Of course, whether or not this makes a practical difference is another matter. The team-up only includes large news organizations, and it's not certain that indies will reap any benefits. Also, there's a big gap between throwing money at a problem and getting a practical, mutually acceptable solution. It won't be surprising if there's a deadlock at some point. Still, this beats the frequently antagonistic relationship that Google and publishers have had before -- even if it probably won't do much to ease the minds of EU antitrust investigators.

[Image credit: Adam Berry/Getty Images]