A few weeks we commented on Fast Flip - Google's news aggregation service that many in the industry view with high hopes. Despite some glowing initial PR, publishers appear to finally be getting the message that Google's offering may not ultimately be in their best interest, as pointed out in this story in today's San Francisco Chronicle.

Here is part of the story:

"I don't necessarily see it as a game changer," said Randy Bennett, senior vice president of business development for the Arlington, Va., newspaper trade group. "I don't know that anyone views Google as the potential salvation of the newspaper industry."

Indeed, some view it as quite the opposite. Many in the publishing world grumble that Google and other aggregators are fleecing their pockets by keeping the lion's share of advertising revenue they generate compiling and linking to articles.

Google maintains that displaying headlines and story snippets is fair use and, moreover, drives enormous amounts of traffic to news sites.

"We don't believe at all that we undermine their efforts," said Chris Gaither, a spokesman for Google News. "We believe we help consumers find the news they're looking for and we provide tools for news publishers to help make more money on the traffic that they do get."

The latest initiatives reflect the company's belief that it can act as technology partner for the industry, helping it secure larger audiences and greater revenue online, he said.