the channel. Now aggregators provide an all you can eat buffet of stories that allow users to pick and choose which news content they wish to view.
This new model has drawn the ire of a number of traditional media companies, most notably Rupert Murdoch, owner of the powerful News Corporation, who said, “Should we be allowing Google to steal all of our copyrights? The answer should be thanks, but no thanks.” While there has been no real ruling on whether or not Google News falls under fair use in the United States, the more important reason traditional media companies dislike Google news was articulated by The Wall Street Journal’s Editor Robert Thompson, who said, “The whole Google Sensibility is inimical to traditional brand loyalty. Google encourages promiscuity.” By gathering content from different sources, aggregators like Google news allow the reader to more easily choose what news they consume instead of depending on a single “brand”.