Challenges in all directions

Dear reader,

In March, after more than a decade of covering UK politics from inside Westminster, I became the Guardian’s media editor. After years of witnessing incredible political tumult first hand, from Brexit to Covid-19, it’s now my job to report on the huge challenges facing journalism from all directions.

In these first few months I’ve already covered attacks on press freedom in Turkey and in Serbia and I’ve reported on the Russian BBC journalists who have been labelled “foreign agents” by Vladimir Putin’s regime. They told me about being unable to see their children, being forced to sell their homes and in effect being banished from their home country.

I’ve also looked at the impact of the US government’s attacks on the media. These include decimating the agency which promotes independent journalism overseas – an act that’s been heartily cheered on in places where press freedom is almost non-existent, such as China and Russia.

It is, as several senior figures in the news industry have warned me, an especially dangerous moment.

Quite apart from the increasingly challenging political climate, the media world is undergoing massive change and fragmentation. In the UK, there has been a precipitous fall in local newspapers in recent decades as traditional print advertising and circulation revenues have not been offset by online income. Revenues for local and national newspapers combined have fallen by up to 50% between 2007 and 2017 and many of the titles that have survived have been left reliant on algorithms of the all-powerful tech companies to reward their journalism. This isn’t just bad news for the industry, but bad news for everyone who values accountability for those in power, whether locally or nationally.

More than 320 local newspaper titles closed in the UK between 2009 and 2019, causing news deserts. These gaps are often filled by social media platforms. These are places where misinformation flourishes, especially as some of the biggest platforms, like Facebook, move away from checking the facts.

These challenges are acute and happening fast. In the midst of it all, journalists and newsrooms are trying many ways to preserve serious, robust reporting.

There’s one critical reason I am able to report the kind of stories mentioned at the beginning of this email. Amid the turmoil facing our industry, the Guardian has taken a clear route. A decade ago, we began to ask readers to make a contribution to ensure we can continue with our work. A critical part of that work includes keeping track of the treatment of free media around the world and reminding the world how important it is.

Today I’m asking if you might consider supporting the Guardian on that mission. We would also encourage you to seek out and back any local independent news providers. If you can afford to, the most impactful way to support our work is with a monthly amount, from €4, or with a one-time amount from €1.

Thank you
Michael

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