May 22 (UPI) -- Google announced reduced its funding contribution for newsrooms across California, following the lead of Gov. Gavin Newsom who made a similar cut from his budget plan.
The tech company dropped its initial proposed donation of $15 million to the California Civic Media Fund to $10 million, California State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, said in a press release Wednesday.
Newsom had cut state funding for the fund last week from $30 million to $10 million as part of his current plan to address a $12 billion budget deficit.
Alphabet will continue to provide financial support for newsrooms across the Golden State through its Google News Initiative, among other programming, which offers over $10 million in annual support to media outlets in California. The Civic Media Fund will also receive money from private donations and be managed by the California State Library.
"We appreciate the leadership of Gov. Newsom and Assemblymember Wicks in fulfilling the famework established last year," Alphabet's Vice President of Global News Partnerships Jaffer Zaidi said. "We're committed to its success, and based on the agreement, we're pleased to match the State of California's initial contribution to the Civic Media Fund."
Wicks initially announced the deal in August, saying it would include nearly $250 million in public and private funding over five years .with $100 million upfront.
