The Value of Journalism: Global Evidence on why media matters to economics, national security, and crises
commissioned by the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), DW Akademie, and UNESCO as part of the Research Working Group of the Media Viability Manifesto initiative, this report was launched on 23 June 2026 at the Global Media Forum in Bonn. Written by Professor Mel Bunce and Dr Beth Pearson of City, University of London, the report summarises the latest academic research and argues that journalism is a public good that benefits society.
What the evidence shows
- Growth: A study of 97 countries found that a decline in press freedom is associated with a reduction in real GDP growth of between 1 and 2 percent. This decline is slow to reverse.
- Public savings: For every $1 invested in journalism, more than $100 can be generated in public savings through recovered funds, improved public services, and reduced corruption.
- Security: Disinformation is estimated to cost societies $355–516 billion a year. Independent journalism is one of the most effective evidence-based defences against it. AFP's journalism-led fact-checking cut the circulation of disinformation on the largest social platforms by around 8 per cent.
- Stability and human rights: Across 152 countries, greater access to free media has been found to be linked with fewer human rights abuses, as well as a lower likelihood of conflict and repression.
- Crisis response: Media coverage can save lives. A study of 2,337 disasters found that an extra $500,000 in official emergency aid was generated for each additional New York Times story. In Burkina Faso, radio health programmes reduced deaths among children under five by 7.1 per cent each year — an estimated 2,967 lives saved.
The report also acknowledges its limitations: most of the underlying research originates from the United States and Europe, and it calls for more evidence gathering from contexts in the Global South.
Published against a darkening backdrop
The report coincides with the release of Reporters Without Borders' 2026 World Press Freedom Index. The index found that only 1% of the global population now lives in a country with "good" press freedom conditions. For the first time in the index's 25-year history, more than half of all countries fall into its two lowest categories.
'Yet many of the benefits of independent journalism remain under-recognised and undervalued,' said Maha Taki, Director of the What Works Unit at IFPIM. 'With support for independent media declining globally, it's now more important than ever to recognise that journalism is a public good, generating tangible benefits for societies, making them more prosperous and resilient and better equipped to respond to complex challenges.'
The authors estimated the cost of the solution: securing healthy public media and information environments worldwide would cost around 0.1 per cent of global GDP, equivalent to 15 days of global military spending.
Source: "The Value of Journalism," IFPIM, DW Akademie and UNESCO, 23 June 2026.
