What is the story:

Google has selected the Canadian Journalism Collective to distribute $100 million annually to Canadian news organizations. This decision is part of Google's compliance with the Online News Act, a Canadian law aimed at regulating digital advertising revenue distribution to support the country's journalism industry. The chosen collective, consisting of various independent news publishers and broadcasters, was preferred over a larger, legacy media consortium. This move ensures that Google will continue to make news accessible on its platforms in Canada while adhering to the new legislation. With the selected collective focusing on diverse and independent news organizations, this initiative promises a fair and transparent distribution of funds, thereby promoting equity and innovation within the Canadian news ecosystem. It underscores the broader implications of government regulation on tech giants and their role in shaping the media landscape, ensuring that smaller and marginalized news outlets receive essential financial support.

Specifics on Fund Distribution and Regulation:

The Canadian Journalism Collective will distribute the $100 million in accordance with regulations set under the Online News Act. Specifics include:

Distribution Proportions: Government officials have mandated that CBC/Radio-Canada will be capped at receiving 7% of the funds. Other broadcasters will get 30%, and print and digital media outlets will receive 63%.
Allocation Criteria: Each organization's share will be tied to the number of full-time equivalent journalists working at those outlets.
Regulatory Oversight: The distribution criteria and formulas are predefined by the Online News Act regulations, ensuring a structured and regulated approach.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: The collective aims to distribute the funds in a fair, transparent, and inclusive manner, prioritizing traditional print and broadcast organizations as well as independent local news publishers serving Indigenous, Black, racialized, and Francophone communities.

Legacy media consortium:

The competing consortium, which included News Media Canada and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, expressed concerns over the fairness and effectiveness of the chosen collective's distribution method. They argue that their proposal would have better represented a broader range of news organizations and ensured fair compensation across the industry.

That proposal would have seen the administration of the funds operate at two levels: the collective would have received the money and distributed a seven per cent cut to the national broadcaster, while separate bodies for other broadcasters and publishers would distribute the remaining money among their eligible organizations.

Google chooses group to distribute $100M to Canadian news media