Global Media: Policy Lab and Innovation

This course looks at media around the world and some of the difficulties that journalists face, as well as solutions. We will look at a bit of history and theory in order to understand the role the media plays and how it can be supported. We will focus on a few basic interrelated themes: media innovation, media sustainability, investigative reporting, and the more recent problem of online disinformation and how generative AI may upend journalism.

Guest lectures will be given by people at the cutting edge of media innovation and investigative journalism in both profit and non-profit organizations. Some of your work will be read by organizations working on media policy. We have a track record of helping them with our research.

Practical questions will be essential to this course: How do you build a media outlet that can be sustained financially? What is the evolving role of the donor community and media philanthropy? Who are the innovators in the quality media landscape around the world, and what does it take for them to succeed? What policies can be adopted by governments and donors to support public service media? We start from the position that media freedom of expression and safety of journalists are essential, and we will consider both the soft and hard pressures on journalists and the effect that financial upheaval and digital technology are having on free expression. We will also look at current threats to journalism, questions of viability and sustainability, and how AI could upend media ecosystems.

This course is more relevant and urgent than ever. Because of the rise of “democratators” around the world and the ongoing repression of the media, we will necessarily discuss the role of demagogues, the need for regulation of the tech giants, and how to support the media as a Fourth Estate. The financial crisis faced by the media has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic, but this means the search for solutions has become more intense and the field is awash with big ideas and creative thinking. It’s an exciting time to think about why journalism matters and what policies will help preserve it.