Free International University of Moldova

Reference to English
Theme: Journalism in Sweden

Author: Titica Irina Teacher: Rusu Alexandra

Swedish media has a long tradition going back to the 1776 law enacting freedom of the press. The press is subsidized by the government and is owned by many actors, the dominant owner being Bonnier AB. Swedish TV and Radio was until the mid-1980s a government monopoly, which slowly has been eroded despite resistance, e.g. a call for prohibition of private ownership of satellite dish receivers. Swedish media has mechanisms for self-regulation, such as the Swedish Press Council. The Swedish press is subsidized by the government through Press support. Originally this was directly distributed through the political parties to their supporting newspapers, but nowadays subsidies are more direct in form, and are tied to certain requirements, e.g. a minimum of 2000 subscribers. Support also exists in indirect form in the shape of partial tax-exceptions. Freedom of the press in Sweden dates back to 1766 when it was enshrined in a law enacted by the Riksdag of the Estates (see Freedom of the press#SwedenFinland). It is today a part of the Constitution of Sweden. The Swedish newspaper with the widest circulation is the evening newspaper Aftonbladet, controlled by the Norwegian media conglomerate Schibsted (majority holder) and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation. Its competitor, Expressen, is controlled by Bonnier AB and has sister editions in Gothenburg (GT) and Malm (Kvllsposten). Bonnier AB also controls the major national morning newspaper, Dagens Nyheter. Its Stockholm competitor Svenska Dagbladet is owned by Schibsted. Gteborgs-Posten is the major regional newspaper in Gothenburg and the west of Sweden, while another Bonnier-owned newspaper, Sydsvenska Dagbladet, dominates in Malm and the south. Bonnier AB also owns Sweden's major business newspaper, Dagens Industri. The Local is one of the few English language general news websites in the country. Through its subsidiary Bonnier Tidskrifter AB, Bonnier AB also controls many of Sweden's most popular magazines, such as Amelia, Allt om Mat, Teknikens Vrld and the business magazine Veckans Affrer. Other major magazine publishers in Sweden are Allers frlag, the Danish-controlled Egmont and the French Hachette Filipacchi Mdias. Television trials from the Royal Institute of Technology started in 1954. Broadcasts officially started in 1956. The broadcasts were made by the public broadcaster Sveriges Radio. When a second channel, TV2, started in 1969 it was broadcast by the same company, but the two channels were supposed to compete against each other. Since SR was split into four different companies in the late 70s, the television broadcasting has been the responsibility of Sveriges Television (SVT). Sweden was an early adopter of digital terrestrial television, officially launching it in April 1999. The analogue shutdown of the SVT and TV4 signals started in September 2005 and was completed in late 2007. Four companies and five channels dominate the Swedish television viewing:SVT with SVT1 and SVT2 TV4 Gruppen with TV4 (owned by

Bonnier) Viasat with TV3 (owned by Modern Times Group) SBS Broadcasting Group with Kanal 5 (owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media) National radio is dominated by public service company Sveriges Radio (SR), which is funded through the same fee that is collected for television sets. SR have four national channels: P1, P2, P3 and P4. P4 is a regional network where 25 stations broadcast locally for much of the day.