The Competition Commission has ordered Google to pay R688 million over five years to compensate South African news publishers for value extracted from the industry. This ruling provides some relief amid a distorted digital market but frustrates publishers over Meta's absolution and inaction on misinformation. Treating journalism as a public good through policy interventions is seen as crucial for sustainability.
The Competition Commission's recent findings highlight a broken market for South African journalism, where digital platforms have accentuated but not caused the decline. In a ruling, Google must pay R688 million over five years as compensation, acknowledging distortions from dominant players. Reactions are mixed: the payment offers breathing room for publishers to seek sustainability, yet the decision absolves Meta of algorithmic deprecation of news content and overlooks a decade of misinformation spread.
As platforms face their own disruptions, artificial intelligence poses both threats and opportunities. Google's AI Overviews are reducing referral traffic to publishers by double digits, straining digital strategies. However, AI can enable efficient coverage and investigations if harnessed properly. Thriving newsrooms will focus on original, human-driven journalism—cultivating sources, exercising judgment, and holding power accountable—that machines cannot replicate.
Journalism functions as a public good, yet the free market underinvests in it. Studies from the 1980s and 1990s showed profitable publishers failing to bolster newsrooms despite growth. South Africa has lost over half its journalism workforce to disruptions. The State Capture investigations exemplify the value: exposés led to billions in asset recoveries and prosecutions of officials, benefiting the nation far beyond publishers' gains.
A 2023 FT Strategies study reveals it's ten times harder to sustain journalism in Africa than in northern Europe, due to market conditions. The local crisis is acute, with declining municipal governance and service delivery going unreported as community newspapers vanish. Without local reporters at council meetings, corruption and maladministration persist unchecked.
Short-term aids like the Digital News Transformation Fund help, but long-term change demands policy reform. The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has 19 recommendations, including tax incentives for readers and advertisers, development finance, zero-rated data for news, and protections against vexatious lawsuits. Execution remains the challenge in a country with a track record of policy implementation gaps. As editorial writer Styli Charalambous notes, 'Journalists’ work forms the bulwark against so many evils that will otherwise go unpunished.' South Africa has the framework to lead developing democracies in sustaining its press, if political will and industry unity prevail.
