Information as a public good: Celebrating World Press Freedom Day

“Information is a public good. […] and as a public good, it needs public support.”

Joseph E. Stiglitz

This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Information as a Public Good” is a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good, to explore what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content to strengthen journalism, and to advance transparency and empowerment while leaving no one behind.

The COVID-19 public health crisis has shed light on the vital role played by free and independent media worldwide. The output of news media remains a powerful source of information that people access. Journalists everywhere have significantly contributed to our understanding of the pandemic by making overwhelming and highly complex flows of information more accessible, making scientific facts understandable to the broader public, providing regularly updated data, and engaging in fact-checking. At the same time, women journalists and journalists living in certain counties have faced greater threats to their safety by simply reporting the facts.

Preexisting challenges to the viability of the news media have significantly worsened since the pandemic. Already hit by competition from Internet companies, media outlets’ economic models were further afflicted by massive losses of advertising revenue due to the economic impact of the public health crisis. Three other trends have been identified for World Press Freedom Day 2021:

• Internet companies, such as social media, messaging and search companies, continue to be criticized for making profits out of flows of content that relay astounding volumes of disinformation (and other content that is potentially harmful to human rights), including within the context of the pandemic.

• The availability of journalism is increasingly mediated by these companies, but without them prioritizing its distinctiveness and importance within the wider content mix. The functioning of these
business entities remains opaque, inhibiting stakeholders from developing informed policy responses.

• In these times of unprecedented flows of information and disinformation, alongside flows of entertainment, data, and other kinds of content, people risk being confused or manipulated, particularly by algorithmic personalized targeting. It is critical for citizens everywhere to develop and reinforce their media and information literacy skills, in order to make informed judgments and decisions, and critically engage in sustainable development for which information as a public good is indispensable. Equally important is citizens’ knowledge of their own rights to freedom of expression and the importance of the role of journalists for the production of reliable information.

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Since then, May 3, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide. Thirty years ago today, African journalists came together to issue the Windhoek Declaration, which asserted that, “[t]he establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development.”

“Then, as now, we celebrate the courage of truth-tellers who refuse to be intimidated, often at great personal risk, and we reaffirm the timeless and essential role journalism and a free media play in societies everywhere,” U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday in a statement celebrating the anniversary.

“Journalists uncover the truth, check the abuse of power, and demand transparency from those in power. They are indispensable to the functioning of democracy. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists and media workers have been on the front lines to keep the public informed, at significant risk to their own health.  And, at a time when the truth is increasingly under attack, our need for accurate, fact-based reporting, open public conversation, and accountability has never been greater,” Biden said.

“It is incumbent on all of us to counter these threats to a free and independent media, including physical risk and arbitrary detention. The Committee to Protect Journalists found that, in 2020, a record number of journalists were imprisoned globally. Online abuse and harassment of journalists, particularly women and journalists of color, continues to increase. Politicians on all levels and from various political backgrounds are striving to undermine the free press, manipulate the truth, or spread disinformation, even as a shrinking news industry is creating more and more “news deserts,” areas without local media, around the world. These attacks are nothing less than a threat to democracies everywhere,” Biden said. “Today, on World Press Freedom Day, we celebrate the fierce bravery of journalists everywhere. We recognize the integral role a free press plays in building prosperous, resilient and free societies. And we recommit to protecting and promoting free, independent, and diverse media around the world.”

The New York Times is promoting its World Press Freedom Day database in celebration of the anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. Planet Princeton is featured in the database. Twitter also launched a campaign for World Press Freedom Day called #followlocaljournalists to support local journalists across the globe.

Planet Princeton is grateful to the more than 500 supporting members who have enabled us to continue our reporting during the pandemic and create our vaccine availability database for New Jersey residents.