• by Ray Schultz , August 21, 2024

As predicted, California has reached an agreement that will provide funding to newsrooms and create an AI accelerator while avoiding a showdown with Google and other firms.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D) announced the agreement between the state, news publishers, tech firms and philanthropy Wednesday afternoon.

Wicks is the author of the California Journalism Preservation Act (AB 886), a bill that would have forced tech giants to compensate publishers for using their content, but that apparently is moot with this agreement.

The partnerships will provide nearly $250 million in public and private funding over the next five years, with the majority of this funding going to newsrooms. According to Wicks' office, the goal is to front-load $100 million in the first year.

In addition, businesses and researchers can explore AI through a National AI Innovation Accelerator, to be run with a private nonprofit.

“This initiative builds on our longstanding work to help newsrooms and journalists around the world leverage AI to improve workflows, better connect users to quality content, and help news organizations shape the future of this emerging technology,” says Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer for OpenAI which reportedly will help with technology. 

The new partnership with Google "represents a cross-sector commitment to supporting a free and vibrant press, empowering local news outlets up and down the state to continue in their essential work,” Wicks says.

Earlier reports said Google had committed to $172.5 million and the state to $70 million over five years. The company had tested a limited blocking of news in the state and presumably would have done more if the AB 886 was passed. 

The deal has drawn immediate praise. 

“This agreement represents a major breakthrough in ensuring the survival of newsrooms and bolstering local journalism across California — leveraging substantial tech industry resources without imposing new taxes on Californians,” says Governor Gavin Newsom.” The deal not only provides funding to support hundreds of new journalists but helps rebuild a robust and dynamic California press corps for years to come, reinforcing the vital role of journalism in our democracy.”

Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, comments, “Google is a dominant monopoly that reaps significant revenue off scraping and repackaging quality news content, depriving publishers of the opportunity to monetize their content and reinvest in journalists.Today's announcement reinforces the need for federal legislation and potential court remedies to address this broken marketplace.”