Democracies do not arise on their own, nor do they sustain and develop themselves automatically. Whether one views democracy as a fundamental right, or just as a practical and effective form of governance, a conscious effort is required to make it work.
A prerequisite for liberal democracies to function over time is that the population possesses a minimum level of knowledge about how the society of which they are part operates. They must have access to verifiable facts and an understanding of how societal power is managed. Traditionally, this has been the primary role of the free and independent editorial media. The question now is whether this function has changed, in terms of how it operates today, and how it can function in the future. The desire to explore these questions is the reason why Schibsted Media has produced and published this report.
Several factors make addressing these issues particularly timely: we are in a ‘super election year’ affecting a large portion of the global population, EU countries have recently elected a new parliament, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, argues that the pressures on EU democracies are intense enough to warrant launching what she calls a ‘Democracy Shield’. This report is our attempt to contribute to this crucial debate and weigh in on the role of free and independent media in a strong democracy.
Our hope is that this report will contribute to an important discussion, both politically and within the media, especially on how the European editorial media can improve its efforts to defend liberal democracies.
Oslo, November 2024
Siv Juvik Tveitnes
CEO Schibsted Media
