DNI’s DNA: Where Is Google’s Money in European Media?

This paper aims to investigate Google’s role in European media sustainability. In order to understand the implication of this digital intermediary in the news industry, we have analysed all of the projects funded through Google’s DNI Fund from 2016 to 2020. After revising each report, we have classi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSustainability Vol. 13; no. 20; p. 11457
Main Authors González-Tosat, Clara, Sádaba-Chalezquer, Charo
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2021
Subjects
Advertising
COVID-19
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Digital literacy
DNA
Economic crisis
Expenditures
Funding
Initiatives
Innovations
Investigations
Journalism
Legislation
News media
Social networks
Society
Sustainability
Sustainable practices
Europe
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Summary:This paper aims to investigate Google’s role in European media sustainability. In order to understand the implication of this digital intermediary in the news industry, we have analysed all of the projects funded through Google’s DNI Fund from 2016 to 2020. After revising each report, we have classified the data available, including the full amount of money awarded, chronologically marking every new country added to the fund and all the media outlets involved in each project. We argue that Google’s role is truly beneficial for the medium and long-term sustainability of European media because it offers both financial support and a successful path for media companies to truly embrace its digital technology potential. However, it also has some added weight in terms of transparency (a key element in sustainability practice and standards) and press independence. Besides the existing correlations between the awarded countries and the changes that have affected media legislation in Europe, our findings show an alarming scarcity of information regarding both the continuity and the conditions of each funded project. Our proposed agenda for future research consists of an in-depth investigation of each beneficiary, which will entail several interviews as well as different case studies of all the participants in Europe.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su132011457