When the rapid advancement of generative AI threatens journalism, it is a threat to democracy and democratic values itself. On World News Day and beyond, we must support trusted journalism....
A free press may not be the solution to everything for a just, sustainable planet, but it is an essential ingredient....
We see daily examples of pressures on press freedom in countries around the globe. Then there is a particularly chilling moment when such pressure becomes an overt threat from one of the oldest democracies in the world, in which freedom of speech is enshrined as...
While the lens of climate justice has gained a foothold in climate policy spaces, “the world also needs to pay attention to how communication and information deficits undermine the struggle for climate justice,” writes Media Development editor Philip Lee. The response to climate change, “the most...
Amid escalating global clampdowns on civic space and ruthless legal attacks on journalists and the media, Trust Conference 2025 asked a pressing question: Is it too late to save democracy, which stands on free and independent media that hold the powerful to account and enable...
The disastrous outcome of the US presidential election – for global peace, and within the USA for women’s rights, immigration, the environment, gun laws and LGBTQ+ rights – is also disastrous for press freedom. Misinformation and disinformation will become even more overt and officially sanctioned. Writing...
“Summit of the Future” sounds a bit like an Avengers movie. It is in fact a much-anticipated (and much-hyped) United Nations event on 22–23 September that aims to address the critical issues that are increasingly transforming lives – issues such as climate change, digital governance,...
Constructive journalism has an important role to play both within and without conflict situations, editor Philip Lee says in the 3/2024 issue of Media Development, WACC’s quarterly journal.Such communication can help those outside a conflict situation to better understand what is happening and increase trust...
The war in Ukraine and Russian authorities’ move to close independent media and censor news and social media information in the country has been spotlighted in Western countries. In a letter to subscribers, the Guardian shared how it has joined other news agencies in Europe in...
Reporters Without Borders has underlined growing concerns about a steady decline of press freedom in several European Union member states, including Greece, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia. In “‘Worrying picture’: Journalists in Europe face increasing risk, press freedom group warns” (The Guardian, 14 April 2021),...