Economists warn of the risk of a 'collapse' in quality journalism

Renowned economists, including Nobel Prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and Daron Acemoglu, issued a warning on Monday (22) about the risk of a “collapse of public interest journalism”, which provides quality information, with “considerable consequences”, in particular for the economy.

"Access to reliable information is the fundamental resource driving the 21st-century economy," they state in a collective text published by the Forum on Information and Democracy. "Just as previous eras depended on steam or coal for their industrial development," they add.

“This resource will be even more essential in the economy of the future, driven by Artificial Intelligence,” emphasize the economists, who also include Philippe Aghion, Tim Besley, Diane Coyle and Francesca Bria.

“Public interest media,” defined as those that provide factual and reliable information and are editorially independent, “play a crucial role and yet are under threat worldwide.”

Media groups face financial difficulties due to “increasingly unfair competition from tech giants” and platforms, and are subject to “growing interference from governments, particularly, though not exclusively, authoritarian ones.”

Economists call on public authorities to “invest in free and independent journalism” through direct or indirect subsidies, “citizen vouchers” (amount to be spent annually), or the establishment of “digital taxes on the main platforms.”

They also recommend “shaping public interest information ecosystems,” particularly with “adequate regulation” of technology groups and AI.

The measures would help avoid “a trajectory that appears to be leading to the collapse of public interest journalism, with considerable consequences for our economy, our society and our democracies.”

The cost is “relatively low” and should happen “in coordination with civil society and the private sector.”

The Forum on Information and Democracy is a collaboration initiated in 2019 by France and the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which has been joined by almost 50 countries.

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