Who should pay for the news?

Google this week signed multi-million dollar deals with a number of major news providers in Australia, agreeing to pay for the journalism it features on its new ‘News Showcase’ pages. It comes as Australia’s parliament debates a proposed new law that would force tech giants to negotiate with news outlets big and small. Facebook, which like Google opposes the draft law, responded by blocking access to news content on the platform nationwide. But critics argue the proposed laws don’t go far enough and that the traditional business model of funding journalism through advertising revenue is broken. The pandemic has meant reduced income for many small newsrooms, despite an apparent rise in appetite for local information surrounding Covid-19. If access to reliable news is crucial to the smooth running of democracy, who should step in to pay for the journalism voters need? When it comes to paying the bills, what is the future of news? Join Paul Henley and a panel of expert guests.