Journalism for Development: The Role of Journalism in Promoting Democracy and Political Accountability and Sustainable Development

"...democracy suffers when high quality media is weakened."



This issue brief, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), summarises some of the current thinking on the role of the media with an emphasis on the Global South. In particular, it analyses recent trends in academic research on the effects of journalism on democratic society, economic development, and public accountability, quantifying the impact of journalism and underscoring that journalism serves a crucial role in society by educating the public, fighting corruption, and promoting sustainable development. The brief is part of the UNESCO series on World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development. (See Related Summaries below for more briefs in this series.)



As explained in the brief, "According to classic theories in economics and political science, journalism plays a vital role in engendering responsive governance (Barro, 1973; Fearon, 1999). Journalism informs citizens about the performance of government officials, which allows citizens to motivate representatives with the threat of removal from office, in the worst cases through impeachment, in other cases by lowering the chances of re-election. At the same time, media informs government officials about the needs and grievances of their citizens. It is therefore a critical part of the 'feedback' mechanism, in some cases as or more important than voting, since in some countries, many do not vote, and those that do may not be fully representative of society. Alternatively, media may persuade citizens or governments what to think about certain issues or what issues to think about (also known as agenda setting). Finally, media can promote public deliberation between citizens, civil society, and government about political priorities and preferred policies."



The theoretical case for the impact of journalism has been supported by a long line of empirical research, yet, as noted in the brief, rigorously testing the influence of journalism has been notoriously challenging. To address these challenges, a growing body of scholarship has drawn on recent methodological innovations from the social sciences, which are discussed briefly in this brief.



The analysis of studies and the assessment of outcomes in the brief show that the area that has received the most attention from empirical scholars is electoral accountability and democratic responsiveness. Other areas of research discussed are changes in voting patterns when newspapers and media houses open and close, and media fighting corruption. In addition, the brief looks at studies that examine the correlation between press freedom and corruption, testing the assumption that press freedom is necessary for the media to reduce corruption. In each of these areas, the brief highlights the details and outcomes of the studies, as well as select data points. In India, for example, one study showed that voters revised their vote choices for local government in response to newspaper reports about public spending and corruption, and that the prospect of newspaper report cards on candidate performance made candidates more likely to focus on pro-poor spending in high-poverty areas. Another seminal study in Brazil showed that politicians who are revealed in the media as being corrupt are less likely to be re-elected, an effect that is particularly pronounced in areas with more radio coverage. Another study cited in relation to the link between press freedom and corruption examined 145 different countries with different levels of press freedom and found that countries with higher levels of press freedom had lower levels of corruption. Overall, research confirms the beneficial effects of journalism, particularly in the Global South. Nonetheless, quality journalism as a public good is facing many challenges, including online mis- and disinformation and the decline of trust in journalism, so is unlikely to be able to sufficiently support democracies without the support from governments and donors.



The brief offers a number of recommendations based on the three pillars for creating the robust and healthy environment for journalism envisioned by the 1993 Windhoek Declaration, which states that a free press is fundamental to democracy and a human right (The Windhoek + 30 Declaration of Information as a Public Good):

 

• Pillar 1: Creating an enabling environment for professional journalism</b> - This pillar involves developing legal regimes that protect freedom of expression and access to information.
• Pillar 2: Public support for media - Governments need to continue to support journalism by, for example, creating special funds or other initiatives such as providing funds for digitisation, tax breaks (including payroll tax credits), value-added text (VAT) reductions and subscription vouchers.
• Pillar 3: Ensuring a diverse, viable private media and avoiding capture - As most media outlets in democracies are private, it is important that the overall media ecosystem is healthy. It is particularly important that local private media, which contribute most to democracy, are supported. The brief outlines four policy areas that can address the challenge of the declining viability of private media:
  • Recapturing revenue lost to social media;
  • Redefining and enforcing competition laws;
  • Preventing media capture; and
  • Providing direct financial support.