Google to partner with Seven West Media in Australia

Google (Nasdaq :GEL) has signed a deal with Australia's largest news media company, Seven West Media, to pay for journalism. The deal announced on Monday comes ahead of the country's vote on a bill that will force tech giants to pay media companies for news. The Australian print, television and online publishing company and Google signed the long-term partnership after talks between ministers and media managers took place over the weekend. Australian ministers held talks with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Seven West Media CEO Kerry Stokes thanked the Australian competition authority and the government for the bill, which Parliament is expected to consider Tuesday. In a statement, Stokes said that outstanding leadership in implementing the Billing Code on Journalism Bill helped the company finalize talks with Google that will lead to fair pay and sustainability of the company's digital future. He added that the partnership with Google recognizes the value of original and quality journalism in the country and in certain regional areas. The companies signed the contract as part of Google's News Showcase model. Since the launch of News Showcase in October, Google has signed paid contracts with over 450 publishers worldwide. Last week, the search giant announced it had started paying seven smaller Australian websites. Mel Silva, Google's regional director, said they were delighted to support trusted, high quality and original journalism. Silva said they are thrilled to have a leading Australian publisher on board, Seven West Media, to join News Showcase. She added that the deal for the company is a massive investment in journalism beyond the metropolitan areas into smaller communities. Neither company has confirmed the value of the deal, however, but rival media company Nine Entertainment said it is worth around $ 23 million a year. Swinburne University media lecturer Belinda Barnet said the deal with News Showcase was a consolation prize as it did not include any news linked to the Google search engine.