Google Canada ties up with 8 publishers, will pay news organizations for content

Google Canada has signed contracts with eight Canadian publishers for a new product and licensing program that will pay news organizations to create and organize journalism.

The tech giant - which did not disclose the value of the eight licensing deals in Canada - said the agreements are part of a broader $1 billion global commitment to news publishers and journalism announced last year.

The deals come amid growing calls for legislation that would force companies like Facebook and Google to pay Canadian media companies for their content.

In a recent open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, News Media Canada - an industry group representing news publishers and community media outlets - called for action to stop "the violent monopolistic practices of Google and Facebook". .

"The two web giants are using their control over the Internet and their highly sophisticated algorithms to extract 80 percent of all online advertising revenue in Canada," industry group president Jamie Irving said in the letter earlier this month. "And they are distributing the work of professional journalists across the country without any compensation."

Google said it would pay eight news organizations for access to select paid content as part of new licensing deals.

It added that the Google News Showcase will provide newsrooms with a customizable space to produce, distribute and interpret the information needed to readers, allowing Canadians to access a broader range of news content and potentially to media outlets. can subscribe.

The Canadian publishers that have signed the agreements are Black Press Media, Glacier Media, The Globe and Mail, Metro Media, Narsity Media, Saltwire Network, Village Media and Winnipeg Free Press.

The publishers represent more than 70 national, regional and community news organizations in French and English.

Tim Curry, assistant professor and director of the University of King's College School of Journalism, said it is difficult to understand the importance of agreements without more details.

"The power imbalance between publishers and tech companies means it is difficult to mark these agreements as negotiable," he said in an interview. "Without knowing the dollar value of what's involved here, I don't think we can build these kinds of relationships too much? And is it a pre-emptive way to evade regulation by the federal government."

Still, Curry said the news publishing landscape is a one-time shadow and these deals could be critical to the industry's survival.

"There has to be some way that involves some kind of relationship? That's what makes journalism thrive," he said.

Google Canada Vice President and Country Manager Sabrina Geremia said journalists have been a lifeline during the pandemic and the company looks forward to supporting news media in Canada.

"It's going to help the future of sustainable news in Canada," she said in an interview. "It's a really important mission for us."

The Google News Showcase "looks like a customizable panel that will appear in Google News and a product we've called Discover," Jeremiah said, referring to the personalized content feed.

"These are the panels that will curate the newsroom and they will provide the stories with their own editorial voice."

He said the company is also expanding its Google News initiative to Canada and plans to train 5,000 Canadian journalists on digital skills over the next three years.

Meanwhile, other countries have passed legislation to address the market imbalance between digital giants and news outlets.

For example, Australia passed a new law earlier this year that requires digital platforms such as Facebook and Google to pay for news.

In addition, the European Union has increasingly cracked down on the US tech giant over a range of issues, including alleged antitrust behavior in the digital advertising sector.