Media Trends in the Nordic Countries 2-2018 reports on a number of media surveys, research results, media policy issues, etc., in the Nordic countries. Below are some examples of the content in this new issue.
Denmark, Sweden and Finland are the EU’s best performing countries in digitisation, according to a digital EU-index. As a non-EU member Norway is not included in the ranking, but is at the same high level as its neighbouring Nordic countries.
Media consumption is becoming increasingly digital. National studies show sharp increases for streaming services and a continuous growth for social media, but also clear generation gaps in media usage.
The digital platforms are playing an increasingly central role in news consumption as well: according to the Digital News Report 2018, the majority of the Nordics use online news weekly. The Nordics are also
the most willing to pay for news online.
News media are important to the functioning of society; in a study by Pew Research, this is the majority opinion in Denmark, Sweden, and six other European countries. But the level of media trust differs between the countries and between people with populist/non-populist views.
In the political field, the Finnish Government has decided on a media policy programme for the next five years. In Denmark a new media agreement has been set, as has a public service contract for DR, which involves significant cuts in DR’s operations. The Swedish Government wants to replace the public service license fee with a tax, and the Swedish Public Service Committee has presented its proposals for an update of the new public service remit for SR/SVT/UR.
The Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish Governments have taken steps
to increase media and information literacy – and the resilience to disinformation, propaganda and hate speech online – in all parts of the population. The Swedish initiatives are rooted in a knowledge overview
of MIL in Sweden (which also contains a chapter on Finland and Norway), published by Nordicom.
As for news from Nordicom, we are happy to present a new Nordic scientific journal, the first issue of which will be published in Spring 2019.
We also welcome new contributions to Nordicom Review, and invite the research community to the Behind the Paywall 2019 conference in January.
Read and download the newsletter (PDF, 833 kB)
Eva Harrie