Google The organization chosen to distribute the $100 million the tech giant pledged to Canadian news companies was announced Friday.
Google agrees to pay Canadian news publishers $100 million a year (indexed to inflation) to waive restrictions on its Online News Lawwhich forces tech companies to sign agreements with news publishers.
The Canadian Press Association will be responsible for ensuring eligible news organizations receive their fair share of funding.
The Collective is a federally registered nonprofit organization established The organization was founded in May by a group of independent publishers and broadcasters for this purpose.
The steering committee is made up of 12 independent media outlets representing French-language, community and Indigenous news, as well as publications specifically representing Black and minority Canadians.
These organizations include Pivot, The Resolve, IndigiNews, Village Media and the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations.
Sadia Zaman, an independent CJC board director, said in a statement that the collective is committed to distributing funds in a “fair, transparent and inclusive manner.”
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“We look forward to working with the diverse Canadian news ecosystem, including traditional print and broadcast organizations, as well as independent local news publishers, including those serving Indigenous, Black and racialized communities, and the Francophone community.”
The committee plans to establish its governance structure in the coming weeks.
It is unclear when eligible news businesses will receive the money, which is contingent on Google formally receiving an exemption from federal broadcast regulators.
“We hope these next steps can be completed as quickly as possible so that Canadian publishers and journalists can soon begin to reap the benefits of this new contribution model,” Google said in a blog posted on its website on Friday.
Earlier this year, Google issued an open call for news organizations that wanted to be compensated under the Online News Act, and about 1,500 outlets applied for the cash.
The Alliance will review all news publishers that respond to the open call and allocate funds to those that qualify.
To receive the $100 million windfall, newsrooms must be designated as qualifying Canadian news organizations under the Income Tax Act. They must also produce news content in the public interest, operate in Canada and employ at least two or more journalists.
The money will be distributed proportionally based on the number of full-time journalists employed by the company.
An official with the Canadian Heritage Department said small print and digital media outlets can expect to receive about $17,000 for each journalist they employ.
The Liberal government has previously capped the funding that the CBC and other broadcasters receive.
The CBC/CBC will receive a share of no more than $7 million per year, with a maximum of $30 million reserved for other broadcasters.
The remaining $63 million will be shared with other eligible news organizations, such as newspapers and digital platforms.
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