Citizens can only take part in public life, by voting, running for office or demanding answers from officials, if they know what is happening. A free press supplies that knowledge. The evidence shows that where independent journalism exists, participation rises, and where press freedom erodes, the foundation of participation weakens with it.
Free press, higher participation
A study of U.S. newspapers from 1869 to 2004 in the American Economic Review found that one additional newspaper raised presidential and congressional turnout by about 0.3 percentage points, mostly through the first paper in a market. Research on Italian municipalities found a similar effect: a new local newspaper raised municipal turnout by 0.45 points.
The reverse also holds. After the Cincinnati Post closed in 2007, fewer candidates ran for local office, fewer people voted and incumbents were more likely to win. And in India, Besley and Burgess found that state governments responded more to food shortages and floods where newspaper circulation was higher. Informed citizens give officials a reason to act.
When press freedom erodes
Today that foundation is under pressure. The 2026 RSF Index found that more than half of the world’s countries (52.2%) now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories, up from 13.7% in 2002, with the legal environment for journalists deteriorating in over 60% of states. The V-Dem Democracy Report 2026 finds freedom of expression is the most affected dimension of democracy and that media censorship is the most common tactic of governments moving toward authoritarianism.
Violence compounds this. According to UNESCO, 85% of journalist killings recorded since 2006 remain unresolved. Where attacks on reporters go unpunished, there is less reason to pursue risky stories, and citizens lose coverage of the very issues they most need to act on.
What this means
One caution: these studies measure the presence of news outlets, not press freedom indices directly, and the effects vary by country and media environment. But the direction is consistent across countries and centuries. Protecting journalists is not only a professional concern; it protects the information citizens need to participate in decisions that affect them.
Sources
- RSF, 2026 World Press Freedom Index
- V-Dem Institute, Democracy Report 2026
- UNESCO impunity report (2024), via Latin America Journalism Review
- Gentzkow, Shapiro & Sinkinson, American Economic Review (2011)
- Drago, Nannicini & Sobbrio, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (2014)
- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, research digest on the Cincinnati Post closure
- Besley & Burgess, “The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness” (2002)