Journalism becomes a house of commons

"Our starting point: Let's agree that journalism is not content. It's not a product. It's not an export. It's a shared resource. Treat it that way and everything changes. The idea of a journalism commons is not new (certainly not to Nieman Lab predictions), nor is it a metaphor; it's a tried-and-trusted, locally owned governance model that anyone can take part in,"

"Political economist Elinor Ostrom showed that communities can sustainably manage shared resources from forests and fisheries to energy and water, when they establish clear boundaries, collective rule-making, transparent monitoring, and local accountability. So why not information? In 2026, expect journalism to break decisively from its industrial complex and begin operating as a civic commons with the most durable and inventive models emerging from the Global Majority (yes, the"

"Journalism fits the commons frame almost too well. Information, skills, trust, and infrastructure are all common-pool resources: vulnerable to over-use, under-investment, or capture if left ungoverned. A commons approach asks not what content we should produce, but how we can steward information resources so they regenerate and serve the public over time. 2026 won't simply repeat commons theory, however."

Journalism should be understood and managed as a shared civic commons rather than as content, product, or export. Communities can apply Elinor Ostrom–style governance — clear boundaries, collective rule-making, transparent monitoring, and local accountability — to information and news infrastructures. By 2026, journalism will shift from an industrial model toward locally governed, technology-enabled public knowledge systems, with many durable models emerging from the Global Majority. Common-pool resources like information, skills, trust, and infrastructure require active stewardship to prevent over-use, under-investment, or capture. The rise of AI, creator economies, and platform consolidation will push journalism from a conceptual idea to an operational commons.

Read at Nieman Lab