It was a “historic” deal, but it remains to be seen what history will say — if there are news outlets left to record it — about the public/private partnership brokered Aug. 12 by Gov. Gavin Newsom between the state, Google, and some of the stakeholders in California’s news ecosystem.

Rather than allow either of two bills (Senate Bill 1327 and Assembly Bill 886) — restoring journalism health — to move forward, Gov. Newsom and Google successfully stopped them from passing. Google opposed the bills, using threats to end news search and stop news funding. It blanketed the media with attack ads and injected disinformation through lobbyists.

State Sen. Steve Glazer’s bill, SB1327 — on track to pass with a two-thirds majority vote — was halted when Gov. Newsom, threatening a veto, forced a single deal that realized just 1.5% of what Sen. Glazer’s bill would have returned from the advertising monopolist, Google. It included Meta and Amazon.

Notably missing from the negotiations were local independent newspapers (with fewer than 10 publications) or representation from labor. The new money from Google will be a mere one-fifth of the amount it pays to Canada for journalists, a country with the same population as California. Where is the pride in that?

In a new wrinkle, Gov. Newsom’s deal saddles the taxpayers with $30 million (double the Google spend) in the first year and $20 in million subsequent years (again, double what Google has to spend). The public money was something neither bill had included. The rush to a deal did not include a public discussion to hash out feelings around direct government investment into newsrooms, public payment of the wreckage from Big Tech, or about the worry of counting on matching funds from a state that is over budget.

But the help for his friends didn’t end there. Part of the deal includes an “AI Accelerator,” so the taxpayers will subsidize a new project for Google to extend its monopoly profits and news domination.

While corporate news buyouts that began in 1987 have contributed to the decline in reporting, the worst damage to the news sector has occurred in the last decade. In 2005, newspapers earned $50 billion in advertising revenue, while Google had $6 billion. But by 2023, dominance flipped, with the entire U.S. newspaper industry earning about $10 billion from advertising and Google earning $71.9 billion from advertising, with the three biggest tech companies controlling 60% of the digital ad spend.

Whether for love of an illegal monopolist, or a lack of regard for the public’s right to know through a free press, Gov. Newsom has made his allegiances clear. This laughable deal comes at an unnecessary cost to taxpayers and to professional news reporting. Gov. Newsom has built an uphill climb for other states that may attempt to shore up Google’s devastating illegal advertising advantage.

When asked about his view of the deal, Sen. Glazer said: “Despite the good intentions of the parties involved, this proposal does not provide sufficient resources to bring independent news gathering in California out of its death spiral.”

It has been hard to accept, but it does certainly appear that Gov. Newsom — a man with “news” embedded in his name — sold the free press of California down the river for his next helping of monopoly money.

Note: This article is a reprint from Ojai Valley News – Ventura County Sun: https://www.ojaivalleynews.com/users/profile/laura%20rearwin%20ward/