Google launched its long-awaited News Showcase product last week with Mainstreet Daily News as one of its founding U.S. participants. 

News Showcase debuted in 2020 in Brazil and Germany and has since expanded to more than 20 countries. Mainstreet is one of more than 150 U.S. publications participating in the program, according to The Wall Street Journal, and the only one in Gainesville. 

So what is News Showcase? Axios media reporter Sara Fischer distilled it this way: “The News Showcase product is a set of features and dedicated spaces within Google’s search products that elevate high-quality information for readers.” 

This means Mainstreet stories will be more visible in a variety of places, particularly on Google News. If you go to news.google.com and type “Mainstreet Daily News” into the search box, our content pops up immediately. Then click the follow button—as dozens of you did right away! 

If you prefer to read news on your phone, download the Google News app and click on the “Newsstand” button in the bottom right corner, which will show you Showcase tiles. You should see the Mainstreet Daily News tile as one of the first options listed along with other outlets from around the country.  

If Google does not know you’re interested in Gainesville, Florida, news and does not offer you Mainstreet content, you can click on the magnifying glass icon in the top left corner, then search for Mainstreet Daily News.  

Alternatively, at the bottom of the screen you can click the “Following” button, which is beside “Newsstand,” and then click the plus sign under the “Sources” section to search for Mainstreet Daily News.  

Our editorial team populates the Showcase tiles with three stories twice a day, guaranteeing you 42 local stories per week. Each one has a photo and clickable headline that directs you to the Mainstreet site for the full story.   

If you click on the Mainstreet logo, it will take you to a feed showing all of our recent stories. It also gives you the option to share the feed with your friends (or report technical issues).  

None of our content is exclusive to Google News, but Showcase is a great tool for aggregating our stories.   

We are excited that Google asked Mainstreet to be its partner to highlight good, local journalism for Gainesville and the surrounding area. It represents one more step toward our goal of becoming the go-to source of news, sports and information in North Central Florida.