Google named the organization it has selected to distribute the $100 million the tech giant has promised to Canadian news companies Friday.
Google agreed to pay Canadian news publishers $100 million annually, indexed to inflation, in order to be exempt from the Online News Act, which compels tech companies to enter into agreements with news publishers.
The Canadian Journalism Collective will be responsible for ensuring eligible news organizations get their share of the money.
The collective is a federally incorporated non-profit organization that was created for this purpose. It was founded in May by a group of independent publishers and broadcasters.
The steering committee is made up of 12 independent media outlets that represent French language, community and Indigenous news, and publications that specifically represent Black and minority Canadians.
Some of the organizations include Pivot, The Resolve, IndigiNews, Village Media and the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations.
The collective is committed to distributing the funding in a “fair, transparent, and inclusive manner” Sadia Zaman, the CJC’s independent board director, said in a statement.
“We look forward to working with the full diversity of the Canadian news ecosystem, including traditional print and broadcast organizations, and independent local news publishers, including those who serve Indigenous, Black and racialized communities and francophone communities.”
The committee plans to establish its governance structure in the coming weeks.
It’s not clear when eligible news businesses will receive the cash. The payment is contingent on Google formally receiving an exemption from the federal broadcast regulator.
“We hope these next steps will be completed as quickly as possible, so Canadian publishers and journalists can soon begin to receive the proceeds of this new contribution model,” Google said in a blog entry posted on their website Friday.
Google and the federal government have reached an agreement in their dispute over the Online News Act. The $100 million deal comes three weeks before Bill C-18 is set to come into effect. Google originally threatened to follow in the footsteps of Meta, which blocked news content on Facebook and Instagram in response to the legislation. Power & Politics speaks to Canada’s minister of heritage.
Earlier this year, Google put out an open call to news organizations that wish to receive compensation under the Online News Act. About 1,500 outlets applied for the cash.
The collective will review all news publishers that responded to the open call, and distribute the funds to publishers that meet the criteria.
To receive a share of the $100-million windfall, newsrooms must be designated as qualified Canadian journalism organizations under the Income Tax Act. They must also produce news content of public interest, operate in Canada and employ at least two or more journalists.
The money will be distributed proportionately based on how many full time-journalists the companies employ.
At Issue this week: Google and the federal government strike a deal to keep Canadian news on the platform and for the tech giant to pay $100 million annually to news outlets. Plus, Alberta invokes the Sovereignty Act and the fallout after an MP asks a cabinet minister to not speak French.
Small print and digital outlets can expect to receive about $17,000 per journalist that they employ, an official with the Canadian Heritage Department has said.
The Liberal government has put a cap on how much money the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and other broadcasters can get.
CBC/Radio-Canada will get no more than a $7 million share of the annual fund, and $30 million at most will be reserved for other broadcasters.
The other $63 million will be shared among other qualifying news outlets, such as newspapers and digital platforms.