The Paris-based Forum on Information and Democracy, an international organisation that provides democratic safeguards to the global space of information and communication, has issued a global call for contributions toward a new policy brief aimed at developing sustainable solutions to redirect advertising revenues in support of quality journalism.
The Forum noted that in recent years, the advertising and media landscape has undergone profound changes, that have significantly affected the financial sustainability of independent news organisations. The once-straightforward process of placing ads directly with newspapers has given way to an opaque and monopolised ecosystem dominated by major tech platforms.
Today, these platforms control nearly every layer of the digital advertising market from the sell-side and buy-side to ad exchanges. Programmatic advertising, driven largely by algorithms, now decides where most ads appear. This automated system often favours sensationalist or clickbait content over credible, public-interest reporting.
As a result, news publishers have experienced a sharp decline in advertising revenue. Despite the advertising industry generating trillions globally, publishers’ ad income has fallen by about 33% since 2019. The emergence of AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, and Google Gemini has further diverted traffic from news websites, compounding the financial strain on traditional media outlets.
Advertisers themselves face challenges within this opaque system. Many lack visibility into where their ads are placed, leading to potential associations with disinformation platforms and diminishing the overall effectiveness of campaigns.
To address these issues, the forthcoming policy brief will propose actionable strategies for channelling advertising revenues toward public-interest journalism. The goal is to foster a healthier, more transparent, and sustainable media ecosystem that benefits both advertisers and news producers.
The Forum is inviting experts, researchers, and stakeholders to contribute insights, case studies, and policy recommendations. Areas of interest include successful initiatives that link advertisers with media organisations without relying on big tech intermediaries; public policy models that encourage responsible ad placement, such as tax incentives, sponsorships, or co-funding programmes; and state advertising frameworks and best practices for government allocation of ad budgets with proper safeguards.
Contributions will inform a concise policy brief to be shared with the 57 member states of the Partnership for Information and Democracy, an intergovernmental coalition established in 2019 to advance democratic standards in the information space. This initiative builds upon the Forum’s New Deal for Journalism report (2021) and its Policy Brief on Digital Taxes for Quality Journalism (2025).
Submissions are welcome in English, French, German, Spanish, or Portuguese and should be sent by December 1, 2025, to egruden@informationdemocracy.org.
For more information, visit informationdemocracy.org.
