Google Talking To New York Times, Washington Post About… Something | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

Remember last week, when Google was forced to explain why it wasn’t single-handedly destroying American newspapers?

Turns out the company is in talks with some of the country’s biggest newspapers to… well, save them isn’t the right phrase. In fact, it’s not clear how to describe the talks. But we do know that Google GOOG is chatting with both the Washington Post WPO and the New York Times NYT, because that’s what employees of the Washington Post and the New York Times are reporting today.

Here’s the Post’s Howard Kurtz, in column this morning castigating newspapers for being too slow to react to the Web:

Post Co. chief executive Donald Graham and Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and their lieutenants have been holding talks about a possible collaboration. This could range from creating new Web pages to technological tools for journalists or readers. Hanging over the talks is the reality that the search giant, while funneling vital traffic to news sites, vacuums up their content without paying a dime.

Post executive Philip Bennett confirmed the discussions, saying: “We’re talking to each other about improved ways of creating and presenting news online.” He calls it “an informal collaboration” that “has produced some interesting ideas already. I’d say that on the journalism side of the conversation we’ve learned a lot.”

Here’s a Google spokesperson’s description of the meeting, for what it’s worth: “This was an informal meeting, and we’re always talking with publishers to find new and creative ways to help them make money from compelling online content.”