World Press Freedom Day 2025: without viable media, there is no free journalism

Institutional communiqué

On World Press Freedom Day, the International Journalism Club Velours wants to spotlight a threat that is less visible than prison or violence, but just as effective: the economic strangulation of independent media.

The concentration of advertising revenue in a handful of platforms, the withdrawal of international aid, and the discretionary use of state advertising are leaving many newsrooms without the capacity to investigate.

We call on governments and international institutions for transparent support mechanisms not conditioned on editorial line, and on platforms, for fair compensation for the use of journalistic content.

Without viable media, there is no free journalism. And without free journalism, the public decides blind.