Reports

Jan 2023: Department for Culture, Media and Sport Committee report into the Sustainability of local journalism

This report, to which the CJP gave both oral and written evidence, recommends that the government make it easier for eligible news organisations to receive philanthropic funding, and/or receive philanthropic benefits such as gift aid. Click here to watch our Chair George Brock giving evidence to the select committee.

Nov 2021: Scotland’s News – towards a sustainable future for public interest journalism

In this report the Public Interest Journalism Working Group, a task force launched by the Scottish government, recommend that both charitable and government advertising funds should be put into public interest journalism, the Scottish Government should set up a new institute dedicated to supporting public interest journalism, and that the public should have the right to take over local newspapers at risk of closure.

Sep 2021: Understanding the role that philanthropy can play in supporting public interest journalism and how to enable it

The Public Interest Journalism Initiative, our counterpart in Australia, released this report about the future of charitable journalism Their evidence-based report addresses not simply the merits of charitable PIJ funding itself, but the barriers to achieving it: “despite repeated proposals to provide news media organisations with deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, there had been no study to interrogate the mechanical barriers”.

Jun 2021: A New Deal for Journalism

The Forum on Information and Democracy’s report on the sustainability of journalism worldwide has produced this evidence-based call “for immediate and sustained action from, and collaboration between, governments and other influential actors to improve the policy, funding, and enabling environment for independent professional journalism – a New Deal for Journalism amounting to up to 0.1% of GDP annually in direct and indirect funding worldwide.”

Nov 2020: House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee‘s Inquiry into the Future of Journalism

Breaking news! In its report from the Inquiry into the Future of Journalism, the House of Lords recommends charitable status for newsrooms. Click here to jump to the specific section supporting charitable status, including evidence from our chair, George Brock.

Feb 2019: The Cairncross Review

The final report of Dame Cairncross’s review into the status of journalism in the UK, which recommends charitable status for journalism – which the government encouraged in its initial response (Feb 2019), but not in its final response (Jan 2020), accompanied by this guidance from the Charity Commission. (Here’s Dame Frances Cairncross talking with the BBC Media Show’s Amol Rajan (Feb 2019) about her findings, including the need to unlock more philanthropic support for journalism.)

2016: The impact of charity and tax law/regulation on not-for-profit news organizations

This 2016 report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) at Oxford University included a chapter by Dr Judith Townend analysing the situation in the UK.

2012: Leveson: Advisory Group on Journalism and Charitable Status

This report to Lord Leveson as part of the Inquiry into the Culture and Ethics of the Press endorsed and reinforced the recommendation of the Lords in support of public interest journalism.

2012: Report on the Future of Investigative Journalism

The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications made a strong recommendation here that charitable status for journalism be considered.

2011: “Is there a better structure for news providers?”

A Reuters Institute report that suggests charitable status and trust ownership could be an answer to the problems of sustainability in journalism.