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This week , Googlejoineda $ 250 million raft with the state of California to support California newsrooms . While the lot offer a much - needed cash infusion for an diligence that ’s seen crippling layoff this year , the deal ’s been criticized by some as a half - measure — and a copper - out .
By agreeing to this deal , Google avert broadside that would have impel it and other tech companies to pay news providers when they persist ads alongside news content on their platforms .
The Media Guild of the West ( MGW ) , the local chapter of the news media labor union the NewsGuild - CWA , denounced the deal in aposton X , calling it a shakedown .
“ After two year of protagonism for strong anti - monopoly action to bug out sprain around the decline of local newsrooms , we are left almost without words , ” MGW read in a financial statement . “ The publishers who claim to represent our manufacture are celebrating … minimum financial allegiance to Google to return the wealth this monopoly has stolen from our newsroom . ”
Not in our names.pic.twitter.com/3pqvr3imQj
But what would the Google agreement actually fulfil , should it be sanction by California ’s policymakers ? And are there any reasons to be optimistic ?
Five years of funds
Last year , California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks precede a bill , AB 886 , that would ’ve mandated certain platforms pay publishing house a portion of their ad tax revenue in telephone exchange for linking to those publishers ’ article . Senator Steve Glazer introduce a second bill , SB 1327 , that would ’ve recruit a 7.25 % revenue enhancement on ad tax income to produce a tax credit for newsrooms .
The $ 250 million Google deal leaves both proposal of marriage dead in the water .
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rather of imposing a fee social system , the deal will cast on funding from Google , taxpayer , and potentially other individual sources to establish two programs : the News Transformation Fund and the National AI Innovation Accelerator .
deal out by UC Berkeley ’s Graduate School of Journalism , the News Transformation Fund will substantiate newsrooms ( excluding broadcasters ) base in California . Taxpayers ’ contribution amount to $ 70 million while Google is pledging to give at least $ 55 million for a grand total of ~$125 million , with the finances to be doled out to news organization based on how many reporters they employ . store will be distributed over a five - year period .
Twelve per centum or more of the News Transformation Fund ’s pool will go toward “ locally center ” publishing firm and publication purpose at underrepresented groups , reportsThe New York Times . Google will pay $ 15 million into the News Transformation Fund in the first class and “ at least ” $ 10 million in each of the stick with years ; California taxpayers will provide $ 30 million in the first class and $ 10 million in each of the next four years .
The National AI Innovation Accelerator has a different , more technical school - driven mission . With $ 62.5 million from Google over five eld , it ’ll provide “ organizations across industriousness and community ” with financial backing to experiment with AI to “ assist them in their oeuvre , ” according to apress release . The funds “ will be administer in coaction with a individual nonprofit , ” the release take , “ and will put up organizations from journalism , to the environs , to racial equity and beyond with financial resources and other support . ”
Pros and cons
The initiatives , slate to go live sometime in 2025 , drew praise from California governor Gavin Newsom and the California News Publishers Association ( CNPA ) , a non-profit-making deal association represent California newspapers .
“ The deal not only provides backing to support one C of new journalist but avail reconstruct a racy and dynamic California press corps for years to come , reenforce the vital theatrical role of journalism in our democracy , ” Newsom said in a financial statement . CNPA called the agreement “ a first stone’s throw toward what we hope will become a comprehensive program to sustain local news in the long terminal figure . ”
Others were skeptical it ’s a jibe dunk .
Senate chairman pro tempore Mike McGuire questioned legislative support for California ’s share of the deal . And Senator Glazer bid it “ wholly inadequate , ” observe that Google is the sole tech company participate . ( OpenAI is chip in technology , but not any money . )
“ There is a stark absence in this announcement of any support for journalism from Meta and Amazon , ” Glazer said in arelease . “ These weapons platform have beguile the intimate datum from Californians without paying for it . Their purpose of that data in advertising is the harm to newsworthiness outlets that this arrangement should mitigate . ”
Glazer also propose Google is pay less than its fair share — and at leastone studysupports his argument . investigator at Columbia , the University of Houston , and consulting firm the Brattle Group estimate that Google owes U.S. publishers 50 % of the value supply to their platform by news , which they nail down at between $ 10 billion and $ 12 billion in taxation communion annually .
Declining revenue
The retiring six month have been brute for the news sector .
The industry could be on caterpillar track to shed 10,000 jobs this class , perFast Company . That ’d be an improvement from last year , which find out over 21,400 journalism job reject — but it ’s hardly a sunshiney outlook .
California has had a specially approximate go of it . accord to a 2023 Northwestern Medill School of Journalismreport , the state has fall back one - third of its publishers and 68 % of its journalists since 2005 . The Los Angeles Times , the largest metro daily newspaper in California ( and the U.S. ) , cut more than 20 % of its newsroom in January — one of the great cuts in the paper ’s 142 - year chronicle .
What ’s causing the decay ? Many factor , from tardily - growing ad budget to inflation ( which has harmed subscription growth ) . The struggle to find a sustainable business model has n’t been helped by Big Tech , either , whose search and provender algorithm change — andAI - generatedoverviews — have reduced publishing house dealings .
Tech companies have historically played hardball when face with efforts to fund journalism through fees levied on their platforms .
In opposition to Wicks ’ bill , Google said it wasconsideringtemporarily blank out news websites from some California users ’ search results . overseas , the ship’s company struggle bills in Australia and Canada that would ’ve forced it to make up publishers — in 2021 threatening to leave Australia if the government activity ’s proposed legislation went through . After France carry out an EU law to grant publishers the right to accuse for aggregation of their cognitive content , Google said that it would off snip from Google Search . And in Spain , which passed a standardised law in 2014 , Google close down Google News all in all .
Google has since made arrangements with publishers in those country through the aforementioned Google News Showcase , its program launch in 2020 that pay off selected outlets on Google ’s own terminus . At last tally , Google had around 180 publication in the platform ; the company claims it ’s committed over $ 1 billion to journalism since 2020 .
