The News Media Alliance today published findings from a new study that analyzes how Google uses and benefits from news. Among the major findings of the study is that news is a key source on which Google has increasingly relied to drive revenue. The platform received an estimated $4.7 billion in revenue in 2018 from news publishers’ content – without paying the publishers for that use.
The study, containing analysis conducted by experts at strategy and economics consulting firm Keystone Strategy and written by the News Media Alliance, includes a qualitative overview of Google’s usage of news content, an analysis of the amount of news content on Google Search and Google News, and an estimate of revenue Google receives from news.
News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern said, “News publishers need to continue to invest in quality journalism, and they can’t do that if the platforms take what they want without paying for it. Information wants to be free, but reporters need to get paid.”
You can help tell Google — and Congress — that news publishers need a fair deal by running an editorial or op-ed explaining the revenue disparity and the importance of having a thriving news media ecosystem.
You can download a sample op-ed from the Alliance or write your own.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
