Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results
– Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-born theoretical physicist.
Local newspapers have a problem. They’re losing money and readers. So, what’s the Madani government’s bright idea? Let’s have Google and Facebook pay up. Sounds like a plan many countries are trying, but, to be honest, it’s got some big holes in it.
Recently, an article by National Journalism Laureate Tan Sri Johan Jaafar caught my eye. Like many others, he’s urging big tech to pay local news outlets for their content. Having seen Google Inc from an investment bank’s side, I’ve a different view.
In the market economy, there’s a golden rule: You can’t make someone pay more for something than they believe it’s worth. They might pay a little extra, sure, but if you push too hard, they might just say ‘no thanks’ and walk away.
Mind you, we’re not even talking about Google or Facebook copying the entire news story and claiming it as their own. Nope. They’re just saying, “Hey, check out this great story,” and providing a link or a tiny snippet for readers to jump in and read the full piece. That’s all.
Sure, news outlets invest heavily in their stories. We all love reading those bits of news, especially when they pop up on our Facebook feed or Google search. So, they figured, “Hey, if it’s getting shared on these platforms, shouldn’t we get a little something-something?” But things aren’t always that simple.
Think about it. If you were to recommend that vase to a friend, you’d show them a picture, maybe a little sample of the design, and tell them where to buy it. Would it be fair for the seller to charge you for just showing the photo and directing people to his stand?
With all due respect, just because you sweat blood and tears into a venture, it doesn’t mean everyone’s lining up to buy it. If that were true, every cafe around the corner would be Starbucks, and every singer would be Taylor Swift. If everything worked that way, no one would ever fail.
The internet changed everything for newspapers. Before, they had things like job listings and ads that made them money. Then, sites like Jobstreet, Mudah.my, and Glassdoor came along and said, “We can do that too!” So, newspapers lost a chunk of their dough. But is that Google’s or Facebook’s fault? Not really.
Australia thought it had found a solution. It passed this new rule: “Tech giants, you’ve gotta pay up for the news!” But Facebook, being Facebook, just shrugged and said, “We’d rather not have news at all.” It’s their way of saying, “You can’t force us to pay more than we think it’s worth.”
For Google and Facebook, news isn’t their golden goose. Just 4% of what we see on Facebook is news. On Google, it’s only about 1%. Most of the time, we’re looking at pictures of cats, hot girls or our friend’s holiday photos. Yet, newspapers really rely on these platforms to get readers. So, who really owes who here? If anyone should be paying, it’s not Google or Facebook, period!
This isn’t new, by the way. I’ve seen Spain try to make Google News pay local newspapers for little previews of their articles. Google’s answer? It shut down its news service in Spain. Spain wasn’t happy, but hey, that’s business. Germany tried something similar, and guess what? Its media quickly realised they needed Google more than Google needed them.
A top spot on Google or a viral post on Facebook can turn a small story into a goldmine. That attention, those clicks, they turn into real money thanks to ads. But asking for money just to be there? Might as well ask Taylor Swift to pay you for attending her concert.
In economics, just because we believe something should happen doesn’t mean it will. If I thought I should be a millionaire, well… I’d still be here writing for the newspapers.
If the government really wants to support it, it should think things through better. Twisting the arms of tech giants and fine them if they don’t pay? That’s just strong-arming, no two ways about it.
In essence, people have grown to love their little news bites just like those free coffee samples at the supermarket. If suddenly there was a price tag on those, many would just stroll past. Still not convinced? Well, since Google News left Spain, no one’s jumped in to fill the void. If there was a goldmine waiting, someone would’ve dug it by now.
So, here’s our lesson: News, as vital as it is, doesn’t have a Midas touch. It might be costly to produce, but its value is subjective. And in the tug-of-war between idealism and reality, guess which side usually wins? Reality. Every. Single. Time.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
