Eminent economists and Nobel Prize winners from across the globe have issued a warning about the impending “collapse” of the public interest media sector and are calling for urgent government intervention to support quality journalism.
Independent journalism faces significant risks due to rising job losses, diminishing revenues, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. In a joint statement released through the Forum on Information and Democracy, established by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the French government, a group of 11 economists from leading universities in the United States and Europe, including Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Daron Acemoglu, expressed their concerns.
The statement came even as news organizations representing over 1,000 news brands from 108 countries highlighted journalism’s vital role on the occasion of World News Day on Sunday, 28 September.
“Governments worldwide are pursuing the AI dream, hoping that these technologies will boost economic prosperity,” the statement notes. “However, they are not sufficiently investing in a foundational resource essential to our 21st-century economies: independent, verifiable information.”
The traditional business model of funding news operations through advertising has been severely disrupted since the internet boom, with tech giants like Google and Meta capturing the majority of digital advertising revenues. Furthermore, AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have exacerbated the crisis by diverting traffic away from media websites.
“The valuable information that public interest media provide is being appropriated for private profits by these companies,” the group argues, emphasizing that reliable information should be regarded as a public good.
They are urging governments to assume a more active role in “investing in and shaping the media ecosystem,” which includes providing subsidies, legal protections, and regulatory interventions to ensure the future of independent journalism.
Failing to take action risks “continuing down a path where public interest journalism appears poised for collapse, which would have dire consequences for our economy, society, and democracies.”
