Will Google’s $250 million deal with California really help journalism?

Google and California lawmakers just agreed on a deal to spend millions to support journalism in the state, including with AI. Here’s why many journalists are unhappy.

California has struck a first-in-the-nation agreement that will see local government and large tech companies spend more than $250 million over the next five years to support news organizations across the state. That sort of a cash infusion would normally be cheered by the journalism industry, which has been struggling in recent years (something many publishers partially blame on Google and Meta), but any celebration is muted at best.