California slashes journalism fund by $20 Million as Google pulls back support

Sacramento, California – A landmark initiative to inject millions into California’s struggling local newsrooms faces steep cuts after Governor Gavin Newsom proposed slashing the state’s contribution and Google announced it is scaling back its financial commitment.

The California Civic Media Fund — formerly known as the Newsroom Transformation Fund — was initially pitched as a $180 million, five-year collaboration between the state and Google to revive local journalism. However, the program’s future is now in flux. Newsom’s revised budget proposal, addressing a $12 billion deficit, reduced the state’s planned 2025 contribution from $30 million to $10 million. Google swiftly followed suit, dropping its contribution for the year from $15 million to $10 million.

Despite the cut, Google left the door open to restoring its full contribution. The tech giant pledged to match up to $5 million in philanthropic, private, or public donations, bringing its total 2025 support back to the original $15 million.

“We’re committed to its success, and based on the agreement, we’re pleased to match the State of California’s initial contribution,” said Jaffer Zaidi, vice president of global news partnerships at Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

The Civic Media Fund will be hosted by the California State Library, following the UC Berkeley Journalism School’s decision to step away from the project late last year over concerns about fund administration and the initiative’s direction. An expanded nine-member advisory board, including representatives from publishers, ethics groups, journalists’ unions, and the State Library, will oversee the distribution of funds.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who led negotiations, released the first public framework of the agreement on Wednesday. She emphasized the importance of shared responsibility in sustaining local journalism. “It will take all of us — government, philanthropy, and the tech sector — stepping up together,” Wicks said.

The rebranded fund is designed to support local, community-based journalism, which has been hollowed out by years of lost advertising revenue and consolidation. Wicks said she will introduce a full legislative proposal in a budget trailer bill in the coming days.

The original agreement emerged after tense negotiations between state lawmakers and tech giants, who were at odds over proposed legislation to force companies like Google to pay news outlets for content. The resulting deal promised $125 million for local journalism and another $55 million from Google, although much of the tech funding was criticized for prioritizing artificial intelligence research.

OpenAI has also signaled interest in the initiative. “We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate on this important project,” said Chris Lehane, the company’s vice president of global affairs.

With final budget talks approaching, the fund’s ultimate size — and impact — remains uncertain.