Journalism Matters
800+ news organisations will mark World News Day on September 28, 2025, by demonstrating how their journalism makes a difference. Here are the thoughts of veteran journalists and economic experts on the current media landscape and why #JournalismMatters.
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The light we cannot lose
On this World News Day, for too many people, the future is getting too dark to see. This moment is best described as living in a state of perpetual flux, of global uncertainty and deep, unsettling insecurity. Our world is increasingly built on information, sometimes almost exclusively, and the news media is its basic infrastructure. …
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Your right to know: Why journalism and access to information matter more than ever
Independent journalism and access to public information are mutually reinforcing: societies cannot remain informed or resilient if either is undermined, write David Walmsley and Tawfik Jelassi, who stress that defending the right to know is not optional. Today is both World News Day and the International Day for Universal Access to Information – a good…
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Turning news into action: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials locally
Leaders of the award-winning, hyperlocal The Green Line share how they engage readers with news they can use in their daily lives; links they can use to fact-check information, and in-person community meetings to talk through the local issues that matter to them. It’s undeniable that the public — especially Gen Zs and Millennials —…
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Journalism under siege
It is getting harder every day to do the fundamental journalistic task of collecting facts and verifying information. It is also getting much more dangerous, writes Phil Chetwynd.
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The unseen truth about global trust in news
Luba Kassova and Richard Addy argue that the widely repeated claim that global trust in news is in decline is misleading and overly shaped by the U.S. experience.
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Times of darkness
Our current environment of misinformation, mistrust, the spread of illiberal politics through influencer-style authoritarians, and the erosion of democratic norms, is “less an era of change than a change of era,” writes Fernando Belzunce. We live in times characterised by misinformation, yet many people are still unaware of what this entails. The context is one…
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Global lessons from a press in peril
Martin Baron posits that democracy cannot exist without a free press – and a free press cannot exist without democracy. Every year of my journalistic career of nearly half a century, I have known only a free and independent press in the United States. My professional start was in the 1970s. Those were years when…
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Shutting down the internet shuts down your Right To Know
Winnie Kamau calls out the alarming global trend of governments shutting down the internet in times of political crisis, with 294 such shutdowns in 54 countries in 2024 – including 15 in Africa. On 28 September, the world marks both World News Day and the International Day for Universal Access to Information. For many African…
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You deserve the truth, not AI’s interpretation of it
To understand the world around us we need reliable and rigorous reporting, with AI as a tool that amplifies such journalism rather than exploits and distorts it, writes Liz Corbin and Vincent Peyrègne. We all want to understand the world around us. Perhaps we want more clarity about the war in Gaza, or what our…
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Regenerating the base layer of democracy: local news
Jonathan Heawood argues that local news is the foundation of a healthy democracy, yet it has been weakened by political hostility, collapsing business models, and the rise of social media.
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Expert opinion by the high-level panel on public interest media
Eleven of the world’s leading economists, including two Nobel laureates, urge governments to recognise and uphold the economic value of public interest media in the age of AI.
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Surprise, surprise: journalism today is in serious trouble – but no one is noticing
The spectacular decline of the journalism profession is met with alarming indifference. The worst part is that we are getting used to it, writes AFP Chairman and CEO Fabrice Fries, for World News Day. We are no longer surprised to read the grim tally of journalists killed in the line of duty, nor to learn…
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Joy of shared truth, sacred bond and democracies’ self-evident values
An open letter to readers amid unprecedented challenges from autocratic regimes, disinformation, and attacks on the very meaning of truth, from venerated champions of truth, who call on media to keep its commitment to news, facts, accountability, and public service. Dear reader, citizen, fellow human, 2024 A.D. is testing our modern societies in ways we…
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Journalism is society’s safety net
‘Journalists are a bridge as we build the future,’ writes Walmsley, and this is reflected in the record number of newsrooms that have joined World News Day 2024 to champion the positive influence of journalism the world over – and highlight the impact we can make together.
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A precious good
Rech highlights the critical role journalism plays in today’s time-challenged world, advocates for a more ethical and informed digital ecosystem, and calls on Big Tech to financially support journalism, to offset the “social pollution” that journalism works to clean up. Have you ever reflected on why you pay attention to content – whether journalistic or…
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The journalism of our future
Farag underlines the vital role local journalism plays in empowering communities and sustaining democracy – and emphasises how they continue to provide critical, reliable information despite multiple, increasing challenges. Independent journalism is crucial for maintaining truth, justice, and democratic values – and needs public support, she urges. Deep in the south of Egypt a young…
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The challenges of journalism in exile in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela
Forced into exile, veteran journalist and Golden Pen of Freedom alum Carlos Chamorro drives home the critical need to promote and support journalists in exile – who continue to deliver quality reporting and investigations, even under deadly conditions. A Russian spy center operates at an Army military base in Managua; Daniel Ortega’s bodyguard chief removed…
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First, Choose Truth
English marks World News Day by outlining what seeking truth means for journalists, and journalism – and calls for a commitment to seeking and reporting the truth, emphasising the vital role that quality journalism plays in informing and empowering the public. Journalism has long been, first and foremost, a calling to seek and report the…
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Dame Frances Cairncross for World News Day
The survival of news sources matters even more for good government and watchful citizens than does the future of the upmarket press.
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David Walmsley: The convening power of independent journalism has never been more important
War, economic uncertainty, a determination to run roughshod over generational practices at our institutions are the changes facing the world. Journalism at its best is in the middle of it all, with a role to sew not division but mutual understanding and transparency.
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Warren Fernandez: In times of crisis and change, journalists play a critical role in society
Journalists in professional newsrooms have a vital role to play in safeguarding the well-being of the communities they serve. Our democracies depend on them doing so, effectively and purposefully.
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Kathy English: Journalists must explain our work to our readers
World News Day is a day to celebrate journalism. But it is also a time for the global journalism community to aim to create deeper public understanding of the role that journalists play in providing trustworthy news and information that serves citizens and democracy.
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World News Day Founder: Climate change has long been a political football, but facts are sacred and cannot be bent
Climate change has long been a political football. But while everyone is entitled to an opinion, facts are sacred and cannot be bent.
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Covid crisis points to climate challenge ahead
The Covid-19 experience has made plain how difficult it will be to forge a global consensus on tackling the climate crisis. The signs of this looming challenge, and the science behind it, grow clearer by the day.
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Covering climate change requires newsroom change
Climate change is the subject of scientific studies and reports, but its consequences can be felt in all areas of our societies and economies. Equally, newsrooms should view climate change as more than just a topic but as a systemic issue that affects all their desks or verticals.
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Climate news is paralysing people. But this can change
The climate crisis generates dangerous, incongruent gaps between what we think, and how we feel and act. Global news coverage is often more part of the problem than the solution. This must change.
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Climate change is the front-page story of the rest of our lives
Like it or not, climate change will be the front-page story for the rest of our lives. For journalists, the challenge of telling that story with facts and fairness is paramount to the global effort required to transition our economies from fossil fuels to renewable energy.