Quoting an anonymous source, the Washington Post reported that Google (GOOG) is getting ready to roll out a test run of a program that empowers businesses to go to Google to buy ad space in a number of national newspapers; including the New York Times (NYT) and The Washington Post (WPO).
Evidently it will be tested for a three-month period, and will enable potential advertisers to go to Google and look for a specific newspaper and search for ad rates and then be able to buy the ad there.
For some reason, Google keeps on trying to enter these print spaces. Their foray into the magazine market has been dismal.
In this case, they really have nothing to lose as it's really serving itself here, rather than other businesses. They will get a piece of the action of something they weren't before.
When you think of it, it does nothing for the newspapers as far as adding to their bottom line. Nobody is going to buy a newspaper ad because they can now buy it online through Google. If someone is going to buy a newspaper ad, they are going to do it whether Google is involved or not.
It could offer a quick look at competitive prices for businesses, which is good, but again, it's not good for the newspapers. Think of the retailers now that consumers are able to check online and compare prices at will. It's forced a lot of them to compete on price alone. This is about all this will probably do for the newspaper industry; at least at a national level.
If anything, it will probably be a better service for locally focused newspapers.
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