Atlantica - 01.09.2004, Page 76

Edward Weinman: How can an English-language newspaper circulated
in Iceland be successful?
Valur Gunnarsson: We all read English. At the university every book is in
English – television, films. If you want to know anything about what’s
going on outside of this country you have to read English.
EW: Who’s reading the Grapevine?
VG: Tourists and foreigners living in Iceland, mostly. But I hear Icelandic
teenagers saying it’s a cool magazine. I also hear older people in bars
saying that they read it cover to cover. I don’t look at demographics. I just
try to make a magazine that I’d read myself.
EW: Are you worried about publishing the Grapevine during the winter
when tourism declines?
VG: That’s a headache for the ad department, not me.
EW: The Icelandic press is fairly tame. You guys are not fairly tame, to
put it politely.
VG: We have a saying: “Sharp is the eye of the visitor.” We have a fair
amount of foreigners writing for us. Our staff doesn’t have any family ties
to the establishment. Most tourist magazines feature Gullfoss and Geysir,
but we want to scratch the surface and see what’s going on underneath.
EW: The Grapevine pays close attention to the local music scene. What
single Icelandic CD would you recommend?
VG: The best Icelandic album of all time might be “Loftmynd” by Megas,
a love/hate letter to Reykjavík by Megas in honour of Reykjavik’s 201st
birthday. Another of Reykjavík’s leading offspring, Björk, is on backing
vocals.
EW: What bothers you most about Icelandic society?
VG: Complacency. Icelanders just accept things. It’s almost a competition
over who can tolerate the most. Wanting improvements is seen as com-
plaining and whining.
EW: Where does this complacent attitude come from?
VG: It’s tempting to blame it on the weather. Iceland’s enemy over the
years hasn’t been foreign invaders. It’s been the weather and the climate
and there’s nothing you can do about the weather but dig yourself into
your mud hut. You can only bear it and wait until it passes.
EW: What do you enjoy about Icelandic society?
VG: That it’s a microcosm. In a bigger society you seem to stick to your
own group and you never know what’s going on outside of that group. In
a small society you get an insight into what’s going on at all levels.
EW: What’s one of the biggest issues Icelanders will be facing over the
next 20 years?
VG: The same issues that we’re facing today. It’s becoming more of a
global village and a multicultural world and how is Iceland going to deal
with that. Do we move further and further away from our dependence on
fish with tourism and technology, or do we want to build factories in
every fjord?
EW: Why do you think Reykjavík has become such a popular tourist des-
tination in recent years?
VG: Björk may have had something to do with bringing Iceland to peo-
ple’s attention, but the one thing most tourists have in common is that
they want to avoid other tourists. It is therefore the nature of the game
that they want to go to more and more obscure places. Iceland still fits
the bill, but it won’t forever. Greenland’s next.
EW: What are the three defining characteristics of Icelanders?
VG: Stubbornness, even in the face of overwhelming logic; individuality,
even if expressed the same way as everyone else, and an utter inability
to think about things in the long term – which can make for great
Saturday Nights.
EW: Finish this sentence: the one thing that would make Iceland a better
place to live is...
VG: More – more of everything. More people, more variety. More compe-
tition in every sector, which would bring prices down. It’ll be great in 50
years.
Compiled by Edward Weinman
74 A T L A N T I C A
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Q&A
The At lant i ca
INQUIS IT ION
It started out as just another crazy idea
thought up over beers in a pub in Prague. In
its second year, the Reykjavik Grapevine, a
summer, bi-weekly, is Iceland’s third large-
st newspaper. And get this, it’s printed in
English. Edward Weinman sits down
with Grapevine editor, Valur Gunnarsson,
who is now planning to publish the paper
during the winter.
V A L U R
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