News business is everyone’s business
Logos of the multinational American Internet technology and services company, from left : Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok on a computer screen in Lille on October 21, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Facebook banned users and news sites in Australia from sharing local and international news on its platform amidst justified uproar.
For a very long time, Google and Facebook, have been eating our lunch.
The Australian parliament this week voted for a new legislation that will compel the big technology companies, including Google and Facebook, to pay news organisations for using their content on their platforms.
For a very long time, Google and Facebook, have been eating our lunch. News organisations invest a lot in good content and journalists’ salaries and in return get very little from digital advertising, compared to what Google and Facebook are pocketing.
Of course, there are several arguments mounted by Facebook, including one that they are doing media a favour by providing a platform with billions of eyeballs, but the fact remains, it is not only unfair but immoral of Big Tech to reap so much at the expense of struggling news organisations.
This is why the government of Australia decided that it was time for Google and Facebook to pay up. Google, although reluctant at first, agreed to pay for news and is already getting into arrangements with Australian news organisations.
Facebook, on the other hand, remains adamant. Facebook banned users and news sites in Australia from sharing local and international news on its platform amidst justified uproar. Experts have said that the difference in approach from Google to Facebook lies in their company missions. Google’s mission is to “organise the world’s information” — a mission that cannot be achieved without news organisations. Facebook, on the other hand, is a social network that allows people to share pictures, memes and the occasional news article.
Difficult times
Facebook does not feel obligated to pay for news. That said, this is a notable precedent and it expected that other countries like Canada and Britain will follow suit. This is a great example of a policy response to an industry-wide problem. For an industry that has gone through some of its most difficult times, it is shocking that there has not yet been any legislation aimed at protecting public-interest journalism and securing media sustainability.
We have left the herculean task of devising business models for the 21st century news organisations to overworked and underpaid media executives and journalists, while we could take the policy route like countries in the West.
We must think of policy change as a solution to media viability not to keep the lights on at Nation, Standard or Ghetto Radio, but because we believe that every Kenyan deserves high quality news and information at no cost.
We could take the Australian route and put in place legislation to ensure that Kenyan media and content creators get paid what they deserve. We could also install a media sustainability fund to help save local news.
Studies have shown that media have significant, positive effects on political participation. The loss of local journalism leads to poorly informed voters and civic engagement diminishes with the loss of local news. The business of news is everyone’s business.
