Saqqummersitaq

This article describes the historical development of media policy in Greenland, and the shifts in the underlying normative and causal ideas that legitimise media policy. I argue that media policy reflects changes in Greenland’s political system. Specifically, under colonial rule, Greenlandic media was state run and media was seen as an instrument to educate the population. Gradually, with the introduction of home rule, a paradigm shift took place, whereby media was seen as a vital instrument to strengthen Greenlandic language and identity. At the same time, normative ideas of media independence appeared which called for institutionalisation of the arm’s length principle. Due to the influence and institutional spill-over from Denmark, I argue, Greenlandic media policy fit rather well into the “Nordic media model” although media policy in Greenland is mostly formulated without long-term or broad political agreements.

Covid-19 drog in över Norden med full kraft under våren 2020. Ett år senare har pandemin fortfarande världen i ett starkt grepp. Både de hälsorelaterade och de ekonomiska konsekvenserna av viruset har dock varierat mellan de nordiska länderna. Samma sak gäller för den politiska responsen.

I den här rapporten görs en bred belysning av konsekvenserna av Coronapandemin för de nordiska nyhetsmedierna. Studien fokuserar på följande aspekter: reklammarknadens utveckling, publikmarknadens utveckling, politiska stödinsatser samt, avslutningsvis, de övergripande strukturella och ekonomiska konsekvenserna för de nordiska nyhetsmediemarknaderna av pandemin. Rapporten bygger på data för perioden mars till december 2020 och det redaktionella arbetet avslutades i mitten av mars 2021.

Studien har genomförts av Nordicom vid Göteborgs universitet i samarbete det nordiska medieforskarnätverket ”Nordic Media Systems Research Network”. Rapporten har initierats och finansierats av Nordiska ministerrådet.

This study compares the media systems of the West Nordic countries, namely the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. All three countries are democratic welfare states with considerable institutional transfer from the larger Nordic countries. It is argued that the West Nordic media systems fit into the “Nordic model” when it comes to the perception of media as cultural institutions as well as the central role of public service media. On the other hand, the micro-size of the media systems in the West Nordic countries makes them vulnerable, and makes editorial independence more difficult compared with their larger Nordic neighbours. In particular, media outlets within these micro-size media systems seem more susceptible to clientelism, and journalists seem more inclined towards self-censorship. This article highlights how interplay between small size and distinct local factors shape the media system in each of the West Nordic countries.