Editorial: Can California save local news? The future of community, democracy is at stake
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Editorial: Can California save local news? The future of community, democracy is at stake

LA Times  

An empty news rack that used to sell Spanish-language newspaper Excelsior remains on Bristol Street in Santa Ana. And while there have been online startups, public media and philanthropic- and university-backed news organizations doing important local reporting, those outlets have also struggled in an information ecosystem that is controlled by major tech platforms. Among the most promising proposals is the California Journalism Preservation Act, or Assembly Bill 886, which would require that large social media companies and internet search engines, such as Google, share advertising revenue with the journalists and news organizations that produce much of the content on their platforms. Legislators are also considering a bill that would tax large tech platforms and use the revenue to give news outlets tax credits for employing full-time journalists. Over the coming weeks, there’s hope that lawmakers, tech leaders and news publishers can come to some kind of compromise that guarantees ongoing funding for local news operations.

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History of this topic

AI? New jobs? California’s local news deal with Google leaves lots of unanswered questions
3 months ago

AI? New jobs? California’s local news deal with Google leaves lots of unanswered questions

LA Times  

A woman walks by the Above the Fold newsstand on Thursday in Los Angeles. “It was very hard to pass this legislation in Google’s backyard,” said Julie Makinen, chair of the California News Publishers Assn., the bill’s lead sponsor. California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, said: “My goal was to get resources into the hands of publications as quickly as we could, …

California announces new deal with tech to fund journalism, AI research
4 months ago

California announces new deal with tech to fund journalism, AI research

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will be the first U.S. state to direct millions of dollars from taxpayer money and tech companies to help pay for journalism and AI research under a new deal announced Wednesday. “This agreement represents a major breakthrough in ensuring the survival of newsrooms and bolstering local journalism across California — leveraging substantial tech industry resources without …

California is trying to force Big Tech to pay for news. What can we learn from Australia and Canada?
5 months ago

California is trying to force Big Tech to pay for news. What can we learn from Australia and Canada?

LA Times  

A man carries a copy of the Sydney Morning Herald in 2012. If the News Media Bargaining Code became law, Google Australia Managing Director Mel Silva said in a Senate hearing, the company would have “no real choice” but to stop making Google Search available in Australia. Rod Sims, an economist and former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer …

California’s news industry is shrinking while misinformation spreads. Here’s what the numbers tell us
5 months ago

California’s news industry is shrinking while misinformation spreads. Here’s what the numbers tell us

LA Times  

As the world turned digital, people were quick to drop their Sunday papers and pick up their smartphones for news. The share of Americans using social media for news increased from 27% in 2013 to 48% in 2024, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s Digital News Report 2024. Sunday circulation for some of the largest newspapers …

California lawmakers advance tax on Big Tech to help fund news industry
5 months, 3 weeks ago

California lawmakers advance tax on Big Tech to help fund news industry

LA Times  

The California state Senate on Thursday passed legislation aimed at helping the news industry by imposing a new tax on some of the biggest tech companies in the world. Senate Bill 1327 would tax Amazon, Meta and Google for the data they collect from users and pump the money from this “data extraction mitigation fee” into news organizations by giving …

Will Google strike a deal with California news outlets to fund journalism?
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Will Google strike a deal with California news outlets to fund journalism?

LA Times  

Google would have to pay California news outlets under legislation being considered in Sacramento. California news publishers and Big Tech companies appear to be inching toward compromise on a controversial bill that would require Google and huge social media platforms to pay news outlets for the articles they distribute. However, he said, the demise of journalism harms democracy: “Thus, we …

California lawmakers revive debate over bill requiring tech platforms to pay for news
6 months, 2 weeks ago

California lawmakers revive debate over bill requiring tech platforms to pay for news

LA Times  

California Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks wrote legislation that would force Big Tech companies to pay news outlets for use of their content. The bill, also known as the “California Journalism Preservation Act,” would require digital advertising giants to pay news outlets a fee when they sell advertising alongside news content. Google argued the legislation would upend its business model and wrote …

Column: News business needs help in California. Is government the answer?
7 months ago

Column: News business needs help in California. Is government the answer?

LA Times  

Ink specialist David Oma works at the Los Angeles Times Olympic printing plant in February. There’s state legislation brewing that would force the largest internet platforms — like Google — to kick in money to help save journalism. Basically, the big internet platforms gobble up news outlets’ products and work without paying for it and build their own ad programs …

Editorial: Google’s hardball tactics against California news outlets show why it should be regulated
8 months ago

Editorial: Google’s hardball tactics against California news outlets show why it should be regulated

LA Times  

Whatever happened to Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto? The latest example is a campaign in California to demonstrate just how easily the company could crush news outlets if state lawmakers dare to pass a law requiring that tech companies, such as Google, share advertising revenue with the journalists who produce much of the content on their platforms. Specifically, Google could …

California bill requiring Big Tech to pay for news placed on hold until 2024
1 year, 5 months ago

California bill requiring Big Tech to pay for news placed on hold until 2024

LA Times  

Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Sacramento in 2022. Wicks’ bill that would require digital advertising giants such as Facebook and Google to pay news outlets a “journalism usage fee” has been put on hold until 2024. A California bill that would force tech companies such as Facebook and Google to pay publishers for …

California bill requiring Big Tech to pay for news gains momentum
1 year, 6 months ago

California bill requiring Big Tech to pay for news gains momentum

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California bill that would force Big Tech companies to pay media outlets for posting and using their news content cleared another critical hurdle Thursday. The California Labor Federation joined in supporting the bill Thursday, saying the bill would protect journalism jobs by “leveling the playing field between publishers and social media websites.” Meta, which owns Facebook …

Could charging Big Tech a ‘journalism usage fee’ help save local news?
1 year, 7 months ago

Could charging Big Tech a ‘journalism usage fee’ help save local news?

LA Times  

While many publishers and newsroom unions have voiced support for the California Journalism Preservation Act, some organizations worry it could make things worse. Loosening Big Tech’s ‘vise grip’ AB 886, dubbed the California Journalism Preservation Act, would charge a “journalism usage fee” to large platforms that make news content available on their sites. The revenue from those fees would then …

California bill advances, requiring Big Tech to pay for news
1 year, 7 months ago

California bill advances, requiring Big Tech to pay for news

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The bill, which cleared an important Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday with bipartisan support, …

California bill advances, requiring Big Tech to pay for news
1 year, 7 months ago

California bill advances, requiring Big Tech to pay for news

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Big Tech companies such as Google and Meta might soon have to pay media outlets for posting and using their news content under a proposed California measure attempting to save local journalism. Supporters of the bill said it would provide a “lifeline” to local news organizations that have seen their advertising revenues nosedive in the digital era. …

California bill would force Big Tech to pay for news content
1 year, 9 months ago

California bill would force Big Tech to pay for news content

LA Times  

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, shown in January, introduced a bill Monday that, if approved, would mandate that digital advertising giants pay news outlets a “journalism usage fee” when they sell advertising alongside new stories. The California Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, announced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks on Monday, if approved, would direct digital advertising giants to pay news outlets a “journalism …

A new newsletter chronicling California politics
3 years, 4 months ago

A new newsletter chronicling California politics

LA Times  

A historic gubernatorial recall election. Once-a-decade redrawing of the Golden State’s political maps, and major changes for candidates and voters in the 2022 election cycle. Beginning Aug. 13, our new Friday dispatch will offer a detailed look at each week’s developments as well as broader themes from the state Capitol, the campaign trail and beyond. After wrapping California’s political news …

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