Mapping the drivers of press freedom: A structural analysis of the world press freedom index

This study examines the interdependent relationships among the five dimensions of the World Press Freedom (WPF) Index—legal, political, sociocultural, safety, and economic contexts. Using 2024 WPF data, a three-stage analytical framework integrates expectation–maximization clustering, Bayesian network classification, and partial least-squares connectivity analysis. The results reveal that legal safeguards and journalist safety are the most influential drivers of press freedom, while political and economic contexts function as key mediating mechanisms that transmit institutional and sociocultural effects to overall outcomes. Sociocultural openness also contributes meaningfully to system performance. To enhance policy relevance, importance–performance mapping identifies legal and political dimensions as high-impact yet underperforming priorities for reform. The findings advance media-governance theory by elucidating the systemic architecture of press freedom and provide actionable insights for strengthening institutional safeguards, political transparency, and sustainable media independence worldwide.