AARHUS, Denmark —NLA Mediehøgskolen in Norway is collaborating with Constructive Institute (CI) in Denmark to make the two Nordic countries a global hub of constructive journalism.
Professor Terje Skjerdal, the Master of Arts (MA) coordinator in global journalism at NLA, disclosed this last week at the University of Arhus in Denmark.
Speaking at a mini-conference organized by the CI, Skjerdal observed that the five Nordic countries – Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland – need to join the Nordic media market to galvanize efforts for global journalism.
Skjerdal explained that this should occur through teaching at the higher education level, organizing global conferences and holding training programs for media practitioners, particularly, international journalists. He welcomed the collaboration as essential for improving journalism.
Skjerdal said that there are over 600 print media organizations in the five Nordic countries, the majority of whom were benefiting government subsidies.
He observed that among the Nordic media, Norway was the first to switch from former Frequency Modulation (FM) to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) in January 2007, as part of the global shift in media practice.
A decline in advertising and TV licenses
Nordic countries comprise 3 percent of the population of Europe. In the media economy among Nordic countries, Skjerdal noted that low advertising revenue has become a challenge since its decline in 2008.
He said the Nordic media were globally operating in a strong market position. However, in the era of payment of TV license to Public Service Broadcasters, there was a need to switch the license payment to public service tax, where both public and private workers would be deducted license fees through a taxing system.
Making journalism better for tomorrow
Jacob Fuglsang, a Fellow at the CI, said attempts by the institute to espouse constructive journalism attempted to improve the future of global media.
He pointed out a need for the media to operate within the confines of constructive journalism, which CIA and NLA were hoping to achieve.
Fuglsang indicated that the seven-member board of the CI was closing in on university researchers and creating fellowships for journalists to brainstorm issues affecting global media.
“Constructive journalism gives media consumers a comprehensive view of an issue, inspiring them and facilitating public debate around a better tomorrow,” he stated.
Changing news culture in 5 years
Fuglsang expressed determination of the collaboration “to change the global news culture in five years time.”
Accordingly, that reinforced a need for external partnerships with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation with support from Google, Facebook, and other media players to work on media trust and transparency.
“Constructive journalism is a response to increasing tabloidization, sensationalism and negativity bias of the news media today. It is an approach that aims to provide audiences with a fair, accurate and contextualized picture of the world, without overemphasizing the negative and what is going wrong,” Fuglsang reiterated.
Joseph Kyei-Boateng is a journalist, communication consultant and MA candidate in Global Journalism at NLA University College, Norway. Read other articles by Joseph.
