Who owns the media in sweden

To others, the Internet has brought openness and diversity. What perspective is correct? The answer has significant implications for politics, business, culture, regulation, and innovation. It addresses a highly contentious subject of public debate in many countries around the world.

In this discussion, one side fears the emergence of media empires that can sway public opinion and endanger democracy. The other side believes the Internet has opened media to unpreceden The other side believes the Internet has opened media to unprecedented diversity and worries about excessive regulation by government.

Strong opinions and policy advocates abound on each side, yet a lack of quantitative research across time, media industries, and countries undermines these positions. This book moves beyond the rhetoric of free media and free markets to provide a dispassionate and data-driven analysis of global media ownership trends and their drivers. The book covers thirteen media industries, including television, newspapers, book publishing, film, search engines, ISPs, wireless telecommunication, and others across a to year period in thirty countries.

After examining these countries, this book offers comparisons and analysis across industries, regions, companies, and development levels. It calculates overall national concentration trends beyond specific media industries, the market share of individual companies in the overall national media sector, and the size and trends of transnational companies in overall global media.

Keywords: media , Internet , free markets , television , newspapers , search engines , media concentration , media conglomerates , books , radio , TV , film , telecom , ISPs , China , private investment funds , Google , media regulation. Eli M. This recent development not only illustrates the relative weakening of the local press in Sweden but also precipitates the appearance of class-related patterns of news usage in a country historically known for its egalitarian newspaper consumption.

Historically, there has been a strong relationship between political parties and the press. Beside the older liberal and conservative newspapers, social democratic newspapers and newspapers affiliated with the agrarian Centre party were launched during the first decades of the 20 th century. The system with competing newspapers of different political orientation clashed with the market forces of advertising during the s, and a press subsidy system was formed, aimed at maintaining the political diversity of the newspaper landscape.

Thus, the system with a party press continued to be prevalent. Today, there are almost no ownership ties between political parties and newspapers.

There are, however, a few independent and small online news sites with strong ties to political parties. Furthermore, an increasing number of local newspapers are owned by self-governed foundations, of which many have, at least indirect, ties to the political arena.

The journalistic profession has been strong since the s when the first journalism courses started in Sweden. Most active journalists have been formally educated in journalism. The journalistic ideal is very clear: it is to be a watchdog, a third estate, in society. When the Press Council rules on an infraction, the council produces a brief report that is then published in trade journals, including Pressens Tdining PressJournal and Journalisten The Journalist. Additionally, if a newspaper is censured by the Swedish Press Council, that paper is obligated to report it.

The Press Council does not address programming. The director of the Authority is appointed by the government and has executive powers. A supervisory council appointed by the government oversees the activities of the Authority because it has so much power in the media arena in Sweden.

The Authority grants licenses for radio transmissions and registers all who engage in broadcasting based on the provisions of the Radio and TV Act. It approves cable-broadcasting companies and makes proposals to the government about such things as how licenses for digital terrestrial television should be distributed. The Authority also regulates television standards and has the power to sanction media entities that violate Swedish media rules or laws. The Swedish Broadcasting Commission is another governmental agency responsible for enforcing broadcast media laws.

This commission is specifically responsible for enforcing radio and television programming policies. Television and radio transmissions are legally regulated by the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression of along with the Radio and Television Act of and other related legislation.

The commission reviews program content for compliance with these laws regulating broadcasts and with the licenses given to broadcasters by the government. All Swedish television and radio broadcasts that serve the public, which includes local, regional or national broadcasts, are regulated. This commission also examines programming in Sweden that is distributed by foreign sources via satellite.

These transmissions are regulated by the rules adopted by the European Union member countries. The commission often reviews programming in response to citizen complaints. No fee is charged to lodge a complaint, but the complainant must provide identifying information.

Sometimes, the Director of the Commission initiates program reviews. In addition, this commission conducts and reports on research about the content of television and radio broadcasts in Sweden. The public service broadcasters in Sweden are the most regulated. These companies are expected to broadcast accurately and with impartiality. Any impact that programs may have must be carefully considered before being broadcast. Attention to representations of sex, violence, drug use, and to content that discriminates against people on the basis of gender or ethnicity is required.

These companies, along with consideration of the form and scheduling of the presentation must carefully evaluate the impact of such programming. In addition, they are expected to respect the privacy of individuals and are obligated to other public service activities, such as offering good quality programming, a large variety of program options, and programming that represents the needs and interests of minority communities or views. Investigative news, art, science, and religious programming are expected from these broadcasters.

Programming also must be available for those who are partially deaf or visually impaired. Some of these regulations also apply to TV4, a national commercial broadcaster, and TV4 is also subject to the regulations concerning advertisements and sponsors.

Sweden is also fairly unique in its ban on advertising aimed at children under the age of Sweden argues that young children cannot differentiate between programming and advertising. This law came under review by the European Union, and the European Court of Justice ruled that the ban should only be applied to those who actually broadcast from Sweden.

In other words, broadcasters from other countries may include advertising directed toward children in their programming that is available in Sweden. Cigarette and alcohol advertising is also illegal in Sweden. Sweden prides itself on it free press and has been a strong advocate for freedom of the press around the world. Most of the Swedish censorship laws concern violence, and presenting some scenes of violence is considered a criminal offense. However, despite the clarity and consistency of Sweden's policies against censorship, freedom of the press does experience some challenges.

For example, conflict and even violence related to press freedoms made an unusually troubling year for the media in Sweden, the worst since World War II. Neo-Nazis attempted to intimidate newspaper staff and distributors of Expo, an antiracist newspaper. Newspaper stand windows were broken, and Expo 's printers were stopped from producing the paper. Journalists from other papers rallied around Expo and ensured its survival.

In , when another newspaper and magazine received death threats from biker gangs, they stopped their investigative reports on the gangs. Other newspapers have left journalists' bylines off of biker gang related pieces. Other journalists were intimidated by a gang from covering a trial of a biker charged with attempted murder. Only one of the three news groups threatened chose to press charges against the gang. By , in a concerted effort to combat intimidation by Neo-Nazi groups, the four largest newspapers in the country, Expressen,Aftonbladet,Svenska Dagbladet, and Dagens Nyheter, published the same article and editorials about Neo-Nazi groups in Sweden and included pictures of 61 people thought to be affiliated with Neo-Nazi organizations.

The Prime Minister supported this action and reaffirmed Sweden's commitment to a free and unencumbered press. Another example of Sweden's concern about censorship and a free press system occurred in Sweden was one of only three countries that voted not to classify documents related to the security and defense of the European Union. Newspapers tend not to publish pictures of individuals who have been murdered or killed in accidents to avoid trauma to victims' families.

However, in , the Sydsvenska Dagbladet violated this informal rule by publishing a picture of a man who was shot to death. Although the man's face was not shown, the Press Ombudsman presented the case to the Swedish Press Council. The council concluded that publishing that picture was a violation of the ethical code of conduct for journalists. However, in the Supreme Court in Sweden confirmed the importance of freedom of expression in a celebrated case in which an individual published the names and other personal information of bank officials that he claimed stole his company.

The court ruled that the individual was acting in a journalistic capacity in that he was offering the information to the public and relating his personal experience, as opposed to violating the privacy of the bank personnel. The court reaffirmed Sweden's intent to live by the principle supported by the European Court of Human Rights that allows even shocking and offensive materials to be freely expressed.

In , the central government initiated a parliamentary-based commission charged with examining basic issues related to freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

This commission was deemed necessary because of the many advances in information technology. More specifically, the commission was to explore basic freedom of speech protections that would work across the various methods of transmission or technological developments in information dissemination.

The major threat to freedom of the press in Sweden is the concentration of ownership of the major media in the country. Schibsted, a large Norwegian media organization, holds substantial interest in two of the four largest daily newspapers in the country, with Bonnier, a large Swedish media organization, owns the other two largest dailies, and also owns GT and Kvallsposten, two additional Swedish dailies.

The government and public service radio and television companies have agreements that regulate broadcasts and programming. These companies are expected to serve the public interest, and the government requires a certain amount of variety, education, and quality in their programming. Moreover, although the owners of the three public service companies in radio and television are popular movements, such as labor unions, consumer groups, and religious organizations 60 percent , commerce and industry 20 percent , and the press 20 percent , each of these public service companies have regional organizations, and the government nominates members to most of the governing bodies for these companies.

In addition, although each company is responsible for programming and production, they are also restricted by governmental broadcasting laws. However, the state is supportive of press freedoms, and the central government has initiated much legislation designed to promote and encourage an open and free press.

In fact, the ethical code for journalists in Sweden requires that journalists offer a critical view of governmental legislation and policies. Government records and correspondence are fully available to the media and the general public.

The government also offers subsidies to newspapers to encourage competition and the availability of alternative views in as many communities as possible. The philosophy of the state in terms of the press is that it provides society with an efficient means of communication and debate, and both are necessary for an informed citizenry and an effective democratic society.

The state then is supportive of the principles of a free press, but it also plays a large role in what is broadcast in Sweden. Foreign media are welcomed in Sweden, and several foreign news agencies have bureaus in Stockholm. In fact, the open door policy on governmental records applies to anyone who wants to view them, including foreign media. Foreign media do not need any special licenses or accreditation.

News flows freely both in and out of Sweden. Sweden has attempted to limit some foreign cable and satellite stations to the restrictions placed on Swedish broadcasting companies, but even these efforts have not succeeded as the European Council has essentially ruled that broadcast entities housed in Sweden must operate based on Swedish law, but foreign-based broadcasting companies are not subject to Swedish laws, for example those prohibiting advertising targeted to children.

Several news agencies serve and work out of Sweden. News from the Nordic is presented every hour by this group of journalists, located across the region. This news is presented in seven languages and includes stories about economic, health, political, sports and technological developments. News Agency Direkt originated in and serves financial markets in Sweden. Coverage focuses on market movement, corporate news and earnings, and financial forecasts.

The International News Service is a for-profit news agency that provides Swedish business news, including information about new products and business innovations.

In , Reuters opened a Nordic and Baltic regional bureau with headquarters located in Stockholm. This bureau represents eight countries and provides regional business and news of international interest. More than 42 journalists work in this bureau. The major Swedish news agency is Tidningarnas Telegrambyra. All broadcast media and newspapers in Sweden patronize this news agency that includes news from Sweden and around the world, along with features and information about business, sports, and economic conditions in Sweden and elsewhere.

Television was first broadcast in Sweden in , as a result of a decision by the Parliament to develop television for the public. A second station was not added until , and a third TV4 came into existence in TV4 is an independent entity that is financed commercially. The central antenna system was the basis for cable television in Sweden. In the s and s, many newly constructed apartment buildings had these systems installed.

In , a law allowed for the reception of satellite broadcasts through cable. This led to a rapid expansion of the cable television market. Private commercial cable channels have been legal in Sweden since By the late s, the market for cable stagnated as almost all multi-family residences had cable installed.

Some 88 percent of households have access to either cable or satellite television. There were 4. Television is distributed through a terrestrial network, a cable network, and satellites. Both analog and digital technologies existed in Sweden in Analog transmissions require a license from the government, and three companies held analog terrestrial transmission licenses in In , digital transmissions on the terrestrial network began.

Applications for licenses for such digital transmissions are prepared by the Swedish Radio and TV Authority with the central government deciding on the distribution of licenses.

These digital terrestrial transmissions licenses have been granted to 14 companies. Satellites are used for television transmissions and for telecommunications. The television satellites are geo-stationary, meaning they stay in a single place on the ground. Satellite television transmissions then occur in one of three ways.

Transmissions are carried via satellite between two ground stations, they are carried between a ground station and a cable or broadband network, and they are carried between a ground station and individual subscribers Direct-To-Home transmissions.

Cable networks were upgraded to allow for satellite transmissions beginning in , and this accelerated the growth of the cable industry. In , more than 2. The tremendous growth in the information technology industry has contributed to the services offered by cable television companies. In addition to traditional television transmissions, cable services include video-on-demand and connections to the Internet. Cable networks offer either a further transmission or an original transmission. A further transmission is not altered and occurs simultaneously as it is received from a transmitter on the earth or from a satellite.

An original transmission comes directly from the source, a studio for example. TV21 offers original nationwide transmissions. Television consumers have mostly further transmission channels. The legislation associated with cable transmissions is included in the fundamental law on freedom of expression in and related laws. This fundamental law gives all Swedish citizens the right to transmit programs using cable. This act contains regulations for both radio and television programs intended for the general public and received with the use of advanced technology.

In Sweden, satellites were first used for communications. When satellite capacity increased, television pictures could be shared between national television companies. With increased power in the s, the number of direct satellite broadcasts to the general public increased substantially. Satellites receive transmissions from the ground and send them back to the ground in a designated area. Transponders are built into the satellite and vary in their capacity or bandwidth.

Between 20 and 40 transponders are contained in a single satellite. One transponder may be devoted to an analog channel, whereas a single transponder can transmit 6 to 10 digital channels. A parabolic aerial is needed to receive satellite channels, and digital transmissions require a digital TV-box or decoder.

Satellite transmissions are regulated by the fundamental law on freedom of expression, the Radio and TV Act of , and an ordinance created by the Swedish Radio and TV Authority.

The authority specifically addressed standards for television transmission signals, and the Swedish Consumer Agency supervises the standards for consumer television receivers. Digital terrestrial television was introduced in stages in Sweden in order for the government to determine if and how digital transmissions should occur. Digital terrestrial television was first allowed in the spring of with an act of the Swedish Parliament.

Transmissions actually began in April of with a limited number of areas allowed to receive digital transmissions. More than half of all Swedes were capable of receiving digital terrestrial transmissions in , and the Parliament agreed in November of to extend the coverage to the entire country. By the end of , 98 percent of the population could receive digital transmissions.