California, Google cut pledged funds to support state’s newsrooms

Google said Wednesday it would reduce its funding contribution for California newsrooms, following in the footsteps of state officials.

The company has lowered its proposed $15 million donation to the California Civic Media Fund to $10 million instead.

Google’s move comes a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) cut the same amount from his budget plan in an effort to compress the state deficit.

“The only reason there was funding to support local journalism in the first place is because Governor Newsom worked with the Legislature and included it in his January budget proposal,” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office told The Hill.

“The modest reduction now proposed is part of the Governor’s balanced approach to closing an $11.95 billion budget gap,” they added.

In May, the tech giant committed to matching California’s contributions to the fund for up to $15 million each year for five years.

“We’re committed to its success, and based on the agreement, we’re pleased to match the State of California’s initial contribution to the Civic Media Fund,” Jaffer Zaidi, vice president of Global News Partnerships at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, said in a release .

California lawmakers will work over the next few weeks to finalize the state’s contribution to the local news fund.

Google has not yet signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the agreement.

Updated on May 22 at 9:38 a.m. EDT

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