Aftenposten
Encyclopedia
Aftenposten is Norway
's largest newspaper
. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang
which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo
. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007. In addition, the evening edition, which is only distributed to the populous central eastern part of Norway has a circulation of 131,089. Aftenposten has a long tradition of serious journalism, and is by many considered to be the leading Norwegian newspaper
. Strong competition in a shrinking market has made the paper opt for a broader appeal, however, as signified by the conversion from broadsheet
to compact
format in 2005.
Aftenposten is a private company wholly owned by the public company Schibsted ASA
. Aftenposten has approximately 740 employees. Editor-in-chief is Hilde Haugsgjerd
(2010).
counties. Thus, it focuses on news related to this area, in contrast with the morning edition, which focuses on national and international news. The evening edition was converted to tabloid format in 1997. From April 2006, the Thursday edition of Aften also includes a special edition with news specific to a part of Oslo or Akershus
, called Lokal Aften ("Local Evening"). There are eight versions of this edition, each subscriber receives the version which is most relevant to the area in which he or she lives. In areas that are not covered by any of the eight versions (for example Romerike
and Follo
), the version for central Oslo is distributed. From May 2009 Aften is only printed and distributed 3 days a week, Tuesday to Thursday.
Historically, Aftenposten labelled itself as "independent, conservative
", most closely aligning their editorial platform with the Norwegian conservative party, Høyre. This manifested itself in blunt anti-communism during the inter-war era. During the Second World War Aftenposten, due to its large circulation, was put under the directives of the German occupational authorities, and a Nazi editorial management was imposed.
, was a Kremlin agent. London correspondent Hilde Harbo admitted to have let herself be fed disinformation from the Russian emigrant community, without investigating the matter properly. Aftenposten eventually had to apologize, and pay Ms Svetlichnaja's legal costs.
, thus in essence politically aligned with a large majority of Norway's press.
than more commonly used norms. In 1990, Aftenposten adopted the latest Riksmål spelling standard of 1986 as its language guideline. This language standard is maintained by a private organization called Riksmålsforbundet
, and not by the official Norwegian language council Norsk språkråd. As such it is not an officially accepted norm for Norwegian written language. Since it is largely compatible with the most conservative form of the officially sanctioned, and more common norm Bokmål
, this is somewhat less controversial than one would assume. However, Aftenposten has been under repeated criticism for its very strict editorial policy on this matter; mainly because it converts every contribution to the newspaper, including letters from readers, into this language standard - even if they were correctly written according to official language guidelines.
The online version of the paper had a large English
section, and is one of the favourite sources for Norwegian news in English amongst the Norwegian diaspora, people of Norwegian descent who live abroad (i.e. in the USA), and others with an interest in Norway. Since early November 2008, Aftenposten no longer publishes stories in English in a cost cutting move. Archives of past material are still available online.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's largest newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...
which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007. In addition, the evening edition, which is only distributed to the populous central eastern part of Norway has a circulation of 131,089. Aftenposten has a long tradition of serious journalism, and is by many considered to be the leading Norwegian newspaper
Newspaper of record
Newspaper of record is a term that may refer either to any publicly available newspaper that has been authorized by a government to publish public or legal notices , or any major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional and...
. Strong competition in a shrinking market has made the paper opt for a broader appeal, however, as signified by the conversion from broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
to compact
Compact (newspaper)
A compact newspaper is a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format, especially one in the United Kingdom. The term is used also for this size came into use in its current use when The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London's commuters, designed to be easier...
format in 2005.
Aftenposten is a private company wholly owned by the public company Schibsted ASA
Schibsted
Schibsted is a Norwegian media conglomerate with operations in 20 countries, the most important being Norway and Sweden. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange....
. Aftenposten has approximately 740 employees. Editor-in-chief is Hilde Haugsgjerd
Hilde Haugsgjerd
Hilde Haugsgjerd is a Norwegian newspaper editor.She was born in Oslo. She was the party leader of the Red Electoral Alliance from 1979 to 1981, and was married to the party's first leader Sigurd Allern from 1972 to 1977....
(2010).
Editions
In addition to the morning edition, Aftenposten publishes a separate evening edition called Aften (previously Aftenposten Aften). This edition was published on weekdays and Saturdays until the Sunday morning edition was reintroduced in 1990. The evening edition is only circulated in the central eastern part of Norway, i.e. Oslo and AkershusAkershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
counties. Thus, it focuses on news related to this area, in contrast with the morning edition, which focuses on national and international news. The evening edition was converted to tabloid format in 1997. From April 2006, the Thursday edition of Aften also includes a special edition with news specific to a part of Oslo or Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
, called Lokal Aften ("Local Evening"). There are eight versions of this edition, each subscriber receives the version which is most relevant to the area in which he or she lives. In areas that are not covered by any of the eight versions (for example Romerike
Romerike
Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Fet, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen, Skedsmo, Sørum and Aurskog-Høland in the southern end , and Ullensaker, Gjerdrum, Nannestad, Nes, Eidsvoll and Hurdal...
and Follo
Follo
Follo is one of three districts in the county of Akershus, Norway. It is located between Oslo and Østfold and includes the southwestern part of the county's area east of Oslo, namely the municipalities Frogn, Oppegård, Ski, Vestby, Ås, Nesodden, and Enebakk...
), the version for central Oslo is distributed. From May 2009 Aften is only printed and distributed 3 days a week, Tuesday to Thursday.
History
Aftenposten was founded by Christian Schibsted May 14, 1860 under the name "Christiania Adresseblad". The following year it was renamed Aftenposten. Since 1885 the paper has printed two daily editions. A Sunday edition was published until 1919, and was reintroduced in 1990. The Friday morning edition carries the A-magasinet supplement, featuring articles on science, politics, and the arts.Historically, Aftenposten labelled itself as "independent, conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
", most closely aligning their editorial platform with the Norwegian conservative party, Høyre. This manifested itself in blunt anti-communism during the inter-war era. During the Second World War Aftenposten, due to its large circulation, was put under the directives of the German occupational authorities, and a Nazi editorial management was imposed.
Controversies
Aftenposten has not received the amount of lawsuits and attention from the Norwegian press association Norsk Presseforbunds committee for press affairs that some of the larger tabloids have. However, there are exceptions. In 2007 Aftenposten alleged that Julia Svetlichnaja, the last person to interview the murdered Russian national Alexander LitvinenkoAlexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
, was a Kremlin agent. London correspondent Hilde Harbo admitted to have let herself be fed disinformation from the Russian emigrant community, without investigating the matter properly. Aftenposten eventually had to apologize, and pay Ms Svetlichnaja's legal costs.
Editorial line
Aftenposten is now seldom regarded as a conservative newspaper; right-leaning critics have often pointed out that the paper has become mainstream social-democratic after the end of the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, thus in essence politically aligned with a large majority of Norway's press.
Language
True to its conservative line, Aftenposten is published in a very conservative form of the Norwegian written language called Riksmål, which keeps closer ties to the Danish languageDanish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
than more commonly used norms. In 1990, Aftenposten adopted the latest Riksmål spelling standard of 1986 as its language guideline. This language standard is maintained by a private organization called Riksmålsforbundet
Riksmålsforbundet
Riksmålsforbundet is the main organisation for Riksmål, one of the written standard of the Norwegian language ....
, and not by the official Norwegian language council Norsk språkråd. As such it is not an officially accepted norm for Norwegian written language. Since it is largely compatible with the most conservative form of the officially sanctioned, and more common norm Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
, this is somewhat less controversial than one would assume. However, Aftenposten has been under repeated criticism for its very strict editorial policy on this matter; mainly because it converts every contribution to the newspaper, including letters from readers, into this language standard - even if they were correctly written according to official language guidelines.
The online version of the paper had a large English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
section, and is one of the favourite sources for Norwegian news in English amongst the Norwegian diaspora, people of Norwegian descent who live abroad (i.e. in the USA), and others with an interest in Norway. Since early November 2008, Aftenposten no longer publishes stories in English in a cost cutting move. Archives of past material are still available online.
Aftenposten (morning paper)
Numbers from the Norwegian Media Businesses' Association, Mediebedriftenes Landsforening 1980 - 2009:
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Aften (evening paper)
Numbers from the Norwegian Media Businesses' Association, Mediebedriftenes Landsforening: 1989 - 2009:
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See also
- List of Norwegian newspapers
- List of non-English newspapers with English language subsections
- Radio GagaRadio GagaRadio Gaga is a comic strip created by the Norwegian humourist «Flis» .The series started in 2001, and is about characters who run a local radio station called Radio Gaga. Although the action takes place in the radio environment, it's mostly about the somewhat eccentric characters, and not so much...