GCMJ launches Multilateral Journalism Index to measure global governance reporting.

GENEVA, 21 September 2026. Journalism covering international organizations in Geneva was strongest at providing substantive information and explaining why events mattered, while drawing on a narrower range of sources and perspectives, according to the new Multilateral Journalism Index.

GCMJ developed the MJI to examine how news coverage helps people understand the institutions and decisions behind global affairs. The six-week pilot analyzed 247 coverage records from 71 media outlets and tracked 27 multilateral events involving artificial intelligence, human rights, climate policy, global health, international security, and other subjects. Of those records, 230 received full MJI scores.

Each piece was evaluated for Substance, Public Understanding, Governance Literacy, and Source Diversity. The overall pilot score was 67.4 out of 100. Substance scored 75.3, followed by Public Understanding at 72.7, Governance Literacy at 69.5, and Source Diversity at 52.0.

“The MJI gives us a way to see where global governance is being explained well and where stronger journalism is needed. This pilot gives us a baseline. The real value will come from following it over time.”

Different explanatory strengths.

Journalism and direct institutional reporting produced similar scores for Substance and Public Understanding. Direct institutional reporting scored higher for Governance Literacy, 76.6 to 67.7, while journalism had a much higher Source Diversity score, 54.6 to 32.4.

Future editions are expected to extend the observation period, refine the methodology, strengthen reliability testing, and examine additional institutions and centers of multilateral governance.