The Economic Imperative of Investing in Public Interest Media
Statement of the High-Level Panel on Public Interest Media
Rarely has the need for public interest media been greater. At a time of heightened economic uncertainty and political disruption, the economic and broader societal benefits provided by trusted and independent news organizations are more important than ever. The High-Level Panel on Public Interest Media was formed to assess the risks to the economy and society of the constant and existential degradation of public interest media and to propose remedial actions. We, the members of the panel, have reviewed the evidence and surveyed the global trends with a growing sense of alarm. In what follows, we set out the case for investing in the informational economy and adequately structuring markets to secure it.
Access to reliable information is the fundamental resource that fuels our 21st-century economy. In the information age, every sector of society — from health to education to the military — relies upon the production of factual and robust information, no less than previous eras relied on the power of steam or coal for industrial development. It will be even more important in the artificial intelligence (AI)- driven economy of the future.
Public interest media play an essential role in guaranteeing this information supply and ensuring its quality. They are like the central banks of the informational economy: providing the confidence in the system that is necessary for it to function.
The full Statement of the High-Level Panel on Public Interest Media: The Economic Imperative of Investing in Public Interest Media
