{"id":170037,"date":"2019-10-25T22:01:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T14:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1808532\/"},"modified":"2019-10-25T22:01:25","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T14:01:25","slug":"facebook-begins-testing-dedicated-news-tab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/10\/25\/facebook-begins-testing-dedicated-news-tab\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook Begins Testing Dedicated \u2018News\u2019 Tab"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Photo Credit: Matthew Guay \/ Unsplash)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Facebook and journalism have a long, complicated history.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the social network hopes a dedicated news tab<\/a> will improve that relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting today, select U.S. users will gain access to Facebook News<\/a>\u2014an Apple News-esque aggregate of daily national stories from a range of sources.<\/span><\/p>\n

“News gives people more control over the stories they see, and the ability to explore a wider range of their \u2026 interests, directly within the Facebook app,” Campbell Brown, vice president of global news partnerships, and Mona Sarantakos, news product manager, wrote in a blog announcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shared articles will continue to appear in News Feed<\/a> as they do today.<\/span><\/p>\n

“As we looked to build a place where people can find more news on Facebook, we changed our approach to gather insight from journalists and publishers <\/span>before<\/span><\/i> we started developing a product,” the blog said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We wanted to build this product in a consultative way, sharing our ideas and getting input from the industry,” Brown and Sarantakos continued. “We talked to news organizations about what they’d like to see included in a news tab, and how their stories should be presented, and what analytics to provide.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Key features include “Today’s Stories,” chosen by a team of human journalists to “catch you up on the news” throughout the day; personalization based on articles you read, share, and follow; and topics sections covering business, entertainment, health, science and tech, and sports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Folks who link paid subscriptions to their Facebook account can also access those services.<\/span><\/p>\n

A set of controls, meanwhile, makes it easy to hide articles, topics, and publishers you don’t want to see.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the initial test, the social media giant will showcase original reporting by surfacing local publications from major metro areas across the country, beginning with Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Facebook News was built to bring people closer to the stories that affect their lives,” the company said. “We’ll continue to learn, listen, and improve News as it rolls out more broadly. We hope this work aids in our effort to sustain great journalism and strengthen democracy.”<\/span><\/p>\n

That may be a struggle, considering most Americans are wary of social media companies’ role in delivering news: A recent Pew Research Center survey highlights<\/a> a pessimistic nation, suspicious of social networks’ control over information.<\/span><\/p>\n

More on Geek.com:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n