How publishers and libraries support a sustainable future for journalism together

A word’s meaning and its ability to inspire can often be limited, open to interpretation, and manipulation. As readers seeking trustworthy opinions and concepts, who can we rely on to communicate factual ideas, and support a sustainable future for journalism in our digital age? The answer involves a partnership, one that safeguards against misinformation, allows access to information for everyone, and ensures those hungry for empowering knowledge are never starved for truth. At PressReader, we believe those partners are publishers and libraries.

Co-pilots on a mission

Assuming, as we all do, that quality content deserves compensation, what is the mission of journalism today? According to the American Press Institute, journalism’s mission is to “provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.”

The News Media Association in the UK adds that it plays a vital role in a democratic society, and in 1841, Thomas Carlyle called it the “fourth estate”.

“Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important for all.”
Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian and essayist

Now, let’s review the mission of libraries.

In the early 1900s, Andrew Carnegie called free public libraries “the cradle of democracy.” Later, in 1941, President Roosevelt said libraries were “essential to the functioning of a democratic society.”

Today, the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) states that a library’s purpose is to give everyone the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop. And it explicitly includes people neglected by “economic logic.”

So, if journalism’s role is to be the fourth estate in a democratic society and libraries are equally essential for a democratic society, shouldn’t media companies and libraries work together? Together they’ll achieve the same goal: freedom of the press and access to the trusted sources that matter.

Fact-based journalism is under attack

Over the past few years, press freedom and democratic access to quality, trusted journalism has deteriorated. With greater frequency, those who should be accountable in government and society live outside the media ecosystem entirely, reaching billions of people with whatever lies and propaganda they want to spread through social media and other digital channels. […]