The Indian Newspaper Society asked the global search giant Google to compensate the Indian newspapers comprehensively for the use of content published by the newspapers. The Society insisted that Google should increase the publisher share of advertising revenue to 85 percent.
In a letter addressed to Google India, Country Manager Sanjay Gupta, the INS President L Adimoolam, demanded that Google should ensure more transparency in the revenue reports provided to publishers.
The newspaper body has also raised the concern
of providing greater prominence to editorial content from Registered News Publishers to tackle fake news, as Google picks up content from several sites that are not credible, thus “amplifying misinformation and propagation of fake news.”
Speaking to Medianews4u Malayala Manorama, Executive Editor Jayant Mathew said, “It is important for publishers to get a fair share for our credible content from tech platforms.”
Vignesh Vellore, Co-Founder, The News Minute, would like to see a model like Australia where Google/Facebook are made to pay publishers being tried out in India as well.
He said, “We are not tech companies, and our sole focus is on putting out verified, factual, and credible content for our readers. We also are not behind a paywall to ensure that more and more people get access to our content easily. Big Tech companies will not have access to good credible content, especially if media houses like us start going behind a paywall. Although Google and Facebook help with the distribution, it is also very important for them to have access to quality factual and credible content.”
Vignesh continued, “Many independent publishers like us would be able to benefit and create sustainable products if such options come up. However, India’s scale operates, especially with media, it may be a difficult task to accomplish. Quality journalism which is credible costs money, and having big tech giants pay publishers for such content is a step in the right direction”.
“The publishers earn a tiny percentage of the revenue Google makes from the advertising on our digital website. The Australian government’s take is a corrective step taken towards creating an equal level playing field for all. The INS concerns raised on this issue is the right step towards this direction; publishers should be adequately compensated for using their content,” said MV Shreyams Kumar, Managing Director, Mathrubhumi.
“It is a positive thing that publishers and Google are agreeing. With Google and other digital tech firms associating with publishers showcases the importance of journalism and news content, going fwd one has to understand how the same model can work for India in the long run“, Shreyams Kumar added.
