Happy hump day! Today's Media Roundup is brought to you by Chris.

Justice Department files antitrust lawsuit against Google — www.wsj.com

The other shoe has finally dropped. The US Justice Department has finally filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, arguing that the search company has crowded out the market by pursuing an aggressive policy of partnerships with device manufacturers and other technology companies. The case - which is the largest antitrust case in the tech world in over two decades - has been brewing for a long time.

Effectively the JD is arguing that due to Google's position with the market, it is able to crowd out and stifle innovation from any similarly up-and-coming tech companies. The key statement in the filing is that, if Google maintains its dominance, "we may never see another Google" in the US. Google, by contrast, states: "Today's lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to - not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives."

It perhaps goes some way to explaining why Google has been relatively profligate in its dealings with publishers lately. Ahead of an antitrust case, the one thing the company will need is good press. Although the case is set to rumble on for a few years yet (and will be contested and recontested forever) it has the potential to allow publishers a more even footing in negotiations with a diminished Google.

Three alternative revenue streams that show promise for publishers in a post-Covid world — pubops.org

One from our very own Esther here: "Beyond the obvious ways of making money, there have been some alternative revenue streams that have grown and evolved during lockdown. Here, we take a look at three of the most common, and importantly, what the outlook is for publishers looking to develop them into a post-pandemic world."

'We popped champagne corks': Local media is reaping the rewards of a slow reemergence of advertising spend — digiday.com

The ad stool has been thoroughly kicked out from underneath local news for some time now, with scary consequences. So it's extremely heartening to read this piece from Kayleigh Barber for Digiday explaining why it's local media who stand to initially benefit from the slow emergence of communities after the pandemic.

Telegraph returns subbing in-house four years after outsourcing it with loss of 20 jobs — www.pressgazette.co.uk

The role of the sub-editor is critically undervalued within the newsroom; it's one of the first jobs to get cut or outsourced and inevitably the finesse of the written word decreases as a result. So it's a tiny wee spot of bright news that The Telegraph has recognised the vital role of the sub editor and is bringing the role back in-house.

This week's podcast:

Special episode: Man cannot live by newsletter alone — voices.media

Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of high-profile examples of journalists leaving publications to launch their own newsletters. Solopreneurs Casey Newton, Thomas Baekdal, Simon Owens, Anne Helen Petersen and Josh Sternberg talk about the realities of what it takes to go it alone with reader revenue as a journalist.

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