The latest news about the news business is generating lots of headlines. It comes at a time when many local newspapers are going out of business and other local news outlets are facing financial challenges.
And that’s why the first in the nation agreement by California lawmakers with Google for the tech giant to pay $172 million dollars to support local media outlets is a big news.
As reported by Cal Matters, instead of Google and Meta being forced to negotiate usage fees with news outlets directly, Google would deposit $55 million over five years into a new fund administered by UC Berkeley to be distributed to local newsrooms.
Under the agreement, Google would also give $12.5 million each year toward what the plan calls an artificial intelligence “accelerator” program.
This all comes after the state lawmakers gave up on an original plan to force Google to pay news companies for using their content. But the agreement is still a unique one and could mean that the public gets more local news. And that’s not a bad thing.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, “A well informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.”
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