Google News adds 'search by author' function

Posted by Gida Hammami on June 24, 2009 at 10:09 AM

This past weekend, Google News announced a new feature to enhance its search engine capabilities. The new feature allows online readers to search for articles and headlines specific to the author that they are interested in by simply clicking on the hyper-linked text of the journalist's name.

The enhancement is designed to aid users to sift through the 25,000 news sources that Google News aggregates. This is exciting news for journalists in the way that it assists them in promoting their work as part of their own brand. The update is great news for readers who are fans of certain writers, too.

Another way followers can go about finding articles written by a specific individual is to use the "Advanced news search" tab. Let's use an example with Errin Haines, an Associated Press journalist whose work has appeared in the Guardian, the New York Times, as well as ABC News. Coupling "Errin Haines" with "Martin Luther King" pulls up 196 results, whereas searching for said author's name on its own pulls up 249 finds. The benefit of using this method is that it allows for a more precise search result for Google-searchers.

Google News has made several changes to their news interface in order to enhance the experience for Internauts. To celebrate its seventh anniversary earlier this month, Google News underwent functional changes to allow for increased interconnectedness with its news provision partners, as well as to create a more aesthetically pleasing site.

Something arguably less pleasing to journos and academics is the inclusion of Wikipedia articles to Google News search results. The free online encyclopedia has been consistently criticised by scholars and the likes for its lack of credibility, but Google News has recognized its increasing functionality as a news tool.

Also on the horizon is Google's launching of a micro-blogging search application. The app will include sources such as Twitter posts to its search results. Similar to Wikipedia, micro-blogs have become a valued - albeit not always accurate nor verified - hub for news and information.

No one can deny that the Internet is an essential resource for journalists. The world's most powerful search engine provider is rapidly adapting in order to cater to professionals in the field and its followers.

Source: Google News Blog