Google exec: Company doesn't need news to make money

Image via CrunchBase

The newspaper industry's claims that Google is taking its money have always made me wonder how much of the company's revenue actually comes from ads related to news stories or searches. My gut has been not much.

I don't know the answer. But these comments in England by the country's top Google exec reinforce my view. If he's right, what does it mean for the newspaper industry? Do you believe him?

Here's what Matt Brittin is quoted as saying: "Does Google need news content to survive? No. If you look at the amount of advertising we serve around news content in Google News it’s zero."

I do believe him. Just think about how you use search. Of course people use it to find out more about news topics they're interested in. But...I believe they use Google and other search engines far more often for non-news topics.