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Google’s “In The News” Box Now Lists More Than Traditional News Sites

Change broadens sources of news but also means unexpected surprises, such as today's F-bomb appearing in Google Search

Danny Sullivan on October 6, 2014 at 6:52 pm

Google has confirmed that new “In The News” box appearing in some of its search results now lists content from more than just the traditional news sites. Discussions at Reddit, blog posts, videos and more from non-news sites may turn up.

Earlier, Search Engine Land reported how content from Reddit was showing up in the “In The News” box. A Google spokesperson has now told us that it’s not just Reddit that’s being included. Virtually any content might show up in the box, if it’s deemed newsworthy:

We will be pulling from all over the web which means that we will present as diverse a range of voices as possible to ensure we get users to the answer they are looking for.
We are always working to give our users the best possible answer to their question. That might come in the form of a video, a press release, a blog, a photo, a social media post or a news
article.

The Old “News For” Box

Until recently, Google’s search results sometimes carried a “News for” box in its search results. Here’s an example:

Content in this box came from Google News, where only news sites that have been reviewed and approved by Google are listed.

The New “In The News” Box

In contrast, the new “In the News” box that’s now appearing includes content from Google News sources as well as sources that are not in Google News.

For example, the Yoast blog — which is NOT in Google News — recently was listed within the “In The News” box for a search on “website maintenance,” as you can see below:

website_maintenance_-_Google_Search_19E16C01_png__1600×1112_

This is also why Reddit, while not a Google News site, currently gets to show up in the “In The News” box (twice) in a search for Dunkin Donuts:

A downside to Google including non-news sites in its search results is also evident from another Reddit appearance, this for a search on “TSA,” as shown below:

It turns out that the Transportation Security Administration looks to have opened someone’s luggage and perhaps damaged some bicycle parts inside, prompting a Reddit thread called F— You, TSA. In turn, that put the F-word directly into Google’s search results (and it happened even if SafeSearch was switched on).

It’s not that traditional news sources wouldn’t drop an F-bomb in a headline, but it’s far more rare. Opening up the news box to more than traditional news sources certainly will give the section more variety, and perhaps make it even more timely, but it may also come with more unexpected surprises for Google.

About The Author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.