Google and Facebook are our frenemy. Beware

Google, eight major publishers across Europe, and a couple of trade organizations are forming a partnership ... an alliance born out of desperation on the part of publishers and opportunity on the part of technology companies... the largest news and information companies in the world will be formed out of a hybrid of these current entities... just as the temperature of regulation in Europe heats up... Google has maneuvered its friendly tanks up the drive and into the garage of publishing houses... Google needs more friends in Europe, but not as badly as legacy news organizations need help in navigating a present and a future they are still ill-equipped to face... No one really knows where this new, closer partnership approach is leading... The locus of power in delivery and distribution of news has shifted, irrevocably, towards commercial companies who have priorities that often compete with those of journalism. The alternative is unclear, but must ultimately lie with news taking more responsibility for understanding the role of third-party technology and creating its own platforms in the future. How journalism will find the time or resources to do this is unclear, as the frenemy is already at the gate. " - Google and Facebook are our frenemy. Beware. - Columbia Journalism Review