Iceland review - 2016, Page 43

ICELAND REVIEW 41
1. Did you realize this story would
have such a big impact—that the infor-
mation would result in worldwide cov-
erage and, ultimately, in the stepping
down of Iceland’s prime minister?
Of course I had thought about what con-
sequences the story would have, but I did
not realize it would be this massive and
that it would have such a huge impact.
2. The interview you conducted along-
side Sven Bergman, with now former
prime minister Sigmundur Davíð
Gunnlaugsson, went viral. While it has
received a lot of praise, some people have
also questioned the ethics of the methods
used. Sigmundur Davíð was told the
interview was about Iceland’s post-crash
recovery, but then you confronted him
about his links to an offshore company.
What is your take on this discussion,
when is it justifiable to use such meth-
ods?
The decision was taken by Reykjavik
Media, SVT and ICIJ. We felt that
Sigmundur Davíð would never agree to
an interview about the offshore company
Wintris Inc., and, therefore, we chose
this path, guided by public interest.
3. Particularly following the 2008
financial crash, there was discussion
about the poor state of journalism in
Iceland, that it wasn’t critical enough,
that journalists needed to raise their
game and that there hadn’t really been
any investigative reporting here. Have
things improved?
Investigative journalism is embattled and
the situation now is no better than back
then. Investigative journalism needs a
boost and journalists need to be given the
chance to work on cases for an extended
period of time. The public loves inform-
ation and exposés and those combine to
strengthen democracy.
4. You’ve stated that Reykjavik Media,
which you established last year, will not
allow special interests or pressure from
authorities to affect your work. Iceland
was in 21st place in the Reporters with-
out Borders Press Freedom Index 2015,
down by 13 places in one year. What
is the state of press freedom in Iceland
today?
I can only speak for Reykjavik Media,
which is an independent medium with
only one goal: to relay the truth. No one
can influence that.
5. But presumably one of the reasons
you set up Reykjavik Media was that you
felt you couldn’t do the kind of work you
want to do while working for another
media organization in Iceland? Why
has press freedom suffered so much in
our country?
I’ve never been prevented from working
on news at the media organizations I’ve
worked for. On the other hand, I’ve not
had much job security in journalism, i.e.,
I haven’t had a permanent job in the past
few years, which is part of the reason I
decided to set up my own media organ-
ization.
6. How does Iceland’s size influence
Icelandic journalism and journalistic
practices?
Iceland is a small country and here,
almost everyone knows everybody. I have
sometimes received information about
a good story connected to someone I
know, and in those cases I’ve given the
story to another journalist.
MEDIA
Jóhannes Kr. Kristjánsson.
Here, Jóhannes answers
15 questions about the case
and the state of the media
in Iceland.