Google signs deal with organization to distribute $100M to Canadian news companies

Google announced which 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 createdfor this purpose, and 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 unclear 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