News and Journalism

As trusted intermediaries, newspapers and other journalistic outlets play an essential role in democracy by helping build a shared set of facts and knowledge while fostering government accountability. However, the global landscape for journalism and traditional newspapers is dire as revenues from subscriptions and advertising have precipitously declined in the digital age. Dominant tech companies such as Google and Facebook contribute to the problem, as they have a stranglehold on digital advertising markets. Given this crisis, governments worldwide are pursuing different policy approaches, including collective bargaining and arbitration mechanisms, that would compel large platforms to negotiate agreements with publishers to support the development of news and journalism.