Richard Gingras
Vice President of News, Google Inc.
Gingras was a speaker on the panel “How should journalism and platforms constructively address the global challenge of polarization?” at the 25th ISOJ. Watch the presentation here.
Richard Gingras is Vice President, News at Google. In that role Gingras guides Google’s strategies in how it surfaces news on Google search, Google News, and its smart devices. He also oversees Google’s effort to enable a healthy, open ecosystem for quality journalism, which includes Subscribe with Google, Google’s Tools for Journalists, Accelerated Mobile Pages and various other efforts to enable journalists and news providers to be effective and sustainable. In March 2018, Gingras announced the Google News Initiative, a global effort including $300 million dollars to elevate quality journalism, explore new models for sustainability, and provide technology to stimulate cost-efficiency in newsrooms. Gingras was a member of the Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy.
For more than thirty-five years, Gingras has led highly-regarded efforts in the development of online services and new media. He also serves on the boards of the First Amendment Coalition, the International Center for Journalists, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and the Manship School of Communications at LSU. From March 2009 to June 2011, he was CEO of Salon Media Group which operated the acclaimed Salon.com and the pioneering virtual community The Well. Gingras assembled Salon’s initial seed financing in 1995. Salon featured the work of many acclaimed journalists including Pulitzer Prize winner Glenn Greenwald.
Gingras was a strategic advisor to the senior team at Google (2007-2009), strategic advisor to Storify (sold to LiveFyre), founder and CEO of Goodmail Systems, a founding VP of pioneering broadband provider @Home Network and SVP and General Manager of Excite@Home (1996-2001), led the design and development of Apple’s online service eWorld (1993-1996), and was founder and CEO of MediaWorks (1987-1992), an early developer of news-agenting technology. He is also a strategic advisor and seed funder of numerous startups.
In 1979, Gingras created the first interactive online news magazine – done in partnership with CBS, NBC, and PBS using interactive television technology known as broadcast teletext. In the fall of 2012, he was recognized with the Manship Prize for contributions to the evolution of digital media. Gingras began his career in television, holding various positions with PBS, KCET/Los Angeles, and NBC during the 1970’s. He is a 1973 graduate of Boston College.
