2023 Annual Report: Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media

"News media is once again at an unprecedented crossroads after the social media decade wrought havoc on financial sustainability, radically restructured the advertising market, and reoriented journalism around platform logics."



This report was published by the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media (DC-Sustainability), which is a working group for the press freedom, media development, and journalism sectors to engage with internet governance and digital policy matters within the Internet Governance Forum. It contains a compilation of articles that explore how different countries around the world are grappling with the impact of big tech and artificial intelligence (AI) on media viability. It is hoped that the report "will ignite meaningful dialogue, inspire informed action, and contribute to the development of a more transparent, accessible, and resilient media ecosystem in years to come."



The annual report is the result of a collective endeavour by the DC-Sustainability. Members of the working group were invited to submit proposals on topics relevant to the coalition's central themes - data, access, and transparency - in the context of media sustainability and internet policies. These submissions were evaluated by a peer review committee composed of experts in the field to select the most pertinent contributions for the report. As stated in the introductory chapter, "The diverse range of articles reflects the wide-ranging interests and expertise of our working group members, ensuring a multifaceted exploration of critical issues."



The articles in the report are:



Introduction: Navigating the Crossroads of Data, Tech, and Media Sustainability, by Courtney C. Radsch, Waqas Naeem, and Daniel O'Maley - This introductory article provides some context to the compilation as well as a brief overview of each article (upon which the summaries on each article below are based). It discusses how tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Meta have strained the sustainability of media organisations through market capitalisation and control over data and advertising revenue. This has led to an imbalance of power that impacts how media houses operate, particularly in emerging economies. In addition, the generative AI (GenAI) era threatens to reinforce and exacerbate this imbalance even further. The article highlights the fact that while attempts at regulation seek to safeguard the public and establish a sense of digital order, they can also stifle journalistic freedom and introduce new barriers to media viability. This situation requires "a nuanced perspective on the opportunities and pitfalls of the digital age, particularly as they relate to the preservation of a free and independent media ecosystem". The articles in this report seek to explore how different countries are dealing with these opportunities and pitfalls of the digital age.



Weaponizing US Copyright and EU Privacy Law for Censorship Globally, by Courtney C. Radsch - This article delves into legislative terrain geared toward platforms that also have an impact on media freedom around the world. Starting with a lawsuit against Forbes' Hungarian edition, the author highlights instances where techno-legal regimes like the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation and the United States (US) Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) have been exploited to stifle independent and investigative journalism around the world. The article adds a layer of complexity to the Coalition's discussions about how ostensibly protective laws can sometimes serve to undermine freedom of speech and media sustainability and urges tech platforms to do more to protect their systems from being gamed to target critical journalism.



Establishing Independence and Parity in the Era of Internet Giants, by Mike Harris - This article looks at how internet giants like Google and Facebook are affecting traditional media's financial sustainability. The author goes beyond diagnosis to propose an online self-regulatory framework aimed at balancing the challenges of content moderation without concentrating power within these dominant platforms. This contribution adds economic depth to the compilation's overarching theme by addressing issues of media independence and revenue in the digital age.



Bridging the Gap: How Data Sharing Can Transform Media Development in the Digital Age, by Daniel O'Maley - After delving into the economic challenges posed by internet giants, this article explores another dimension: how effective and meaningful data sharing could be a catalyst for improved media development. The author argues that technology companies hold vast amounts of data that could be invaluable for media development if shared with researchers and news organisations. The article discusses how responsible data sharing could strengthen media development efforts on various fronts, and what various media development stakeholders can do to better organise and streamline these efforts.



Competition Policies and Media Sustainability: A South African Case Study, by Tharin Pillay - Examining the effects of these global issues in a national context, this article brings the impact of dominant digital platforms on media sustainability into sharp focus. Through a South African lens, the author illustrates how Google, Amazon, and Meta's market capitalisation dramatically outweighs the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the entire African continent. This analysis sets the stage for examining how such outsized influence affects media advertising revenue and content distribution. The article's insights are particularly relevant in the context of emerging economies and pave the way for this compilation's broader exploration of data, access, and transparency in media.



Navigating the Uncertainty of GenAI in Ugandan Newsrooms, by Juliet Nanfuka - Moving from the theoretical to the practical, this article offers an on-the-ground view of media innovation in Africa. The author explores how this technology offers both opportunities for strengthening media viability and the risks it can pose to public trust in news media. The article enriches discussions around the issues facing media by focusing on a specific geographical context - Uganda - where the implications of emerging technologies like GenAI are both a potential asset and a liability.



Digital Innovation in Liberia's Media Sector: Challenges and Opportunities in Low-Income Democracies, by Prue Clarke and Maureen Sieh - Extending this geographical focus, this article delves into media development issues specific to one of the world's least economically developed countries. They discuss the lack of robust digital strategies and comprehensive training programmes for journalists, as well as media organisations' dependency on large tech platforms for audience reach. Their article adds a dimension of economic and geographic diversity to the compilation, emphasising the struggles in economically challenging environments.



Digital Regulation, Media Sustainability, and Freedom of Speech, by Juliana Harsianti - Shifting focus to Southeast Asia, this article discusses the impact of Indonesia's newly enacted Personal Data Protection (PDP) bill on digital regulation, media sustainability, and freedom of speech. Passed in 2022, the PDP bill aligns Indonesia with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) like Malaysia and the Philippines in adopting a data protection framework. However, the law is part of a broader national internet governance regime that was regularly misused in the past to stifle free expression and undermine media independence. The article emphasises the importance of reforming existing cyber laws and enforcing new data-related regulations in a way that ensures both digital rights and a sustainable media environment.



More information about the DC-Sustainability can be found here.