Los Angeles — He Government of California and Google reached an agreement on Wednesday to allocate $250 million to finance programs artificial intelligence (AI) in the state’s newsrooms with the aim of strengthening local journalism.
The plan, the first of its kind to be achieved in the United States, establishes a commitment of nearly $250 million “in public and private funding over the next five years“The money will largely go to newsrooms,” a spokesman for state Rep. Buffy Wicks said in a statement.
“The goal is Allocate $100 million in the first year to launch the initiatives“Total investment could increase in the coming years if additional funding from private or state sources becomes available,” the statement added.
The package of initiatives includes “multifaceted support for publishers across California to address challenges that have affected the depth and breadth of news coverage in the state,” the agreement said.
The funds will also “help ensure the sustainability of existing and new online publications, with an emphasis on small, local media and community-oriented journalism.”the document reads.
“This agreement represents a major step toward ensuring the survival of newsrooms and strengthening local journalism throughout California, leveraging significant resources from the technology industry without imposing new taxes on Californians,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The document ends a nearly two-year battle between the state media industry and private big tech companies to revive journalism in California. in the face of the new reality of news consumption.
The agreement It has the support of several press associations representing editors and media outlets, but not with the union representing journalists.
Matt Pearce, president of the western wing of the Media Guild, said in a statement on X yesterday that the agreement “would mark a total defeat for the state’s attempts to curb Google’s dominance” over newsrooms.