Manifesto

A Call to Build Independent, Ethical, and Resilient Information

In a context of multiple environmental, social, political, and media crises, a European collective of media and grassroots organizations is today launching the Manifesto for Sustainable Journalism: a foundational text to rethink information in an era of algorithmic drift, viral disinformation, and widespread precarity in the media.

This manifesto is the culmination of two years of reflection and experimentation within the framework of the European S-Info project, funded by the European Commission’s Creative Europe program. 

This document was developed through an ongoing dialogue that involved hundreds of citizens, journalists, activists, and academics from Italy, Belgium, Romania, and Malta. The process included online debates on key issues such as the polarization of public discourse on the environment, gender equality, and the fight against corruption, as well as local meetings bringing together journalists and activists, investigations, campaigns, and mobilizations, safer spaces for activists and journalists, along with workshops and training sessions aimed at strengthening professional skills.

Sustainable journalism, as defined in the Manifesto, is neither a slogan nor a utopia. It is a necessity. It aims to reconcile journalistic practice with essential values: social justice, transparency, pluralism, ecology, and ethics, while ensuring the safety, well-being, and recognition of those who produce information.

This Manifesto is structured around three major axes:

• The Challenges to be Faced: Media polarization, the illusion of neutrality, the invisibilization of marginalized voices, economic and political pressures, and the precarity and harassment of journalists.
• The Conditions for Possibility: Gender equality, mental health, digital security, inclusive spaces, and new forms of work organization.
• Systemic Levers: Alliances between journalism and activism, sustainable funding, media and critical thinking education, and transnational cooperation.

This Manifesto is a tool for collective mobilization, an open commitment for all who believe that without independent journalism, there can be no vibrant democracy.

We warmly invite journalists, media organizations, civil society, and grassroots groups to take a stand and sign the Manifesto for Sustainable Journalism.

• Journalists, freelancers, writers, photographers, and editorialists: Sign the Manifesto to demonstrate your commitment to free, rigorous, and responsible journalism. Share this call with your networks, newsrooms, and collectives—let’s amplify our voices together.
• Media organizations, whether independent, community-based, local, or national: Join this movement and pledge to integrate these principles into your practices, content, and editorial models. Your participation will be a powerful statement of change.
• Civil society and grassroots organizations: By signing the Manifesto, you align yourself with journalism that is united with social justice, environmental advocacy, and human rights. Together, we can champion truth and accountability.

By signing the Manifesto, you join a powerful European movement that rejects the silence in the face of disinformation, the erosion of journalistic integrity, authoritarian abuse, and harmful narratives. Together, we stand united in the belief that journalism must evolve—bold, accountable, and committed to truth. A new era of journalism is not just possible; it is essential for the future of our democracies.

The following partners sign the Manifesto