View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Publishers
  2. Digital Journalism
May 27, 2016updated 31 May 2016 11:50am

Think-tank calls for Google to share more of £7bn UK revenue with publishers via news tax

By Dominic Ponsford

Google and other online giants should be taxed for the news they use from other media organisations, according to an independent think-tank.

The ResPublica report, Virtuous Media: How to improve plurality and transparency, says a 1 per cent levy could be used to help pay for the journalism the companies benefit from.

The call comes as commercial news providers have seen an acceleration in the rate that they are losing print and online advertising digital media giants Google and Facebook.

Guardian News and Media and Telegraph Media Group are both making widespread editorial cuts to make up for lost revenue. And the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday this week reported print advertising down 15 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2016.

Justin Schlosberg, the report’s author, said: “Google gains traffic by using stories generated by the media but it pays nothing for the articles.

“At first glance this seems okay because readers can clearly see the story source, but for journalism and the media industry this is proving harmful.

“More and more people are turning to a single source for their stories and if that single source is Google, it is not contributing to the cost of creating the journalism they use.”

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

The tax would fund an independent “media plurality board” that would use the money to support national and local journalism across all platforms, the report recommends.

Google generated more than £7 billion of revenue in the UK alone last year with a market share of over 90 per cent, the report stated.

Commenting on the report, a Google spokesman said: “Google works with news publishers to increase traffic to their website and help them make money from that traffic.

“We drive over 10 billion clicks a month to publishers’ websites for free, representing an opportunity for publishers to grow and monetise their audience.

“Furthermore our ads services generate revenue online for our publishers. In 2015 we shared more than 10 billion US dollars (£6.8 billion) with our AdSense partners.”

Google is in the process of allocating €150m of grants to news organisations across Europe via its Digital News Initiative. The next round of grant applications opens on 2 June.

Topics in this article :

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network