Lessons from California: How a divided news industry paved the way for Google’s deal

The dust has yet to settle after August’s surprising deal between Google and California lawmakers, sidestepping two major legislative efforts to force tech giants to pay local newsrooms for their content. The closed-door agreement, brokered at the eleventh hour, has drawn both praise and harsh criticism. While many of California’s local news leaders and advocates have called this first-of-its-kind deal a step forward—just as many say it falls well short of the need and expectations. They also say a divide among news leaders regarding the two bills likely weakened the industry’s positioning against the powerful tech giant. “It divided us. It divided the industry. And it's never good when the industry is divided,” explained Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance.