Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.02.2006, Blaðsíða 16

It’s One Big Party in Icelandic Journalism:
The Independence Party locks down its fourth paper
by Paul F. Nikolov
“We all talked about it, and we all
decided that we had to break out
from our political prison. It took
time, but we succeeded in doing
it.” – Kári Jónasson, former editor
of Fréttablaðið, on moving the Ice-
landic media away from the control
of political parties, months before
being replaced by former Independ-
ence Party PM Þorsteinn Pálsson.
Talk to anyone about the way
Icelandic papers used to be, even
as recently as twenty years ago,
and they will invariably mention
the presence of “party papers”
– newspapers owned and operated
by different political parties. Many
bemoan those days, while at the
same time celebrating the diverse
and independent media Iceland now
enjoys.
But now Iceland’s newspapers
are all, in one way or the other,
in the hands of Independence
Party players. A conservative party
supported by only 41.6% of the
population (according to a Gallup
poll from January 2006), now con-
trols nearly 100% of the Icelandic
language daily periodicals, and a
sizeable portion of all other media
in the country.
The Corporate Giant Goes Politi-
cal
Ari Edwald, the managing director
of media giant 365, was formerly an
Independence Party political advisor
to the Minister of Justice and the
Minister of Fisheries. 365 owns,
among other things, the newspapers
Fréttablaðið and DV. Edwald is
also the managing director of the
Confederation of Icelandic Employ-
ers, and also was on the program
committee of a 2001 conference
entitled, “Tax Competition: An
Opportunity for Iceland?,” which
was organised by Independence
Party player Hannes Hólmstein
Gissurarson and featured Davíð
Oddsson as a keynote speaker.
Beyond Fréttablaðið and DV,
365 owns television stations Stöð
2 and Sirkus. Of the only tel-
evision stations not owned by 365
– SkjárEinn and RÚV – only the
former is independent (albeit owned
by newly-privatised telecommunica-
tions giant Síminn). RÚV is owned
by the state, and the Independence
Party, with the Progressive Party,
currently holds the majority of seats
in parliament.
Of course, the owner of a media
giant being pro-business doesn’t
necessarily conflict with editorial
content. But in 365’s case, it’s the
editors who aren’t likely to conflict
with the interests of their owners.
Þorsteinn Pálsson, who was
named editor of the Fréttablaðið
on the first of February, was Prime
Minister of Iceland for the Inde-
pendence Party from 1987 to 1988
and is today a member of a com-
mittee placed in charge of reviewing
Iceland’s constitution. This second
detail is interesting, as the commit-
tee was largely formed in response
to the President of Iceland’s refusal
to sign a controversial media bill
that would have broken up 365.
Pálsson also distinguished
himself as Minister of Fisheries,
a position he was appointed to by
then-Prime Minister Davíð Odds-
son in 1991, as one of the leading
proponents of whaling. Repeatedly
battling for the practise in the halls
of parliament, he most famously
stated, “Continuing over-protec-
tion of whale stocks is a dangerous
and irresponsible course to pursue”
in 1996. Pálsson apparently still
feels this way. A story run by Vísir.
is (the online service for Fréttab-
laðið) featured a story on 7 February
called “Demand is great: Whale
meat is sold out,” which quoted the
chairman of the Society of Whalers
as saying that he was more or less
out of whale meat, although there
“might still be some in the stores.”
A curious quote from a curious
source, considering the fact that
according to a survey conducted in
Iceland by the International Fund
for Animal Welfare last October,
only 7.6% of Icelanders said they
bought whale meat once, only 3.9%
bought it twice and only 2.5%
bought it three times. Add to this
the fact that unsold whale meat
from 2003 was still sitting in cold
storage in the spring of 2005, and
the story loses even more credibil-
ity. But it stands to reason, coming
from a paper edited by the man who
once told Iceland, “It is not a ques-
tion of if but when we will begin
whaling again.”
One of the more puzzling
chang-es made under Pálsson’s
editorialship was the departure of
Guðmundur Magnússon as Frét-
tablaðið’s representative to the
Icelandic Journalists Union – on
the same day that Pálsson became
editor of Fréttablaðið. The union
reports that no explanation has been
given for his termination, but the
last column Magnússon wrote, “The
government receives instructions,”
was exceptionally critical of the gov-
ernment’s involvement in the media.
Sources outside of Fréttablaðið
see Pálsson as already taking the
paper towards his political views.
Inside sources at Fréttablaðið claim
that, as of our press time, Páls-
son had not yet started work, and
the changes at the paper are either
coincidental, or indicate the general
mood of the organisation—that
the hiring of Pálsson demonstrated
a long-standing undisclosed lean
towards the Independence Party
values.
As for DV, one of their two new
editors, Björgvin Guðmundsson,
is a former journalist for Morgun-
blaðið and was previously the
chairman of Heimdallur, the society
for Young Independence Party
members. Heimdallur’s website,
Frelsi.is, has touted such ideas as
the wage difference between the
sexes is due to more women than
men staying home with children,
and that foreigners should not be
given Icelandic citizenship unless
they pass a primary school exam in
Icelandic.
Social Democratic MP Mörður
Árnason is among those who have
expressed concerns about Edwald,
Pálsson and Guðmundsson and
their connections to the Independ-
ence Party.
“When a newspaper calls itself
independent,” he told the Grape-
vine, “but hires a former Independ-
ence Party chairman as its editor,
questions pop up regarding the
policy of the paper, and the readers
will naturally demand answers. I
don’t think [Pálsson] can entirely be
trusted.”
Árnason emphasised that he felt
Pálsson’s position on the constitu-
tion committee was a conflict of
interest.
“I think he should consider
resigning from the committee posi-
tion,” he said. “The fear arises that
these connections will influence the
editorial policies of the paper, in the
case of both Fréttablaðið and DV.
After all, what’s in a paper is just as
important as what’s not.”
Árnason has written on the sub-
ject on his website (www.mordur.
is), in response to which, Morgun-
blaðið devoted their 3 February
Staksteinar column to the subject,
where they wondered what Árnason
must think of the media bill now.
With Edwald, Pálsson and Guð-
mundsson – all staunch Independ-
ence Party supporters - at the helm
of Iceland’s largest media conglom-
erate, and with state media under
the control of the same party, this
leaves us with Iceland’s two other
papers, Morgunblaðið and Blaðið,
to provide an alternative. Unfortu-
nately, an alternative voice is not
likely to be forthcoming.
Grand Old Paper
Long considered an “Independence
Party newspaper,” Morgunblaðið’s
editor is Styrmir Gunnarsson. In
2003, Gunnarsson published a long
article in his newspaper defending
Hannes Hólmstein Gissurarson,
a key Independence Party player
accused of plagiarism for a book
he “wrote” about Nobel Laureate
Halldór Laxness. Gunnarsson has
also never been shy about his affec-
tion for Davíð Oddsson, having told
the AP in 2004, “David Oddsson
has succeeded in moulding our so-
ciety ... because he has not wavered
from his policies, because of his way
of governing, and because of his
personality.”
A source who spoke to the
Grapevine under the condition of
strict anonymity told us that, “It is
a long-term practise of the editor of
Morgunblaðið to assign sources that
journalists can and cannot contact.”
Newcomer Blaðið is directed
by Sigurður G. Guðjónsson, who
used to be the managing direc-
tor of Norðurljós before it became
incorporated into 365. While Blaðið
was originally thought of as an
alternative to other newspapers in
the country, it is now 50% owned by
Árvakur – the company that owns
Morgunblaðið, and from its found-
ing it never claimed that it would
offer a different approach to the
news than other papers.
In the interests of full disclosure,
it should be noted that 50% of the
owners of our paper - guys who sign
our paychecks - are members of the
Independence Party.
1
300.000
ÍSLENDINGAR
400.000
FERÐAMENN
Loksins!
Auglýsingadeild The Reykjavík Grapevine | 540 3600 | ads@grapevine.is
– Reykjavík’s Only English Language NewspaperThe Reykjavík Grapevine
Auglýstu í Grapevine sem – loksins – með
nýjasta Íslendingnum nær til 700 þúsund manns