In a bid to bridge the digital divide for community media and vernacular-language publishers across the country, the Google News Initiative (GNI) has introduced a local-language pilot to bring digital and artificial intelligence (AI) training to community newsrooms.
This follows Google and YouTube establishing a combined R688 million media support package to fund national, community, and vernacular media in South Africa.
The initiative, attended by Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Kenneth Morolong, was launched at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Community media
According to Google, the initiative aligns with the National Development Plan’s (NDP) goals, emphasising inclusive digital transformation to ensure no community is left behind in the digital age.
Morolong emphasised the critical role of local media in preserving culture and democracy.
“Community media speaks in the languages of our neighbourhoods. It tells our local stories, celebrates our cultures, and gives voice to our shared hopes. It is not just a part of the community. It is the heartbeat of the community. By growing it, we grow stronger together.”
ALSO READ: Competition Commission starts Inquiry into media and digital platforms
Pressure
Morolong highlighted the urgency of this intervention, noting that the sector has been under enormous economic pressure.
“The aftermath of the devastating impact of Covid-19, coupled with the sustained decline in circulation and advertising revenue, has resulted in several community media houses either closing, amalgamating, or shaving jobs.”
Morolong added that the programme is a vital investment in our collective voice and in the future of our democracy.
Bridging divides
The pilot programme is a response to the systemic hurdles faced by community news publishers operating in underrepresented vernacular languages, such as limited resources and language barriers in mainstream technical training.
Shaik Imraan Subrathie, Member of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, noted that technology must bridge divides.
“This programme is designed to empower local newsrooms with the digital tools they need to scale production in indigenous languages, reach new audiences through optimised digital distribution, and build sustainable business models that protect the future of local reporting,” said Subrathie.
“We know that information is only truly accessible if it is available in the languages people speak, think and dream in. In South Africa, the digital divide isn’t just about data or devices, it’s about content,” said Subrathie.
ALSO READ: Sanef encouraged by attempt to address global digital market failures
Sustainability
To ensure business sustainability, the programme moves beyond traditional advertising to explore diverse revenue streams, such as content licensing and event sponsorships, while emphasising an audience-centric model for long-term financial resilience.
Audience growth is driven by data-led strategies that teach newsrooms to use tools like Google Trends and the “Trending Now” feed to identify local keyword patterns and optimise digital performance.
The integration of AI tools introduces journalists to practical applications of Gemini and NotebookLM, providing hands-on training in prompting and image generation to enhance editorial productivity without compromising the essential human role in reporting.
Community newsrooms
Marianne Erasmus, Google News Partner Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa, said local journalism is a cornerstone of strong, informed communities.
“This initiative goes beyond technology; it’s about keeping community newsrooms viable, rebuilding audience trust, and helping local publishers develop resilient business models.”
Erasmus said the workshop series will provide training in five South African languages.
Google agrees to pay
In November last year, Google agreed to pay South African media houses R688 million after the Competition Commission’s Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry.
The final report was released after 24 months of extensive evidence gathering, five rounds of information requests, public and in-camera hearings, expert submissions, consultations with industry stakeholders, a consumer survey, a focus group and a provisional report process that enabled broader public input from media publishers, broadcasters, the digital platforms themselves, and academia.
The Inquiry was conducted to establish whether there are any market features in digital platforms that distribute news media content that impede, distort, or restrict competition, or undermine the purposes of the Competition Act, and which have material implications for the news media sector in South Africa.
ALSO READ: Google to study Competition Commission report on R500m payment
