Interview with UK-based Media Analyst Kyoko Kobayashi (Part 2)

Google, Newspapers, and the Future of Open Journalism

Continu ing from last time, we spoke with Kyoko Kobayashi, a media analyst based in the UK.

 

The Struggle with Google News

 

――When considering the future of open journalism in Europe, as we discussed last time, how do you think the relationship between news sites like Google and newspapers will evolve?

 

Kobayashi: Google derives 95% of its revenue from advertising, so fundamentally it's an advertising company. However, it has evolved into a corporation with the power to constantly invent new technologies and transform society. It possesses information gathering and dissemination capabilities that are impossible to ignore. From the perspective of newspaper publishers, Google News has tended to be viewed as a kind of adversary because it aggregates and disseminates content they invested money to create, all for free. But the situation is constantly changing. Newspapers across Europe resisted what they saw as Google's unauthorized aggregation of their content. Ultimately, France and Belgium settled on a compromise where Google provides a certain level of financial support. In March last year, Germany enacted a revised copyright law requiring search engines to obtain permission and pay fees when displaying news articles published online by newspapers and other media outlets. News organizations hold exclusive rights to publish news articles for profit for one year. Starting August 1st, newspapers unwilling to have their site's news picked up by Google News were supposed to apply to "opt out." However, when the results came in, most newspapers chose to "opt in."

　After all, prioritizing practical benefits means being featured on Google News ultimately drives traffic to their own sites. The old view of "Google News = the enemy" seems to have changed significantly.

German version of Google News

 

――The agreement with France established a digital support fund for the newspaper and magazine industry, jointly set up by the government and Google. This made it clear that secondary use of media content cannot be free.

 

Kobayashi: While securing certain concessions from Google is certainly a major step forward, the French press's demand for copyright payments for search-generated article headlines and partial content usage wasn't realized. In that sense, it could be seen as a victory for Google. Furthermore, the agreement on the support fund is strictly between Google and the French press; it doesn't apply to other news aggregators. This doesn't represent a fundamental solution, and I feel the tug-of-war over newspaper content usage will likely continue.

 

Open Journalism and the Future of Newspapers

 

――It feels like the wave of open journalism is now reaching even Google and Yahoo!. For example, last year Yahoo! JAPAN attempted to use search keywords to estimate a monthly, real-time index closely resembling the Cabinet Office's Economic Trends Index (CI).

 

Kobayashi: The conflict between Europe and the US over big data utilization has escalated into an ideological debate. Essentially, Europe feels a sense of crisis that if left unchecked, European citizens' data will be monopolized by American companies.

Within open journalism, I believe the role of journalism—specifically news organizations like newspapers—is significant. Search engines are constantly collecting data, right? Who manages this data, how it's analyzed and used—these have become new issues. In such a situation, discerning what is right is one of journalism's crucial tasks. However, it's not just existing news organizations that can manage and analyze this data; various organizations, experts, and citizens can play roles. For example, the non-profit "European Journalism Centre" released a handbook this year detailing how global media verified information submitted by citizens during disasters and major incidents or accidents.

Handbook by the European Journalism Centre

 

――Just like advertising agencies today, the areas we must cover are expanding, while the expertise required in each individual field is becoming increasingly demanding. This makes it impossible for one person to complete the work alone, leading to more situations where individuals bring their specialized knowledge together to collaborate. In that sense, newspapers might also move toward a future where reporters and various experts collaborate to create articles.

 

Kobayashi: That's certainly true. With the spread of the internet, news organizations face a higher degree of accountability. There are limits to what reporters and journalists alone can do to analyze and explain complex phenomena. Even in the United States, a leader in data journalism, the question of who should handle and verify data, and how, is a major issue. While some argue that companies should simply hire data scientists amid the explosive growth of digital information, Harvard University's Nieman Journalism Lab contends that journalists themselves should acquire data expertise. The current conclusion is that while reporters don't need to write programs, they should have a basic understanding of data processing.

processing.

 

――Finally, please share your thoughts on the future of newspaper journalism.

 

Kobayashi: In 2010, the whistleblowing site WikiLeaks obtained massive amounts of data related to the U.S. military. They collaborated with major Western media outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, and Der Spiegel to analyze the data, leading to numerous reports. As the volume of data handled increases, we can expect greater collaboration between multiple media organizations going forward.

Additionally, Emily Bell, Director of Columbia University's Tow Center for Digital Journalism, states that "specialization and personalization" will be key trends in future journalism. She notes, "The scale of journalism will become smaller," and "It will be necessary for individual journalists to connect with readers and create a community space." Indeed, we're seeing examples in the U.S. where journalists who built a solid readership at traditional news organizations are launching their own media outlets. Journalists are using Twitter to create unique community spaces with their followers. Furthermore, it has become commonplace for many people to discover news through recommendations from friends, acquaintances, or journalists and websites they follow. Services that curate and deliver news tailored to individual preferences are also popular.

Japanese newspapers could also further open up, sharing information with readers and collaborating to shape the pages. For instance, increasing bylined articles to show journalists' faces, having reporters start personal Twitter accounts, opening comment sections on web editions, and holding opinion exchange meetings with readers—these steps could significantly open the door to readers.

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