Facebook's 'news tab' seeks to reboot its role within media

The tab, being tested with some US users, will be separate from a user's normal feed and include articles from partner news organisations,making a clear distinction between journalism and stories shared by users from a wide range of sources.

"This is going to bethe first time ever there will be a dedicated space on the (Facebook) app that is focused on high-quality journalism," Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told an audience in New York in a joint appearance with CEO Robert Thomson of News Corp, one of the partners in the project.

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The mix of stories inFacebookNews will be determined by algorithmic "personalisation" based on a user's preferences and data, with journalists choosing some of the stories.

The company said users would have "more control over the stories they see, and the ability to explore a wider range of their news interests, directly within theFacebookapp."

Facebookis expected to pay some of the news organizations, reportedly millions of dollars in some cases,but has yet to disclose full details.

Zuckerberg saidFacebookwould not seek to limit coverage of the company or himself.

Going global?

"We want to do something like this across the world as well," he said.

The social network has partnered with some 200 news organisations including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, CBS News, BuzzFeed, Fox News, the Boston Globe, Bloomberg and Vanity Fair.

Zuckerberg defended the inclusion of partners some criticise as politically partisan such as the right-wing outlet Breitbart, saying the news tab "needs to have a diversity of views."

Facebooksaid it would begin an initial test rollout which would "showcase local original reporting" from publications in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Washington, Miami, Atlanta and Boston.

Topic sections will include business, entertainment, health, science and technology, and sports.

Rebooting the relationship

The move representsFacebook's effort to reboot its relationship with news organisations, many of which have been critical of the platform for failing to curb the spread of misinformation and for taking much of the online ad revenue.

The plan notably brings togetherFacebookand Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Thomson, the News Corp CEO who last year denounced what he called a "dysfunctional" online landscape that made it hard for publishers to thrive, welcomed theFacebookinitiative in the joint appearance with Zuckerberg.

"It is a powerful precedent that will echo around editorial departments," said Thomson, whose company includes the Wall Street Journal.

"It begins to change the terms of trade for quality journalism."

Paying for 'good stuff'

"Less savvy news consumers might not be able to tell the difference between exaggerated or fake viral news and real journalism from respected news organisations," Kennedy said.

"So this should help a lot."

But Kennedy said it could be problematic thatFacebookmay only be paying the richest media organisations, increasing woes for small, local outlets.

Ken Paulson, a former USA Today editor who now heads the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, agreed that the initiative will promote better content.

"My long-term hope for the news business is that more consumers will recognise the difference between quality and chaos and be willing to pay for the good stuff," Paulson said.

He said the project raises "important questions here about how transparent the story selection process will be, and whatFacebookis effectively saying about news which sits outside of the tab. Does that means it's deemed less trustworthy?"