by Peter Weinberger

In 2024, Californians were told a breakthrough had arrived.

After intense debate, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers reached a high-profile deal with Google that was supposed to help stabilize local journalism. The agreement, announced in August 2024, committed a combined $175 million over five years from the state and Google to support California newsrooms through a newly created California Civic Media Fund.

At the time, the governor called it a “major breakthrough” for local news.

Today, that promise is very much in doubt.

Newsom’s newly released budget proposal includes no funding at all for the journalism fund beyond the reduced amount already set aside for this year. That absence raises a serious question: was the deal ever intended to meaningfully help community publishers — or just defuse political pressure?

Latest update

California lawmakers were close to passing legislation that would have required Google and other large platforms to pay publishers for using their content. In response, Google mounted a record lobbying campaign, spending $11 million to oppose those bills. The legislation was dropped, and instead, a voluntary deal was struck.

Under that agreement, the state would eventually contribute $70 million, and Google $55 million, over five years. Google would also continue its annual $10 million in newsroom grants. But there was a catch: Google made clear its contributions were contingent on state funding.

That contingency is now front and center.

Facing budget constraints, the governor cut the state’s first-year contribution to just $10 million for the 2025–26 fiscal year — far below the original plan — and proposed no money for future years. Google promptly said it would match only the $10 million, and no more.

As of today, none of the pledged $20 million has reached local news outlets.

The state agency administering the fund says the money is expected to be distributed sometime this year. But even supporters of the deal are urging caution.

“At this point right now, nobody should be jumping up and down and getting excited,” said Chuck Champion, president of the California News Publishers Association.

Champion has been more blunt about the governor’s retreat, saying Newsom failed to keep his promise to journalists and communities that rely on them.

Why this matters

Several years ago, the Courier undertook a careful analysis of how Google uses our reporting in its news feeds and search results. We calculated the measurable annual impact at $136,510 — value extracted from our journalism without compensation.

That figure is not theoretical. It represents local reporting paid for by Courier subscribers and donors that is repackaged by a global technology company worth more than $4 trillion.

To put things in perspective, a 2019 study by the News Media Alliance estimated Google made $4.7 billion from news content in a single year. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported over $100 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2025 alone — its first-ever $100 billion quarter.

Meanwhile, local journalism continues to shrink.

Between 2005 and 2024, more than 3,200 newspapers closed nationwide. California now ranks near the bottom of all states in the number of news outlets per capita. The number of newspaper journalists in California has dropped by more than half in just over a decade.

Other countries responded differently — and more forcefully.

Canada passed a law requiring platforms to negotiate compensation with publishers, backed by binding arbitration. Australia did the same using competition law. Both approaches produced real, ongoing payments to news organizations, including smaller community outlets.

California chose a voluntary path instead. The result, so far, is predictable: uncertainty, delay, and shrinking commitments. Trusting a handshake deal between a tech giant and a politician is like counting the check before it’s written.

Even if the full original deal were honored, former state Sen. Steve Glazer has warned it would not be enough to “arrest the collapse of independent community news.” Without enforceable requirements, the imbalance between global tech companies and local publishers remains.

At the Courier, we never assumed Google would ride in as a savior. We continue to rely on subscriptions, advertising, sponsorships, donations, legal ads, grants, and community support to do our work. But it’s important for readers to understand why local news remains under pressure — even as its value is widely recognized and widely used.

Strong local journalism supports accountability, civic engagement, and community connection. Other governments acted decisively to protect it.

California is still deciding whether it truly will.

Google, California, and local news — by the numbers

$136,510

Estimated annual value of Courier journalism used by Google in its news feeds and search results, calculated by the Courier several years ago.

$175 million

Total amount promised over five years in the 2024 California/Google journalism funding deal (state and Google combined).

$20 million

Amount pledged for fiscal year 2025–26 ($10 million from the state, $10 million from Google). There’s still no guarantee the full $175 million will ever be distributed.

$0

Amount distributed so far to local California news outlets.

$11 million

Amount Google spent lobbying California lawmakers in 2024 to stop legislation that would have required it to pay publishers.

$4.7 billion

Estimated revenue Google made from news content in a single year, according to a 2019 News Media Alliance study.

$100+ billion

Revenue reported by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in the third quarter of 2025 alone.

3,200+ newspapers

Number of U.S. newspapers that closed between 2005 and 2024.