Media Sustainability: how to rebalance the market power of media in relation to Big Tech
A ‘potential extinction event’
Independent journalism is an essential force for democracy and open societies, but is facing an existential threat from a set of interlocking challenges that, in their scale, complexity, and systemic nature, is akin to its own version of the climate emergency. A hostile political environment at best, and an authoritarian resurgence at worst; declining revenues as a result of the move to a more digital, mobile, and platform dominated media environment; and fraying public trust has left journalism in a precarious state.
The crisis facing independent journalism is of historic proportions, and it requires those with the power and foresight to act to confront this crisis with an historic response. The industry is experiencing a ‘potential extinction event’ as the certainties (chiefly the advertising-supported model) under which journalism operated for 40 to 50 years fall away.
Our work on this theme
Un impuesto digital para financiar el periodismo de calidad: aplicar el principio de “quien contamina, paga” a las grandes plataformas technológicas
En respuesta a las importantes pérdidas de ingresos publicitarios que sufren los medios de comunicación, provocadas principalmente por el dominio de las plataformas de las grandes tecnológicas en este mercado, el informe de políticas aboga por la implantación de un impuesto sobre los servicios digitales de base amplia para financiar el periodismo. En él se analizan diversos intentos de aplicar este tipo de impuestos, prestando especial atención a ejemplos concretos de distintos países, entre los que destaca Austria, que ha logrado avances significativos a la hora de destinar una parte de los ingresos procedentes de su impuesto sobre la publicidad digital al periodismo.
How to mobilise the Open Government Partnership to promote information integrity in Francophone Africa: 2026 Report (FR)
In spring 2026, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) commissioned FID to work with Benin, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Senegal to incorporate the issues of information integrity and press freedom into their national action plans. In its report, FID provides an overview of the issues and presents recommendations for the four countries.
The report provides an overview of the discussions held during meetings involving the various stakeholders and sets out specific recommendations for strengthening information integrity and press freedom. It also serves as a source of inspiration for other countries undertaking open government reforms.
Background Report: Workstream on Safeguarding Access to Reliable Information in the Age of AI
The Partnership for Information and Democracy (PID) launched, in February 2026, a workstream on Safeguarding Access to Reliable Information in the Age of AI, under the leadership of the governments of Luxembourg, Ukraine and Spain, and in collaboration with interested States of the PID.
The workstream takes stock of the challenges and opportunities AI poses to the media and to trust in information, critically evaluating this paradigm shift in power dynamics between big tech and journalism. It will provide concrete policy recommendations to safeguard the reliability of information in the age of AI.
Its first output is a background report, mapping the existing economic and epistemic challenges to public interest media in the age of AI, a look at the global state-of-the-art on tackling these subjects, and proposes ways to think about policy formulation and the road ahead.
Latest news on the same theme
How to mobilise the Open Government Partnership to promote information integrity in Francophone Africa
In spring 2026, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) commissioned FID to work with Benin, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Senegal to incorporate the issues of information integrity…
How AI is harming public interest media’s sustainability: first findings from FID’s dedicated workstream
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping our information ecosystems, public interest media faces historical challenges regarding its sustainability. Facilitated by the Forum on Information and…
First Meeting of the Workstream on Artificial Intelligence highlights the comprehensive challenges and new trends regarding reliable information
The first meeting of this workstream was held on 29 April, 2026. It gathered representatives of signatory States of the Partnership as well as civil society…
