We have launched a significant redesign of Google News. We hope this new format will make it easier for you to tell us which stories and topics interest you the most, keep track of ongoing stories that catch your attention, and share stories with other people.
In order to make sure the new Google News still meets all of your needs, we have described many of our existing features below, along with guidance on where you can find them in our redesigned format. We have described many of our new features, too, and we encourage you to give them a try.
This short video tour of Google News might also answer a few of your questions:
Where are the old features?
Click and expand the features below to learn more...
Top Stories
Top Stories remains in the same place as previously located in Google News. You can find Top Stories at the middle-top of the page, in between navigation on the left and other features on the right.
Sections
Previously, the biggest place to browse various sections in Google News was among two columns located below Top Stories. Our new design still features all of your sections below Top Stories, but now these sections form one continuous stream called News for you, which displays news stories according to your preferences.
You can specify how you wish to display the News for you stream. “List” will display your stories in an uninterrupted stream. “Sections” will display your stories within their specific sections.
The content will remain the same, regardless of whether you choose “List” or “Sections,” although the order may change.
Breaking News
You might have previously noticed that fast-updating, breaking news appeared in the top right of our traditional Google News homepage. With this redesign, we have more clearly identified this section as Recent news. Recent news is located in the top of our homepage, to the right of Top Stories.
In The News
Our In The News section used to feature ten search terms that were trending highly among news Web sites. Although we have removed In The News in in this redesign, you can now find ten topics or search terms within each major section of Google News, including Top Stories. We call this feature Topics.
Topics helps you keep track of essential news stories as they occur. You can find these topics in the Top Stories section on the left side of the homepage as well as in linked keywords above headlines. Clicking on a trending topic takes you to a list of related coverage that you can add to your News for you stream. If you click on other major sections such as Sports or Business, you will see section-specific Topics displayed in the section menu on the left.
Spotlight
Spotlight is a section that presents a variety of news articles of lasting interest, as opposed to quick updates or breaking news. Previously, Spotlight was located by default near the bottom of the News homepage.
Spotlight is now located in the right column, below a Weather and Local News section. You can also find Spotlight in the section menu on the left.
Fast Flip
Fast Flip allows you to “flip” through pages online as quickly as flipping through a magazine. We previously had a Fast Flip gadget at the bottom of the News homepage. (For more information on Fast Flip, please review our Frequently Asked Questions.)
In our redesign, we have moved Fast Flip below the Spotlight section on the right-hand side of the page. Instead of showing four panels simultaneously, Fast Flip now shows you one panel at a time -- but the content is the same.
This is the same Fast Flip gadget that we have recently displayed on our section pages, where we continue to display it. (Please note: on the Business section, we display a stock chart instead of Fast Flip).
Starred
Your Starred section remains visible in the section menu on the left. And you can continue to star stories on the News homepage and in section pages by clicking the star to the right of the top headline.
Email a story
Google News previously displayed an Email this story link within each story. Now we offer you even more ways to share.
Next to each group of articles, there is an arrow for a drop-down menu. Within that drop-down menu are five sharing options: Email, Reader (RSS), Facebook, Twitter, and Buzz. Click on any of these options to share the story.
All news, Headline mode, Image mode
These three options enable users to toggle between the full version of Google News, Headline mode, and Image mode.
All three options remain on the redesigned homepage, and in the same place as before. They are located below the section menu on the left.
Select an edition
In our previous format, the specific edition of Google News could be changed by using a drop-down menu on the top left. This enabled users to select various editions of Google News according to language and country preference.
We have moved this drop-down menu to the right-hand side of the page, above the Recent section. By default, this menu tells you which version you are currently viewing. Click on the menu to see a list of choices and select another edition. (Please note: not all editions of Google News have been redesigned. Choosing another edition may result in seeing the previous format of Google News.)
Which features are new?
Click and expand the features below to learn more...
News for you
In addition to the news you should know, which remains an important part of Google News, we want to show you the news you've told us you want to know. This is why we now invite you to customize your experience on Google News, to tell us how often you prefer to see each section.
When you sign-in, you will see a box to let you fill in your subject preferences. You can re-order all of your sections by dragging-and-dropping the sections with your mouse. For main categories like World, Sports and Entertainment, you can select “Always,” “Sometimes,” or “Never” to state how frequently you wish to see news stories from these sections. You can also create a personalized section by typing a search term (such as "Environment") in the text box and clicking “Add.” If you'd prefer not to fill that out, just close the box by clicking “Done.” You can always add personalization preferences later by clicking “Edit personalization.”
Below the Top News section, you will now see a customized news stream called News for you. You can blend the stories from different sections into a stream of news by clicking “List.” Or you can keep your stream organized by clicking “Section.” The content will remain the same, regardless of whether you choose “List” or “Sections,” although the order may change.
List View & Section View
You can specify how you wish to display the News for you stream. “List” will display your stories in an uninterrupted stream. “Sections” will display your stories within their specific sections.
The content will remain the same, regardless of whether you choose “List” or “Sections,” although the order may change.
Source Preferences
When you personalize Google News, you have the ability to tell us how often you prefer to see various news sources on your News homepage and in search results. You can do this via two methods:
- In a drop-down menu next to the star for each group of articles. (This is the same menu for sharing stories.)
- In the Source Preferences page, accessed by the Settings menu.
In the drop-down menu, you can select your Source Preferences by clicking “Show more” or “Show fewer” stories from the news source that is in the top position for that group of articles.
You can also manage your Source Preferences through the News Settings menu:
- Click on Settings in the top right of the Google News home page, and select News Settings from the pull-down menu. This will take you to a page where you will see two boxes: one labeled, "More news from," and another labeled, "Less news from."
- Enter the name of the news publisher in the appropriate box according to your preference, and click Add. (Do not type the URL.) You should see the source name appear in the relevant list below.
- Click Save changes.
- You can always change your Source Preferences if you want to add more news sites to either list, or restore a publisher to its default setting in Google News. Just go to the News Settings page and click Add or Remove as needed.
Sources you promote or demote will be ranked differently for you (but not for anyone else) in your Google News search results and in the stories that you browse on the News homepage and other sections. Please keep in mind that demoted sources may not entirely disappear for you in Google News, and promoted sources may not appear in all of the stories you see. Finally, your preferences will apply to your specific edition of Google News -- if you switch to another language or country version of Google News, your Source Preferences will not carry over.
Topics
Topics helps you keep track of essential news stories as they occur. You can find these topics in the Top Stories section on the left side of the homepage as well as in linked keywords above headlines. Clicking on a topic takes you to a list of related coverage that you can add to your News for you stream.
Sharing
We now offer you more ways to share the stories you find in Google News.
Next to the star for each group of articles, there is an arrow for a drop-down menu. Within that drop-down menu are five sharing options: Email, Reader (RSS), Facebook, Twitter, and Buzz. Click on any of these options to share a story.
Rollover for more sources
While browsing the News for you stream, you may notice that not all of the news sources are immediately visible within a group of articles. To see more sources, roll your mouse cursor over the story. When you do so, about half a dozen additional sources will appear.
A link will always be available to see all related news articles. Clicking on this link will take you to another page that displays the full coverage in Google News for that story, including news articles, images, videos, and more.
Weather & Local News
A box in the right-hand column now shows you local news and weather information. This box will automatically show you this information according to where you are reading Google News.
If you wish to change your location in Google News, click on “Edit,” enter a new location, and click “Save Changes.” The box should reset with your new location.
Keyboard Shortcuts
A number of keyboard shortcuts accompany this redesigned version of Google News.
Navigation
- j/n = next story
- k/p = previous story
Application
- / = search
- ? = open help
Actions
- s = star a story
- . or f = open the Sharing and Source Preferences drop-down menu
- Enter = open the headline article for the current story
Need more help?
If your question isn't addressed here, we encourage you to visit our Help Forum.
On the forum you can post a question, search for answers from other users, and submit feedback. Google employees also participate in the forum, and we do our best to address the biggest questions that users face.