Google’s new deal with California lawmakers will pay newsrooms across the state up to $250 million over the next five years, while also helping the tech giant avoid an even bigger bill. The first-in-the-nation agreement, funded by taxpayers, Google, and potentially other private sources, allows the search giant to evade a proposed state bill that would force it to pay for linking Californians to news articles.
The money will be split between two initiatives administered by the New...