Questions and Insights about the Digital News Landscape
In 1975, a wise mentor told me, “if you’re interested in the future of media, in the future of journalism, stay close to the technology. It creates the playing field. It sets the boundaries.” That was not obvious then. Change was slow. It is obvious today. Change is both rapid and constant. In these exponentially complex and challenging times, we look for answers. No easy answers are to be found. Over the past 15 years, Google has collaborated closely with the news industry. We’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to support innovation and help enable the creation of sustainable quality journalism in the digital age. We are committed to play our part — to be a constructive ally that enables an independent and diverse news ecosystem. The task ahead is one of shared responsibility — together with publishers, civil society and governments. What motivates Google in doing this? First, we realize that our business is most successful in open societies, in societies that support free expression — an open marketplace of ideas, an open marketplace of products and services. A sustainable free press is necessary for strong open societies. Indeed, the degree of press freedom is a measure of a societies’ openness. Therefore, it’s imperative that we are collectively successful in addressing the evolution of the role of journalism in open societies journalism strives to serve.
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