Sverre Mitsem (writer)
Encyclopedia
Sverre Mitsem was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and article writer. He is known as editor-in-chief of Tønsbergs Blad
Tønsbergs Blad
Tønsbergs Blad is a local newspaper published in Tønsberg, Norway. The newspaper was founded by printer Hans Jørgen Magnus Hansen on 3 August 1870, with an initial circulation of 210 copies. By the turn of the century the circulation had grown to 2,600. In 1881 the newspaper was purchased by...

from 1954 to 1977 (until 1963 joint with Realph Norland
Realph Norland
Realph Norland was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Conservative Party, best known as editor-in-chief of Tønsbergs Blad.-Career:...

) and for the column "SORRY" in Aftenposten
Aftenposten
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...

, which he wrote from 1946 to 1996.

Career

He was born in Glemmen
Glemmen
Glemmen is a parish and former municipality with the city of Fredrikstad, Østfold county, Norway.-History:The parish of Glemminge was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 . A part of Glemmen with 2,013 inhabitants was moved to Fredrikstad 1 January 1867...

, and had his first journalist job in Fredriksstad Blad.. He later travelled to Kristiania to study, but instead started working in Norges Fremtid. He then worked as a journalist with ABC and Tidens Tegn
Tidens Tegn
Tidens Tegn is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1910 to 1941.-Editors:The founder and first editor-in-chief of Tidens Tegn was Ola Thommessen, who edited the newspaper until 1917. Thommessen had recently left the editor chair of Verdens Gang in protest, bringing much of Verdens...

between 1936 and 1941. These two publications were located on the authoritarian right wing politically; ABC had ties to Fedrelandslaget
Fedrelandslaget
The Fatherland League was a political organisation in Norway, which was founded on 25 January 1925. By the initiative of young industrialist Joakim Lehmkuhl, the organisation was co-founded with polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen and former Prime Minister Christian Michelsen...

, whereas Tidens Tegn was a former party organ of the Liberal People's Party (Frisinnede Folkeparti). In the summer of 1940, Mitsem also participated in radio broadcasts in the Nazi-controlled Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Tidens Tegn was permanently discontinued in 1941 because of the Nazi occupation, but in 1942 Mitsem was asked by Realph Norland
Realph Norland
Realph Norland was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Conservative Party, best known as editor-in-chief of Tønsbergs Blad.-Career:...

 to work in the newspaper Tønsbergs Blad
Tønsbergs Blad
Tønsbergs Blad is a local newspaper published in Tønsberg, Norway. The newspaper was founded by printer Hans Jørgen Magnus Hansen on 3 August 1870, with an initial circulation of 210 copies. By the turn of the century the circulation had grown to 2,600. In 1881 the newspaper was purchased by...

, which had ties to the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...

. He began working there in 1945 when World War II was over. In 1954 he was promoted to co-editor alongside Norland, and when Norland died in 1963 Mitsem became the sole editor-in-chief. He retired in 1977.

Mitsem reached out to an even larger audience with the column "SORRY e. Trollhaugens Tass" in Aftenposten
Aftenposten
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...

, which was Norway's largest circulated newspaper until 1981. He was contacted by their news editor P. Chr. Andersen
P. Chr. Andersen
Peder Christian Andersen, often shortened to P. Chr. Andersen was a Norwegian sports official and journalist....

 in October 1945, who wanted a daily column with humorous and satirical tidbits. The column took the shape of an eponymous cocker spaniel; the dog figure was chosen from a series of candidates presented by Egil Meidell Hopp. Mitsem continued the column long after his retirement, and quit in 1996 after fifty years. He was nearing his 89th birthday at that time. The column was carried on by others. Mitsem was also a theatre critic for Høyres Pressebyrå, which delivered articles to a large number of conservative newspapers. He also wrote petit articles in Tønsbergs Blad under the pseudonym "Gambrinius", and in Tidens Tegn under the pseudonym "Andriksen". Many articles were published as books.

He was also a member of the board of Høyres Pressebyrå. He was active in the Riksmål Society
Riksmålsforbundet
Riksmålsforbundet is the main organisation for Riksmål, one of the written standard of the Norwegian language ....

, and won their award "The Golden Pen". In 1970 he won the Narvesen Prize
Narvesen Prize
The Narvesen Prize was a Norwegian prize for those who excelled in journalism. It was established in 1954 by the company Narvesen, but the Norwegian Press Association was behind the selection of winners...

for journalism. He died in 2004.
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