Google, which has been making money from posting newspaper stories on its news site, announced Tuesday it would let publishers block their content from Google News automatically by adding code to their Web sites, according to the Wall Street Journal.
It appears as if Google and publishers are negotiating. First, newspaper companies such as MediaNews and News Corp. suggested they would block Google from obtaining certain stories from their Web sites. Now Google is responding.
MediaNews CEO Dean Singleton is quoted by the Journal as saying it’s a good faith move. “It’s a signal that they’re willing to work with the industry,” said Singleton, whose papers include the Mercury News and other paid dailies in the Bay Area.