The Digital News Transformation Fund will help besieged local news outlets in the short term but Google must address the inequalities driving the media crisis
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The aim of the fund is to support the sustainability, digital transformation and financial viability of small, local and independent publishers. These organisations often operate in underserved areas, producing original public-interest journalism, including content in vernacular languages. Google’s intervention comes against a backdrop of a shrinking journalism industry in South Africa, exacerbated by declining advertising revenue, the rise of digital platforms and widespread job losses. Prominent media houses such as Media24 and Independent Media have retrenched hundreds of staff in recent years.This gesture by Google is not an act of corporate media altruism.
Google’s algorithms, particularly those governing ad revenue generation, are opaque by design. The core of this issue lies in the complexity and proprietary nature of Google’s algorithms, such as the ones powering its advertising platforms, Google Ads and AdSense. These systems determine how adverts are ranked, displayed and charged for, using a combination of factors such as quality scores, bidding amounts, user engagement metrics and relevance.
Similarly, the frequent algorithm updates that impact search rankings and ad placements often occur without sufficient explanation, causing disruptions to revenue streams without warning. This opacity can result in a power imbalance, where Google’s dominance in digital advertising gives it significant leverage while stakeholders are left with limited recourse or understanding of how decisions are made.
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