TLDR:
- Google and California agreed to a $250 million deal to fund local journalism and AI research
- The deal includes $125 million over 5 years for local newsrooms through a UC Berkeley-based fund
- $70 million will go towards AI tool development for journalism
- The agreement has faced criticism from some lawmakers and journalist unions
- It’s the first state-level deal of its kind in the U.S., following similar efforts in other countries
California and Google have reached an agreement to provide $250 million in funding for local journalism and artificial intelligence research over the next five years. The deal, announced on August 21, 2024, marks the first state-level arrangement of its kind in the United States.
Under the terms of the agreement, Google will contribute $110 million, while the state of California will add $70 million to support local newsrooms through a “News Transformation Fund.”
This fund will be managed by a nonprofit public charity housed at the University of California, Berkeley’s journalism school. The deal excludes broadcasters and focuses on supporting print and digital news organizations.
An additional $70 million in private funding will be directed towards the development of artificial intelligence tools through a newly established nonprofit organization. This component aims to address challenges across various industries, including journalism, where AI could potentially create tools to track state legislation.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who led the negotiations, emphasized that the majority of the funds would benefit local California newsrooms. Wicks stated that the agreement represents the best achievable compromise in the current climate, allowing for quick distribution of funds to publishers without the potential delays associated with passing new legislation.
The deal comes in response to the ongoing crisis in the journalism industry, which has seen thousands of job losses and numerous news organizations shutting down in recent years. California alone has lost more than 100 news organizations in the past decade, according to Wicks’ office.
However, the agreement has faced criticism from various quarters. Some Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Steve Glazer and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, expressed concerns that the funding is inadequate and fails to fully address the inequities facing the industry.
The Media Guild of the West, a journalist union, criticized the deal as a “total rout” that fails to alter Google’s significant influence over newsrooms.
The California News Publishers Association, representing over 700 news organizations, offered cautious support for the agreement, describing it as a “first step” towards developing a sustainable business model for journalism.
The deal effectively ends a year-long dispute over proposed legislation that would have required tech companies to pay a percentage of their advertising revenue to media companies for linking to their content.
This approach, similar to laws implemented in countries like Canada and Australia, faced strong opposition from tech companies, with Google even temporarily blocking news access for some California consumers earlier in the year.
Proponents of the deal argue that it will help sustain local journalism and support the development of innovative AI tools for the industry. Critics, however, worry that the funding is insufficient and that the AI component could potentially threaten journalism jobs in the future.
