Although news coverage skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic, subscriptions have since declined, and news outlets around the world are laying off journalists or closing down entirely. This is bad news for all of us.
Our new UNESCO publication conveys the latest research that shows how important quality information is for a well-functioning economy, society and democracy. New research in economics and political science uses rigorous methods to confirm what journalists already knew: their work has a positive impact on democratic norms, civic engagement, and government and corporate accountability. By building social trust and promoting human rights, serious and trustworthy journalism also contributes to better economic performance and sustainable development.
UNESCO's Vindhoek+30 Declaration, adopted in 2021, which affirms the importance of information as a public good (from which everyone benefits), is based on numerous studies conducted in Africa, India, Latin America and the USA. This literature shows that quality news and journalism promotes accountability and responsiveness, even in the face of a rising tide of disinformation and disinformation. Fact checking can really stand up to the lies and distortions that are now flooding societies around the world.
In fact, high-quality journalism is still more effective than social media in spreading accurate and reliable news. While technology can help spread good information, it is currently doing the opposite. Major digital platforms regularly downgrade news, claiming that users are more interested in other categories of content. However, data from the Pew Research Center suggests that news coverage across all platforms has remained stable (at least in the US) since 2020. And with more people voting in this year's election than ever before, the need for quality reporting has never been greater.
Everyone - even those who do not invest in journalism themselves - benefits from studying, archiving and sharing reliable, useful information. But this public good can hardly be adequately provided in the free market, even with the help of well-intentioned philanthropists, humanitarian organizations, media companies and governments. In many markets, their support is insufficient.
Governments are particularly responsible for providing public goods. Legal regimes that protect freedom of speech and the "right to speak" are necessary to create the conditions for quality journalism. But this is not enough. In order for journalists to do their job, there must be laws and mechanisms that ensure the right to access information - the "right to know". Although many countries have passed such laws, they are rarely enforced. When government agencies even bother to respond to requests for information, they do so only after long delays and extensive redactions.
Traditional media are a key part of the media ecosystem and need constant support, but smaller publications and those operating in underserved regions are no less important. Among the promising ideas are those that support journalism by providing special funds or tax incentives (such as payroll tax deductions or targeted reductions in value added tax (VAT)) and issuing vouchers for news subscriptions. Governments around the world introduced variations of these measures during the pandemic, creating a wide range of models that can now be used as a template.
Another important step is to ensure that journalists are adequately compensated for their work. Big Tech (owners of search engines, social networks and most AI platforms) rely on media to attract users and improve their products. Since technology companies don't produce news themselves, they have no way to meet user demand for quality news and search results without content provided by journalists. However, they have been using content created by journalists for a long time without paying compensation for it (if they pay anything at all), thus depriving the media of their main source of income - advertising. This cycle destroys the information ecosystem on which they and our society depend.
Many countries help maintain high quality journalism by investing in independent public broadcasting. Healthy public broadcasting institutions build social trust and create an important side benefit: competition that forces private media companies to hold themselves to higher standards. The institutional structures that facilitate the development of public broadcasting are well known; all that is needed is the political will to create the necessary framework.
The general principle of economics is that without government support there will not be enough public goods. Unfortunately, quality journalism is quickly becoming evidence A for this principle, despite rigorous research demonstrating its importance. The business model of journalism is threatened by the rise of artificial intelligence and the power of technological monopolies that distribute information without paying a fair price for it, and this at a time when fake news, disinformation and political polarization increase the risk of the decline of journalism.
There is a growing feeling around the world that democracy is in decline. An important step to turn this around is to increase support for quality journalism - now. The cost of doing nothing can be huge.
A. Schiffrin is the Director of Technology, Media and Communication Specialist Studies at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs
DW Groves is an assistant professor of political science at Lafayette College
JE Stiglitz is a Nobel Prize winner in economics and a university professor at Columbia University
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2024. (translation: NR)
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