The Tech Monopolies at the Heart of Journalism’s Ad Revenue Collapse 
This month, journalists and staff were laid off by the Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, Time Magazine, Pitchfork, NBC news, and Sports Illustrated. 400 workers with the Condé Nast union staged a walkout over expected layoffs, while the unionized staff at Forbes announced a three day strike regarding contract negotiations, which have gone on for over two years. In short, 2024 has already been devastating for journalism and people who produce it. The industry’s problems can largely be traced back to tech companies like Google and Meta, which have shaped both digital advertising and the way links are shared across the internet. Both companies have spent billions on journalism initiatives, designed to funnel resources into struggling news outlets. There’s an obvious flaw with these programs, though: tech companies exert market-dominating power, and news outlets are dependent on their good will. 
 
Here's a story that illustrates the tension between tech and journalism particularly well. Last week, Google told 404Media that it would not be prioritizing human-produced articles for its “news” tab, allowing AI-generated stories to appear in search results. This policy undermines Google’s “commitment” to journalism by redirecting clicks (and therefore ad revenue) to websites that scrape intellectual property from outlets without compensation. No amount of grants or trainings can make up for the fact that Google is acting against the best interests of journalists and publishers to increase its own profits. For more on this issue, read TTP’s report on how Google’s journalism spending surges in the face of regulatory threats, and can be seen as an extension of its lobbying strategy.