More than 100 media outlets have received $22.2M in Google payments: journalism group

Photo: The Canadian Press

Almost $22.2 million in payments have made their way to 108 media businesses after Google agreed to pay Canadian news outlets in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act. The Google News homepage is displayed on an iPhone in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The organization administering the money Google agreed to give Canadian news outlets in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act says almost $22.2 million in payments have made their way to 108 media businesses.

The Canadian Journalism Collective says the top recipients, who received more than $1 million each, include Postmedia, the Globe and Mail, Metroland Media Group, La Presse, Coopérative nationale de l’information indépendante, Black Press Group and The Canadian Press.

About 100 other organizations received smaller amounts, with many reaching six figures.

The payments made by April 23 make up 60 per cent of the total they will each receive by the end of the year.

The money is part of the $100 million in annual payments Google will make in order to secure a five-year exemption to the Online News Act, which is meant to help journalism recoup losses incurred in part by tech platforms.

The collective says it will continue to publish the names of recipients of the money and how much they were given every two weeks.