The new version of Google News has launched last night and with that, Google has ended support for the Editors' Picks feeds and the standout meta tag in Google News.
Google posted about it on Twitter last night saying "As part of the new Google News, we have ended support for Editors' Picks feeds & the standout meta tag. We'll have more to share on other ways publishers can optimize visibility in the near future."
As part of the new Google News, we have ended support for Editors' Picks feeds & the standout meta tag. We'll have more to share on other ways publishers can optimize visibility in the near future. You can learn more about the new Google News here: https://t.co/64VB1PRmxi
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 15, 2018
Both those features came to Google News back in 2011. Editors' Pick came in August 2011 and the standout meta tag came in September 2011. I honestly thought the standout meta tag was a smoking gun feature that wouldn't last but it lasted several years. I used it very infrequently but it did tend to work to send more traffic to Google News publishers.
In any event, those two features are gone - what will replace it is unclear at this point.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
