• by Ray Schultz , Yesterday

Canadian journalists are receiving a windfall -- thanks to the first payments made by Google under Canada’s Online News Act.

To date, 108 publishers have received a total of over C$22 million, with some payments totaling up to C$4.27 million.

This partial payment is roughly 60% of the annual total, according to News/Media Alliance.  

“These funds not only represent a significant victory for journalism in Canada, they also offer proof that the platform compensation model within Canada’s Online News Act, which also underlies the federal Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and state bills like the Oregon Journalism Protection Act, is a viable and compelling option for American markets as well,” says Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance. “Publishers deserve to be compensated when major tech platforms profit from their work, and Canada’s example proves that this model will work for publishers in the United States and start to reverse the damage that the Big Tech platforms have wreaked on the American news ecosystem.” 

In Canada, the payments are being hailed as much-deserved compensation for publishers. 

“Today we show our world-leading model in action, ensuring Big Tech compensates news media for their journalism equitably and fairly across Canada’s news ecosystem,” says Sarah Spring, executive director of the Canadian Journalism Collective. “It’s an historic investment that is empowering a broad range of voices, and setting new democratic precedents in media funding and transparency.” 

The Canadian Journalism Collective describes itself as “an independent, federal non-profit organization responsible for receiving and distributing $100 million annually for five years from Google in support of Canadian news businesses under the Online News Act.”