A global evidence review commissioned by UNESCO, DW Akademie and the International Fund for Public Interest Media finds that falling press freedom tracks with weaker economic growth, and that investment in reporting returns far more than it costs.

Independent journalism is usually defended in democratic terms. A new evidence review makes the case in economic ones. The Value of Journalism: Global evidence on why media matters to economics, national security and crises was written by Professor Mel Bunce and Dr Beth Pearson of City St George’s, University of London. It was commissioned by UNESCO, DW Akademie and the International Fund for Public Interest Media, and launched at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn in June 2026. UNESCO presented the findings to Member States at a Spotlight Session in July.

The report synthesises research from around the world. Among its findings:

The findings arrive against a deteriorating global picture. The 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index records that only one per cent of the world’s population lives in a country where press freedom is rated as good, and that more than half of all countries now fall into the two lowest categories. UNESCO’s World Trends report found that freedom of expression has declined by ten per cent worldwide since 2012.

Writing for Digital Content Next in August, editorial director Michelle Manafy argued that the report gives publishers concrete proof points for conversations with audiences, commercial partners and policymakers. She also suggested news organisations could be more systematic about recording the outcomes their own reporting produces — policy changes, money recovered, investigations prompted — so that the contribution is easier to demonstrate.

Professor Bunce is Professor of International Journalism and Politics at City St George’s, University of London, and Deputy Dean of its School of Communication and Creativity. She previously headed the university’s Department of Journalism. She spoke on the first day of the UK Media Freedom Forum in 2025, an event organised by the Foreign Policy Centre, the Justice for Journalists Foundation and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, which acts as secretariat to the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom — the independent advisory body of the Media Freedom Coalition.