About
At Governance Innovation Labs, we are dedicated to enhancing the role of media in democracy by fostering an informed and engaged public. We believe that a robust and independent media is crucial for a healthy democracy, serving as a watchdog, a platform for public discourse, and a conduit for transparency and accountability. Our approach involves proposing actionable recommendations based on rigorous analysis, collaborating with academic researchers to generate insights, studying and sharing best practices from around the world, and developing comprehensive roadmaps for effective implementation. Through these efforts, we aim to empower media organizations, policymakers, and the public to uphold democratic values and practices.
Academic Papers on Role of Media in Democracy
~A research project by Governance Innovation Labs
- The paper uses case studies from the US and India to illustrate how media operates in these democracies during war. Examples include the US media’s coverage of the Iraq War and India media’s coverage of the Kargil War.
- Media may engage in patriotic self-censorship, influenced by government agendas.
- The relationship between the government and media is symbiotic during war. Governments need the media to build support for the war, while the media needs access to report accurately.
- Journalists may fail to maintain impartiality, indulging in patriotic and simplistic narratives. During the Iraq War, many US media outlets engaged in patriotic journalism, aligning closely with the government’s perspective.
- In both cases the government successfully influenced media coverage to shape public opinion in favor of the war. This was achieved through direct control (censorship, embedding journalists) and indirect means (patriotic appeals, managing access)
- The article highlights that the media has evolved from a mission to a profession, and now to a business. Profit has become the ultimate goal of the media industry, that deviates from the media’s fundamental functions.
- Paid news undermines the independence of the media, deceives citizens, and affects the democratic process by blurring the lines between news and advertisements. It is a serious threat to democracy and good governance as it compromises the integrity of the media.
- The paid news phenomenon extends beyond the corruption of individual journalists to media organizations themselves, leading to structured and organized practices that may undermine democracy in India. This practice is prevalent during elections, where candidates use paid news to influence public opinion without declaring expenditures.
- For good governance, it is vital to have free and fair media that operates independently from political and commercial influences. The media should maintain integrity, credibility, and investigate power to effectively promote good governance.
- The media industry needs to introspect whether the practice of paid news benefits society or the media itself. Advertisements should be clearly distinguished from editorial content to maintain media credibility.
Role Of Media In Indian Democratic System — Bina Rai (2015)
- Media promotes democracy in four key ways:
- Provides a forum for political debate and education
- Ensures public accountability by scrutinizing government activities and exposing abuses of power
- Widening access to information and facilitating political participation
- Expanding citizen participation through new technology, enhancing democratic processes
- Media in India focuses on developmental journalism to address issues like poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment.
- Public service broadcasting by All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan plays a significant role in providing educational programs.
- Media acts as a bridge between the government and the public, shaping public opinion and highlighting important issues. It has brought attention to private issues, making them part of the public discourse and has played a significant role in covering issues like the Mumbai terror attack and the Jessica Lal case.
- But many times the media often focus on negative news, gossip, scandals, and violence, sensationalizing information rather than sensitizing the public. The competitive nature of the media industry leads to a focus on trivial issues, neglecting more significant concerns.
- Mass media supports objective news and informative programs, cultivates alternative media, mobilizes public participation, and multiplies the impact of transition activities.
Role of Media in Strengthening Democracy in India — Priyanka Sarkar (2017)
- The paper explores the dual role of media: as a watchdog ensuring government accountability and as a forum representing citizens’ views.
- A functional democracy depends on media freedom since it influences social, legal, political, economic, and cultural aspects of life. The provision of information about political activity and candidates by the free media increases voting turnout.
- The media discusses social issues (such as healthcare access and gender inequality) and promotes social values. The government advertises initiatives like “Swachh Bharat” and “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” in the media.
- India’s media has come under criticism for putting profit before social duty. Social unrest can result from sensationalism and extensive coverage of delicate stories. To effectively fulfill its duty, the media must uphold ethical standards and professional integrity.
- As an instrument for enforcing laws and a mirror of society, the media is essential to democracy. Notwithstanding obstacles, Indian media has made a substantial contribution to democracy’s ability to function. If the media is to play a bigger role in democracy, it needs to keep improving and addressing its limitations.
- Media in India is often referred to as the fourth pillar of democracy, alongside the executive, legislative, and judiciary. It holds the power to critique and monitor the actions of these three branches, ensuring transparency and accountability.
- The digital revolution has significantly impacted the media landscape in India. Public engagement and the dissemination of information have become more democratic as a result of the widespread use of social media and the internet.
- Data show that the number of people using the internet is rapidly rising, underscoring the significance and increased awareness of digital media. For example, India surpassed the United States to become the second-largest internet user base in the world by 2015
- A noteworthy project that aims to improve digital literacy and infrastructure and further integrate digital media into daily life and government is the Digital India Campaign.
- New media, including social networking sites and digital platforms, are the most recent development in the media industry. It provides previously unavailable possibilities for interactive engagement and communication.
- A more liberal democracy is promoted by the equal possibilities for speech and participation that this new media ecosystem offers. It allows for real-time communication and input by bridging the gap between the public and legislators.
- While new media has democratized knowledge, some argue that it also poses a risk of polarization and echo chambers.
- The paper discusses several key points about the adoption and impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the news media industry.
- The three majors fields of AI used in the news industry are:
- Machine Learning: Used for boosting public engagement through recommendation engines and for adjusting business strategies to individual readers. It helps in predicting subscription cancellations and building adaptive paywalls
- Computer Vision: mainly used for investigative reporting and fact checking media content. Its application is limited due to the need for significant technological infrastructure and investment which only large newsrooms can afford.
- Planning, Scheduling, and Optimization: Governed by automated journalism which often uses simple computational models to fill in template stories
- Various news outlets are using machine learning to enhance business models and revenue streams. Examples include recommendation engines for increasing reader engagement and predictive models for subscription management
- Automated journalism uses computational models for producing basic content, which are easier to deploy and require less effort compared to more complex AI models
- Investigative journalism often employs computer vision for tasks like fact-checking.
Best Practices of Media for Democracy
~A research project by Governance Innovation Labs
Politicians and the media collectively have the responsibility for preserving a robust media environment. Risks have been recognized by experts in both halves.
1. Funding for the Media:
- The Netherlands has three ways of funding for the media. These programs offer grants and support for media works.
a) The Dutch Cultural Media Fund provides funding for artistic endeavors. It encourages collaboration between cultural organizations and broadcasters, as well as cultural works for public television.
b) CoBo Fund encourages public broadcasters, or public broadcasters and independent filmmakers, to collaborate on movies and documentaries.
c) Fund for Journalism Promotion supports independent, diversified, and of the highest caliber journalism, financing in order to keep journalistic media from becoming overly reliant on government assistance.
- Contextual advertising is a type of targeted advertising shown to users depending on the page or content they are watching. For instance, advertisements for athletic wear or sporting goods may appear to a user who is reading a sports article. Advertisers can place ads on websites in Google AdSense’s network. The software provides a wide range of targeting choices. Amazon Advertising, Facebook Audience Network, and Bing Ads are a few other platforms. Companies have to investigate a number of networks in order to choose which one best fits the target market and the objectives of their campaign.
- For public broadcasters, adhering to legal restrictions on advertising that address content, duration, and air periods may provide difficulties. Many nations have restrictions on public media advertising, including in Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia.
- The US philanthropy model is the closest funding approach for public media to a subscription service. This entails philanthropic contributions that enhance federal financing and alternative revenue streams to guarantee enduring financial backing for public media endeavors and programs. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receives donations via the PBS Foundation while National Public Radio (NPR) also receives charitable contributions and endowment support via the NPR Foundation.
- BritBox, is a subscription online video streaming service with a focus on British content that is run by UK public broadcasters BBC and ITV. It is a Netflix-style TV service that debuted in the UK in 2019 and is currently accessible to viewers worldwide.
- Germany and Switzerland both are examples of the household levy that are well recognized. There are few exceptions to the monthly household levy that has been in place in Germany since 2013. Switzerland likewise implemented a device-independent household fee for public broadcasting in 2019.
- Funding for Radio New Zealand (RNZ) is provided by NZ On Air, an independent Crown organization. RNZ and the government are therefore maintaining “arm’s length.” The Press Ethics Advisor helps Estonia’s public broadcaster, ERR, retain its independence despite receiving funding from the state budget as well.
2. Action beyond journalism:
- The Bureau Local (UK), focuses on local investigative reporting. It approaches studies on issues like homelessness, council budgets, and housing by gathering information from several UK newsrooms and journalists. This has increased public involvement with local issues and improved ability for local investigative reporting.
- Italy’s “L’Italia Delle Slot’’ focuses on an investigation on the widespread use of slot machines and gaming. This was done by cooperation between media outlets, data scientists, and journalists. They mapped and examined the effect and distribution of slot machines using data journalism.This resulted in increased public knowledge and sparked policy debates on gambling control.
- Lännen Media (Finland)’s goal is to enhance local journalism through regional media partnership through a group of local newspapers that pool resources and content. Benefits include lower expenses, pooled editing knowledge, and better local news coverage. The challenge is in preserving individual newspaper identities while working together.
- The public continues to view news broadcasters as being much more accurate than social media sites, and some news organizations — Channel 4 Fact Check and BBC Verify, for example — already engage in beneficial public fact-checking to combat disinformation
3. Role of journalists:
- Karan Thapar, who has a reputation for doing tough interviews with influential people, has worked for a number of media outlets since 1981. His relentless probing even caused a stir in an interview with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, demonstrating the power of bold reporting.
- Based in Mumbai Journalist Faye D’Souza gathers information and pursues a story through to its logical conclusion. The former TV anchor left Mirror Now in 2019 because Indian media was losing its authentic and moral voice. In response to questionable WhatsApp messages that spread panic amid a terrible pandemic during COVID-19 in India, D’Souza started sharing authentic daily news updates on Instagram. At that point, she started the #CircleOfHope to confirm the availability of public and private helplines.
- Punya Prasun Bajpai is an excellent writer and journalist whose body of work demonstrates his in-depth understanding of Indian politics. Renowned for his show “Masterstroke,” Bajpai departed from ABP News because he felt pressure from the government, demonstrating his dedication to objective reporting.
- Others who make substantial contributions to a varied media environment include Ajit Anjum, Dhruv Rathi, and Ashutosh Gupta, who provide updates on politics, in-depth analysis, and insights into ground realities, respectively.
- Journalists must refrain from polarizing and biased views that target the viewer’s sentiment. Such concerns were particularly expressed during the Brexit process, when the Daily Mail referred to judges as ‘enemies of the people’, the House of Lords members ‘traitors’, and MPs as ‘saboteurs’. Such headlines ran the risk of escalating the division surrounding Brexit and fostering mistrust of important political institutions.
4. AI in Media:
- Artificial voices have been utilized by the BBC and German Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg for automated traffic and weather updates in order to better serve people in various areas around the clock.
- According to the EBU research, the Agência Pública team in Brazil employs cloned voices to deliver long-form investigative reports in order to increase their audience reach. When planning an inquiry against a corrupt politician who was misusing his position to force people off their property, they experimented with the technology. To assist one of the affected farmers they had interviewed in responding to the investigation, they gave him an audio version of the article produced using machine reading technology. This turned out to be a hit; the farmer and others in his neighborhood listened to it and shared it with other people who were impacted by the tale.
- With the help of AI the national public media organization of Finland, Yle, initially offered in their native tongue, aimed to aid in the integration of 62,500 Ukrainian immigrants into Finnish society. This may be launched in two weeks with machine translation followed by a journalist’s review.
REFERENCES
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/case-studies-collaborative-local-journalism
https://digpu.com/opinion/indian-journalists-who-have-upheld-true-journalism
https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/about-us/what-is-psm/psm-funding-models/
https://rm.coe.int/msi-res-2022-08-good-practices-for-sustainable-media-financing-for-sub/1680adf466
https://www.infosysbpm.com/blogs/media-entertainment/use-of-ai-in-media-entertainment-industry.html
Recommendations for Strengthening Media’s Role in Democracy
~A research project by Governance Innovation Labs
1. Funding for the Media:
One of the biggest and most urgent problems confronting public media today is funding. It’s become more and harder for public media organizations, large and small, to operate through a sustainable, viable, and healthy financial system that protects their independence. As a result, many are debating which funding model best suits their needs. The majority of funds used to sustain Indian media outlets come from commercial advertisements. But the government also has a significant role to play, managing the news market, supporting the public service broadcaster in the country, and providing public advertising dollars to private media. Increasing the variety of sources of income appears to be essential to a successful media company plan.
a. Advertisement: Advertising is a practical way for a lot of public broadcasters to independently get more income. Growing commercial interests might damage the people’s confidence in their public broadcaster in addition to affecting the quantity and quality of programming produced.
- Contextual Advertising: To make sure that advertisements are in line with audience interests and content, the strategy employs relevance criteria. Ensuring that advertisements are matched with pertinent information through the use of algorithms will protect the user experience. Investing in contextual advertising is one strategy that works well. It displays ads in contexts that are relevant to the interests and content of the audience by using data-driven targeting. Nonetheless, a lot of media companies still want to be able to access a lot of customer data for targeted internet advertising.
b. Subscription Service:
- As of right now, no public media outlet has chosen to implement a paywall, like the Financial Times does, or a particular membership model, like Spotify or Netflix. However, it is becoming more and more of an alternative in discussions about how public media will be funded in the future. To guarantee that fund givers do not dictate the topics that the organization covers, it is imperative that media get this kind of financing, which comes with strong safeguards for editorial freedom.
- In actuality, a subscription model may force public media to prioritize serving its members above the general public, despite the belief held by some that it would be less expensive for people.
c. Household Levy
- The household tax’s universal application to all inhabitants is one of its main features. Unlike other levies, which are depending on a household’s income or kind of device, the household levy is applied to all households at the same rate, regardless of the number of people living there or whether they utilize public broadcasting. A more recent approach to financing public media is the household levy, which takes into account the capacity of modern devices like smartphones and tablets to access public media material outside of conventional media.
d. Government Funding
- Direct State Support: When media groups get this kind of support, they may occasionally be mistaken for state media as opposed to public media. Nonetheless, a lot of public media institutions, who also get funding directly from the government, have additional legal and regulatory safeguards in place to assist maintain their independence.
- Indirect State Support: Programs for indirect state support may take the form of specific tax reductions or broad initiatives like the lowering of VAT. The majority of the publications are in favor of expanding indirect government assistance programs, especially those that use the tax system. When it comes to grant allocations, tax schemes are often less unpredictable than direct grant allocations, which vary annually and can need significant work from smaller media during the grant application process.
News media companies and journalists are called on to maintain high ethical standards when receiving funds either from public or private sources. This includes practices such as always acknowledging potential conflict of interest, keeping advertisement content separate from editorial content by labeling clearly, and disclosing transparently their sources of funding.
2) Actions beyond journalism:
- The job of media organizations can go beyond that of typical reporters. Initiatives that offer the public instant support and information or helpline number to answer public inquiries over the phone can be very beneficial. The media can turn to crowdsourcing and like that the public can contribute to the creation of more comprehensive media on a collaborative platform.
- Crowdfunding platforms can be used to raise money for natural disasters or medical emergencies.
- Collaborating in real time with stakeholders can efficiently tackle difficulties in the community.
- Establishing an action committee within media companies can help to guarantee that the media’s function extends beyond information dissemination and involves them actively in solving problems.
3) Role of journalists
Journalists are the backbone of democratic media. Their role in uncovering truths, holding power accountable, and providing citizens with accurate information is crucial.
- Adhering to ethical standards, seeking diverse resources, and prioritizing investigative journalism are essential practices.
- Journalists must strive to expose corruption and abuse of power, ensuring that democracy remains robust and transparent.
- News media companies are recommended to invest in professional education and training for their journalists, to update their professional skills to cope with the digital evolution and with the new services that new business models entail.
- Professionalism, transparency and independence of journalists and media companies are particularly needed when dealing with the funding of journalism by intermediary platforms to avoid biases.
4) Using AI for promoting democracy
Journalists are able to function more productively by using artificial intelligence in the media as a tool to reduce tedious tasks. The various ways in which AI can enhance journalism are:
- By analyzing large datasets, AI can identify trends, and detect fake news
- Improve comprehension of budget allocation and increased revenue
- Enhance marketing flexibility with real-time marketing intelligence
- Better personalized advertising and marketing environment
- Easier privacy protection and content security
- Higher user satisfaction by providing personalized content
- AI-driven tools can also facilitate fact-checking, ensuring the accuracy of information.
REFERENCES
https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/about-us/what-is-psm/psm-funding-models/
https://rm.coe.int/msi-res-2022-08-good-practices-for-sustainable-media-financing-for-sub/1680adf466
https://www.infosysbpm.com/blogs/media-entertainment/use-of-ai-in-media-entertainment-industry.html
Media Countering Democratic Backsliding
~A research project by Governance Innovation Labs
Background
The media is a strong tool which educates, informs and entertains us. It is a crucial channel for informing the public about politics and has a significant impact on setting public policy and opinion. But concerns over the state of media outlets have been raised in recent years. Distress caused by attacks on the impartiality or independence of the media. Changes in the media landscape have increased polarizing language and false information while also resulting in budget cuts to local and investigative journalism
Why does the media matter for democracy?
A key component of democratic engagement is the media. It establishes a forum for discussion, debate, and opinion sharing. It acts as a channel for interaction between the public and legislators, enabling them to share their opinions and suggestions, providing the public with the knowledge they require to engage, and giving the public’s voices a platform. By reporting on issues and providing direct inspection through interviews, the media also helps to keep politicians accountable.
The public’s view is formed in large part by the media. It has the power to affect the public’s understanding of a subject, the subjects they deem significant, and the information they rely on when making general political assessments through the substance and tone of its coverage.
Current difficulty with media independence
Because of the crucial responsibilities that the media play in shaping public opinion and promoting political accountability, politicians who engage in “democratic backsliding” around the globe frequently pose a danger to media freedom. This can take a variety of forms, including overt censorship, legal prosecution, violence against journalists, budget reductions, and takeovers of purportedly independent media organizations or regulatory bodies.
What does a free and healthy media look like?
High journalistic standards, media independence, plurality, and the presence of unbiased channels are all necessary components of a free and robust media.
- Media independence: This describes editorial freedom from both monetary and political influence. Politicians have the right to respond to information about them in the media, but media organizations and individual journalists must maintain their independence by not being unfairly pressured to report or exclude certain facts or points of view.
- Media pluralism: A diversified industry that offers a variety of perspectives is necessary for media pluralism. Pluralism may be threatened by monopolistic ownership if it narrows the spectrum of opinions expressed. Beyond that, diversity is best achieved through a combination of market-oriented outlets, public service media and media presence in local, community, and minority settings.
- Unbiased media outlets: The public supports the purpose of neutral media sources in ensuring that the public has access to unbiased information.
- High standards from journalists: High standards of fact-checking and verification, avoiding misleading emphasis, protecting sources, and respecting privacy are all part of journalistic ethics. Additionally, these enable the media to combat misinformation instead of unintentionally spreading it.
Challenges and Criticisms
- Media Bias: When individuals are only provided with material that confirms their own opinions, media bias has the power to polarize audiences and skew public perception. This may make it more difficult to make the nation truly democratic.
- Media Ownership Concentration: When a few influential companies control the majority of the media, it can hinder the media’s capacity to represent a wide range of opinions and the interests of the general population. Conflicts of interest may result from this, whereby media outlets put corporate objectives ahead of journalistic ethics.
- Disinformation and false News: Democratic processes are seriously threatened by the increasing amount of disinformation and false news, especially on social media. Election results may be manipulated by disinformation, which can also undermine public confidence in democratic institutions.
Recommendations to safeguard role of media
- Even though it might be uncomfortable, politicians must recognize the media’s function as an outlet for public discourse and a means of holding them accountable. In practical terms, this involves acknowledging the value of an independent, pluralistic media and taking steps to safeguard the autonomy of authorities and public-service stations from political influence. It also entails being mindful of the risks that unrestricted media freedom and industry-driven developments might pose to a robust democratic engagement.
- The media must acknowledge its potential influence on public life as well as the associated responsibilities. This involves emphasizing the value of truth via fact-checking news reports, disputing other people’s inaccurate or deceptive statements, and giving priority to the availability of reliable information.
More generally, it is the duty of both parties to strike a balance that encourages constructive dialogue, guards against false information, and keeps society from becoming more divisive. - Media organizations should take self-regulation methods to enforce conduct standards through open and inclusive processes. The political, cultural, and economic context in which journalists operate should be compatible with these self-regulatory frameworks, and the general public should have easy access to them.
- Adhere to high standards of information provision that meet recognised professional and ethical standards.
- Media outlets should refrain from and make a point of avoiding hate speech, prejudice, misinformation, and propaganda. War propaganda should never be spread through the media. If the media inadvertently reports anything incorrectly, they should fix it right away.
- Pluralism in the media industry must be embraced and advanced.
- One should be mindful of the possibility that the media and its reporting may perpetuate prejudice or patriarchal and discriminatory preconceptions of women, minorities, and other groups vulnerable to discrimination. Integrating broad equality concepts into media and journalist professional standards of conduct is a good idea. In order to prevent or worsen intolerance, such policies should also establish minimal requirements for reporting remarks or other acts of prejudice.
- In order to guarantee that the media industry is diverse and includes women and representatives of minorities at all levels of media production and distribution, including management and decision-making, it is important to address internal structural discrimination and bias in the industry.
REFERENCES:
https://mediahelpingmedia.org/ethics/impartiality-in-journalism/
Roadmap for Enhancing Media in Democracy
~A research project by Governance Innovation Labs
The media plays an important role for a sustaining democracy. However to maximize its effectiveness, a strategic roadmap is essential. Here is a detailed roadmap:
1. Creating Action Committees
The first stage is to establish action committees with a focus specifically on issues related to Democracy. These committees will be tasked with verifying false information, confirming the truth, and bringing attention to democratically significant topics.
1.1. Teams for Fact-Checking
Create fact-checking teams whose job is to confirm information. These teams will physically or with the help of AI check the data to make sure the public is given trustworthy and accurate news.
1.2. Involvement of the Public in Fact-Checking
Encourage the people to voluntarily verify the facts. By reporting false information and helping with the verification process, citizens may build a community-driven movement to support the truth in the media.
1.3. Democratic Alliances
Organize pro-democracy groups to identify and curate news about problems that threaten democracy which violates the Constitution. These groups will see to it that significant democratic concerns are highlighted and brought to light.
2. Facilitating Action Committees
The Action Committee must be facilitated by a dedicated team to enable the committee to function efficiently and achieve their objective.
2.1 Coordinating with Stakeholders
For smooth communication between action committees and relevant stakeholders, assemble a facilitation team. This group will make sure that decision-makers, members of the public, and civil society groups are properly informed of the committees’ conclusions and recommendations.
2.2 Allocation of Resources
Make sure action committees have the required resources, like finance, technology, and experience, needed to do their job efficiently. Stakeholders should take necessary steps to provide the resources. Crowdsourcing can be done in this regard.
3. Publicity and Media Attention
The efforts of the Committee must be brought to light and positive changes should be highlighted to maintain public awareness and engagement. This approach does not only keep the public informed but also reinforces the importance of upholding democratic values.
3.1 Observation and Assessment
Establish a mechanism for monitoring committee decisions. Make sure these steps are effectively resolving the issues by keeping a regular eye on their development and results.
3.2 Awareness and Publicity
Develop a strong public relations team to educate the public about the accomplishments and activities of the action committees. Use a variety of media platforms to draw attention to their efforts and the improvements they have brought about and their importance in upholding democratic values.
3.3 Involving the Public
Encourage comments and involvement from the general public. Workshops and activities that involve the active participation of the public might foster a vibrant democracy.
GILabs Policy Notes: Enhancing Role of Media
~A research project by Governance Innovation Labs
A. OVERVIEW
The media is a strong tool which educates, informs and entertains us. It is a crucial channel for informing the public about politics and has a significant impact on setting public policy and opinion. But concerns over the state of media outlets have been raised in recent years. Distress caused by attacks on the impartiality or independence of the media. Changes in the media dynamics have increased polarizing language and false information while also resulting in budget cuts to local and investigative journalism.
B. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Funding for the Media:
One of the biggest and most urgent problems confronting public media today is funding to operate through a sustainable, viable, and healthy financial system that protects their independence.
- Contextual Advertising: This displays ads in contexts that are relevant to the interests and content of the audience by using data-driven targeting.
- Subscription Service: This kind of funding comes with strong safeguards for editorial freedom.
- Household Levy: The household levy is applied to all households at the same rate, regardless of the number of people living there.
- Government Funding: When media institutions get funding directly from the government, there should be additional legal and regulatory safeguards in place to assist maintain their independence. Programs for indirect state support may take the form of specific tax reductions or broad initiatives.
2. Actions beyond journalism:
- Initiatives that offer the public instant support and information or helpline number to answer public inquiries over the phone can be very beneficial.
- Crowdfunding platforms can be used to raise money for natural disasters or medical emergencies.
- Collaborating in real time with stakeholders can efficiently tackle difficulties in the community.
- Establishing an action committee within media houses
3. Role of journalists
- Adhering to ethical standards, seeking diverse resources, and prioritizing investigative journalism are essential practices.
- Journalists must strive to expose corruption and abuse of power, ensuring that democracy remains robust and transparent.
- News media companies are recommended to invest in professional education and training for their journalists, to update their professional skills to cope with the digital evolution.
- Professionalism, transparency and independence of journalists and media companies are particularly needed when dealing with the funding of journalism by intermediary platforms to avoid biases.
4. Using AI for promoting democracy
- By analyzing large datasets, AI can identify trends, and detect fake news
- Improve comprehension of budget allocation and increased revenue
- Enhance marketing flexibility with real-time marketing intelligence
- Better personalized advertising and marketing environment
- Easier privacy protection and content security
- Higher user satisfaction by providing personalized content
- AI-driven tools can also facilitate fact-checking, ensuring the accuracy of information.
C. ROADMAP FOR IMPLEMENTATION
1. Creating Action Committees
1.1. Teams for Fact-Checking
Create fact-checking teams whose job is to confirm information either physically or with the help of AI.
1.2. Involvement of the Public in Fact-Checking
Encouraging the public to voluntarily verify the facts by reporting false information and helping with the verification process.
1.3. Democratic Alliances
Organize pro-democracy groups to identify and curate news about problems that threaten democracy.
2. Facilitating Action Committees
2.1 Coordinating with Stakeholders
For smooth communication between action committees and relevant stakeholders, assemble a facilitation team.
2.2 Allocation of Resources
Make sure action committees have the required resources, like finance, technology, and experience, needed to do their job efficiently.
3. Publicity and Media Attention
3.1 Observation and Assessment
Establish a mechanism for monitoring committee decisions.
3.2 Awareness and Publicity
Develop a strong public relations team to inform the public about the accomplishments and activities of the action committees.
3.3 Involving the Public
Workshops and activities that involve the active participation of the public might foster a vibrant democracy.
D. BEST PRACTICES
- BritBox, is a subscription online video streaming service with a focus on British content that is run by UK public broadcasters BBC and ITV.
- Germany and Switzerland both are examples of the household levy that are well recognized.
- Some news organizations — Channel 4 Fact Check and BBC Verify, for example — engage in beneficial public fact-checking to combat disinformation
- Substantial contributions to a varied media environment include Ajit Anjum, Dhruv Rathi, and Ashutosh Gupta, who provide updates on politics, in-depth analysis, and insights into ground realities, respectively.
- With the help of AI the national public media organization of Finland, Yle, initially offered in their native tongue, aimed to aid in the integration of 62,500 Ukrainian immigrants into Finnish society.