Google Taiwan on Wednesday unveiled a plan to allocate NT$300 million over the next three years to subsidize news outlets that produce original reports deemed important contributions to the public interest that are published digitally.
News outlets looking to apply for subsidies will be able to make submissions every Thursday to the Digital Transformation Association (DTA), which has been commissioned to carry out the project, Google Taiwan said in a statement.
The DTA will create independent guiding and consultative committees comprising experts on digital transformation, news reporting and production, which will review submissions and offer suggestions, according to the statement.
Subsidies will be issued once qualified submissions pass the review and each applicant will be allowed to make one submission annually, according to the statement.
Google Taiwan says it expects to receive the first round of submissions in the first half of 2023.
DTA Chairman Chen Jenran (???) said that the association is preparing for the program's launch and will begin accepting applications in May at the earliest when application rules will be concurrently announced.
Google has launched similar programs in the European Union, where subsidies range from 50,000 to 300,000 euros per submission depending on their size, he said.
With its innovative products and services, Google will continue to stand with Taiwan's news industry at this critical juncture as it undergoes digital transformation while also investing in infrastructure and talent cultivation, Google Taiwan General Manager Tina Lin (???) said.
In 2018, Google Taiwan launched an initiative aimed at propping up Taiwan's news industry, and the company has since offered training courses aimed at improving the digital infrastructure and management of news outlets, assisting more than 2,000 journalists at 60 outlets along the way.
It has also injected funds through the non-profit Google.org to Junyi Academy to promote e-learning in Taiwan, as well as teamed up with the Taiwan Fact Check Center in an effort to improve digital literacy.
Asked by reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to comment on the subsidy program, Digital Minister Audrey Tang (??) said she welcomed the move, adding that META has a similar project in the pipeline for Taiwan.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel