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Facebook Debuts Instant News Articles From News Organizations

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This item just popped up in our newsfeed - Facebook's latest move to be your prime destination on the Internet.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Facebook and several media companies announced this morning that some news articles will now be published directly into your newsfeed. These articles will come from news agencies, including The New York Times, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic and NBC News. The system starts testing today.

INSKEEP: One reason for the change is simply speed. On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog, as a famous cartoon says.

MONTAGNE: But they do care if your page takes more than a nanosecond to load...

INSKEEP: Sure.

MONTAGNE: ...Which is a big part of what Facebook is promising publishers, that articles will pop up on devices much faster than before.

INSKEEP: They are also promising money, of course. The news organizations can sell ads on the articles and keep all of the revenue or let Facebook sell ads. Facebook would then keep a portion of the money. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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