Broken Pillars of the Fourth Estate

In a world where the press is cornered by economic, political, social and security threats, I look to analyse how it continues to obey its basic principles. These values form the foundation of the fourth estate. We must find the most compromised pillar and repair it before the enterprise comes crashing down. I believe out of the five principles of truth and accuracy, fairness and impartiality, independence, humanity and accountability; Independence and freedom of the press is the most heavily threatened.

According to the RSF’s Global analysis of press freedom, 2025, press freedom has hit a historical low, with conditions for practising journalism labelled as “difficult” or “very serious” in more than half of the world’s countries. We can mainly attribute this to the economic pressure on media, forcing the press to tackle an impossible choice of editorial independence or economic survival. Comparing the various indicators available on the RSF’s site, we find that 79 countries show “very serious” conditions regarding particularly economic constraints, such as government policies, advertisers and media ownership.

Guaranteeing press independence requires stable and transparent financial conditions. This is a rare occurrence within a for-profit media environment, which is drawn to race for audiences and sponsors, at the expense of robust reportage. The media is more consolidated than ever, under oligarchs and public authorities who seek to exploit the power of the press and promote their own interests. Across the world, 46 countries have been shown to have a heavily consolidated press, or one completely under government control. Tech Giants also control a large portion of the information sharing online. Since they are unregulated, they also absorb a heavy share of the advertising revenue which could support journalism.

Media ownership and editorial independence are now at odds with each other. The few wealthy owners seem to want to an ever growing control over the content produced. This increases the risk of editorial mundanity of self-censorship and of bias. These owners also, more often than not, are not free from the influence of political stakeholders. RSF’s index survey found that 92 out of 180 respondents reported that media owners “always” or “often” limited editorial independence.

The state of journalism across the world is fear inducing. Worldwide, 485 journalists and media workers are detained. 4 journalists have been killed in 2026 alone. In India, nine journalists were targeted and arrested only during the last year (2025). The independence of journalists warrants their ability to practise the profession, as per its core principles. Violating their independence, fundamentally wrecks the other aspects, and results in a weak, polarised and unsafe media environment, as we see today. We must strive to detach the press from other institutions to allow for a trustworthy media institution working in the public interest.