REPORT

Funding Democracy: Public Media and Democratic Health in 33 Countries

Timothy Neff, Viktor Pickard | The International Journal of Press/Politics
2024

This study explores the relationship between public service media (PSM) systems and the strength of democracy. The authors focused on 33 countries around the world and identified different models of public service media, creating a spectrum ranging from systems with low independence from the state to PSM with strong and secure funding models and a high degree of independence. This research shows the existing correlation between healthy democracies and public media systems which boast high levels of secure funding and strong structural protections for their political and economic independence.