Google to be or not

By: Adrian Aitken

In my last blog entry I reported on the new Google News Archive and its unveiling. Now after a week controversy and debate has sprouted.

Publishers have taken two sides on the program, either a way to boost revenues or finally die off and give up. Google is taking the stand that the new venture will bring newspapers into the twentieth century.

One of the specific conflicts the publishers have stressed is where the profit is going and how much-if any-money will they see? Because Google is a dominating and well established corporation the company will pay for the costs of digitizing the microfilm. This will allow for a steadier flow of income to the publishers.

The question of how the digitization of newspapers will affect journalism will not be answered until the program is in full swing and has had time to settle. Personally I believe if done right both the publishers can make a lot of money through subscriptions and the user friendly aspect of the website will attract many customers.

I will try to keep updated as this situation unfolds.