Facebook has reached a pay deal with legacy media corporation News Corp, three weeks after the Australian government passed its “world-first” media payment law. In a statement on Tuesday, News Corp said it had reached a multi-year deal with Facebook to provide news for payment from newspapers The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail, and regional and community publications, as well as the news.com.au website. Sky News Australia, a subsidiary of News Corp, also signed a new agreement with Facebook that “extends and significantly builds on an existing arrangement.” So far, News Corp has signed content agreements with three big-tech companies, Facebook, Google, and Apple for access to its journalism. News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson praised Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch for their role in what became a global debate on Facebook’s influence on the media. Thomson expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Australian …