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Beset by falling circulation and profits, newspapers have been struggling to stop the flow of readers to the Internet, where companies like Google, Yahoo and MSN provide news for free.

This week, the San Jose Mercury News reported on a new trend that could help newspapers and wire services slow the bleeding. The Mercury News says top Internet companies including Google and Yahoo have been signing deals to compensate news organizations for content and send more readers to their Web sites. For example, Google has signed a deal with the Associated Press which is said to include the sharing of revenue from ads that appear next to AP stories on the Google News site. By contrast, Google is currently defending itself from a lawsuit by Agence France-Presse over copyright violations. AFP sued Google for using its stories and photographs without permission.

Guest: Internet industry analyst Greg Sterling