Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.09.2014, Blaðsíða 16

16
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2014
Media | Trouble
All of Gaul is occupied by
the Romans
First, the backstory: a short overview of
Icelandophone news media currently in
print. For the sake of relative brevity, I
will keep the weeklies out of this picture.
Limiting our scope to media pub-
lished more-frequently-than-weekly, or
would-be-dailies, leaves us with three
newspapers. Daily paper Morgunblaðið
is owned by fishing industry barons, and
edited by Davíð Oddsson, former Prime
Minister and Chairman of the Party—
that's the Independence Party, in case
you're new around here. For decades,
Morgunblaðið used to be the Party's ex-
plicit mouthpiece, before specializing as
the mouthpiece of the Party's bitterest
faction.
The daily Fréttablaðið, on the other
hand, was founded at the optimistic
dawn of the century, by Davíð's arch ri-
vals in the Baugur Group, as the medium
of choice for new money, competing with
Morgunblaðið's relations with old money.
For a while, due to diplomatic necessity,
it seems, Fréttablaðið's chief editor was
also a former chairman of the Party—the
same party, yes—the more gently man-
nered, but no less conservative, Þorsteinn
Pálsson. He was succeeded by one Ólafur
Stephensen, former assistant editor of
Morgunblaðið. Right-wing, yes, but of the
soft-spoken liberal variety, as opposed to
Morgunblaðið's current bulldozer ap-
proach.
Now, at the end of August, Ólafur Ste-
phensen quit, or was forced to quit, as the
paper's owners seem to have wanted an
even tamer editor. The paper currently
seems to have a chief, plain and simple,
rather than a chief editor. The chief, i.e.
publisher Kristín Þorsteinsdóttir, is an
experienced corporate spokesperson,
who became known shortly after the
2008 bank crash for encouraging the
public to let go of the anger, stop seeking
justice through the courts, et cetera. All
in all, an impressive candidate to create
lousier media still.
All? Not quite!
Then there is the not-quite daily tabloid
DV. Much like the publication you are
now reading, The Reykjavík Grapevine,
which is supposedly sort of a tourist
rag, DV has outgrown what could be ex-
pected of it as a mere tabloid. Yes, there is
some of the latest on Justin Bieber and all
that, but at least since 2009, the paper has
been at the forefront of critical, investiga-
tive and, at times, aggressive journalism.
A notable example: While Morgunblaðið
and Fréttablaðið received, and proceed-
ed to uncritically publish, notes from the
Ministry of Interior 's leaked memo, slan-
dering asylum seeker Tony Omos, DV's
journalists started their investigation
as to who leaked it, how and why. Their
thorough pursuit of the facts of the mat-
ter has since led to a police investigation,
a formal investigation into the Minister's
meddling in the police work, the Minis-
ter's quasi-resignation, an upcoming con-
gressional hearing and more. As a tabloid,
the paper tends to focus somewhat more
on persons, their stories, their hubris and
their pathos, than other types of critical
media might.
While theirs may not be the ideal ap-
proach to investigative journalism, it has,
for a while, been more or less the only ap-
proach in town—actual journalism's last
resort. Meanwhile other papers copy and
paste news releases, and slander asylum
seekers. This is neither anecdotal nor a
vague feeling: according to María Elísa-
bet Pallé's 2012 thesis on Icelandic me-
dia after the 2008 bank collapse, news
analysis was more than twice as common
in DV as in the second contending news-
paper. Independent journalistic research
was three times more common in DV
than in the next best paper. Furthermore,
DV was the only paper that printed no
copy-pasted news releases, whereas in
Morgunblaðið and Fréttablaðið, 18-20%
of news consisted of such material. DV
has, in other words, been vitally impor-
tant in the eyes of those who prefer their
media independent, while, at best, irritat-
ing to those who prefer it tame.
Life is not easy for the
Roman legionaries …
Earlier this year, one Björn Leifsson,
owner of the chain of gyms known as
“World Class,” filed a libel suit against
DV. Apparently the paper insisted there
was something fishy about his business,
whereas he claims there is not. Now, at
the end of August, however, Björn made it
known that he had bought a minor share
in the paper, with the declared intention
to get rid of its editor, Reynir Traustason.
Last weekend, Björn then sold the shares
to owners who proceed to form a new
board. Technically, they have not fired
Reynir, but suspended him of his duties,
locked him out of the building, and hired
a new chief editor.
Members of the legal team involved
in the takeover include lawyer Sigurður
G. Guðjónsson, who led the defence of
former Landsbanki manager Sigurjón Þ.
Árnason. He has also published articles
in defence of Gísli Freyr Valdórsson, the
Minister of Interior's former assistant,
who now faces criminal charges for
leaking the infamous memo, mentioned
above. All this is not, Sigurður says, rel-
evant to anything. More on that later. The
new board hired old-timer Hallgrímur
Thorsteinsson as the paper's editor. With
decades of experience, he enjoys general
professional respect, and at least some of
DV's journalists seem willing to work un-
der his charge. The board, however, and
Sigurður Guðjónsson's involvement, is a
different story: the tactics employed in
the takeover don’t seem to have created
much trust between owners and staff.
One of the many articles that Sigurður
Guðjónsson wrote during the chang-
ing of the guard was titled “The Man
With The Hat,” a reference to suspended
editor Reynir, who is a somewhat iconic
hat-bearer. On Monday, having finalized
the takeover on behalf of his clients, Sig-
urður then entered DV's office, sporting
a hat like Reynir's. These tactics, which
some likened to the
heathen practices of
wearing a victim's
flayed skin to boast,
did not exactly boost
morale. More serious
issues include insinu-
ations that Sigurður
also made public on
Monday financial
misconduct by the
old team. These al-
legations remain un-
substantiated, and
were grammatically
formulated just about
right to avoid any li-
bel suits if they prove
unfounded. The new
board has announced
that the paper's finances, as well as its
journalistic methods, shall be investigat-
ed.
Holding out, strong as
ever, against the invader
The journalists resist, in what seems to be
a sceptical atmosphere, at best. Five jour-
nalists have resigned. Those who still re-
main demand that the board apologise to
Reynir and cancel the announced inves-
tigation into their professional conduct,
seeing such a process, as an uncalled-for
declaration of mistrust. On Monday, the
day of the hat and the first working day
after the weekend's events, the journal-
ists staged a sit-in at their own office,
refusing to write any material until their
demands were met. Accordingly, last
Tuesday's paper did not come out. The
investigation of the paper's journalistic
practices may have been cancelled at this
point. Staff members seem unsure about
how to proceed.
These are just the latest events in a
long history of local media power strug-
gles. In his articles published during
this change of ownership, Sigurður G.
Guðjónsson, the hat-man, has denied that
he plays any part in what he says is not a
hostile takeover and is absolutely not in-
tended to silence an editor who was to-
tally corrupt and inept
anyway. I am not fully
up-to-date on current
trends in Iceland's
Kremlinology. Since
this non-hostile non-
takeover has allegedly
nothing to do with
anything, I lack clear
insight into whether
it had less to do, then,
with the interests of
the Ministry of Inte-
rior's former staff or
grudges harboured in
World Class gyms and
tanning stations.
What clearly
seems to be the case,
though, is that a pa-
per that remained relatively independent
among Iceland's printed news media is
being steered into the hands of people we
can safely call players. People, that is, who
are directly involved in the power strug-
gles that shape the country and which the
media is supposed to shed some light on.
Accordingly, many of those involved have
expressed an interest in peaceful media.
The case of the Ministry's leaked memo is
one touchstone for what this means. Tak-
en up by the courts, the case has entered
a new phase, but is certainly not, thereby,
over. Whether DV's journalists, or any
journalists for that matter, remain free
to cover that phase remains to be seen.
By journalists, we mean capable people
receiving paychecks for their work, and
by cover, mean doing more than repeat-
ing words uttered or issued by the parties
involved. Preferrably, a lot more.
You wouldn't call it a media blackout, I guess. Because that
would be hard to prove, and if you can't prove it, someone
might sue you. Newspapers have been changing hands,
however, and a lot of private interest seems to be involved.
This Is Not A
Media Blackout!
The Romans have not taken
over the media! Move
along, please!
Words by Haukur Már Helgason
Collage by Haukur Már Helgason
“The board, however,
and Sigurður Guðjóns-
son's involvement, is
a different story: the
tactics employed in the
takeover don’t seem
to have created much
trust between owners
and staff.”