Over the past year or so, Google and Facebook's dominance of the internet has moved from being a niche concern among journalists and media industry executives, to a mainstream issue.
Politicians around the world are worried about the manipulation of these platforms by purveyors of fake news, hate speech and other unseemly content.
Regulators (including our own competition watchdog) are worried about the impact the digital duopoly - which is expected to capture all the growth in global ad spending next year - is having on adjacent industries.
This is one prism through which to view a recent charm offensive by Google to publishers - including a landmark deal with Fairfax Media (publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age), announced on Tuesday.
Yet, despite this political backdrop, there was another reason this deal, which came after nine months of talks between the two companies, and was signed off on by Google's top Asia-Pacific executive Karim Temsamani (a former chief financial officer at Fairfax), was struck.
Put simply: it made commercial sense.
Under the deal, Fairfax will sell some of its digital inventory (advertising slots you would see on a page like this, if you were reading online) through Google's real-time buying platform, which is used by brands and media agencies.
Fairfax will get a chance to generate more money from its digital inventory: Google's tools will allow clients to better target specific audiences.
Google, meanwhile, which has been beset by controversies over ads placed next to extremist and disturbing content, gets some higher quality inventory to sell.
Other steps Google has recently taken to cosy up to publishers incude abandoning its "first click free" policy, which punished subscription news sites in search results if they did not let users view stories for free.
Google also announced plans to work on subscription tools for publishers (including, now, Fairfax).
Facebook - which is arguably under even more fire for the fake news problem in the US - has been less forthcoming with olive branches to publishers, although there are signs this could change.
In Australia, it has been beefing up its media team and sending out senior executives to make its case with advertisers and journalists.
The company is also reportedly testing tools to help publishers drive subscription growth through its Instant Articles platform.
For a publishing industry that has been bruised and battered by the internet, signs the digital platforms are willing to help will be welcomed - albeit cautiously.
