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Media Landscape - Iceland

INTRODUCTION

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In order to get some sense of proportion it is necessary to keep in mind some statistics about this small island nation. Although Iceland is three times the size of the Netherlands the population is only 300,000 living in just over 100,000 households. Iceland is heavily urbanised, around 80 per cent of the population live in urban areas and 60 per cent live in the capital, Reykjavík, and surrounding localities.


1. WRITTEN PRESS

In a Gallup-poll about 80 per cent of the population (12-80 years) claimed to read a newspaper daily and 96 per cent to read a newspaper every week in 2004. There are three national daily newspapers with a combined circulation of more than 250,000 copies. Fréttablaðið and Blaðið are distributed to homes, free of charge, while Morgunblaðið relies mainly on subscriptions. Though Fréttablaðið is free of charge, it is distinctly different from the free “Metro” newspapers on the continent. It does not rely on news agencies but has its own editorial staff and is much richer in content.

Two newspapers of special interest are published weekly, Fiskifréttir which reports on the fishing industry and Viðskiptablaðið, a business newspaper. They have a combined weekly circulation of about 6,000. In addition over 20 local and regional papers are published weekly; some sold, but the majority is free of charge. In 2004 their combined average weekly circulation was 49,000.

All the newspapers are tabloid in format and there is no tradition for broadsheets. The newspaper market has gone through significant transformation in recent years, mainly due to the advent of the first free newspaper. It resulted in an aggregated increase in newspaper circulation, rising from 90,000 in 2000 to 156,000 in 2003 (distributed papers), and to around 250,000 in 2006. The circulation of paid-for newspapers has declined by about 20,000 (between 2000 and 2003). The number of magazines has doubled in the past two decades.


2. AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA

There were ten domestic television channels in Iceland in 2004. Out of those ten, four channels broadcasted to all regions of the island and could be considered to have a nation-wide reach. In addition some 50 foreign channels were available, either by cable or by continuous relay. There are around 20 radio stations, four of which broadcast nationally.

The broadcasting sector is characterized by a high degree of consolidation. The state-owned broadcasting corporation, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) is still the most powerful broadcaster. For more than half a century, from 1934-1986, RÚV was ensured a broadcasting monopoly in Iceland by law. In effect however, the monopoly was broken in 1951 when the American military forces, stationed on a NATO-base some 60 kilometres from Reykjavík, launched their own radio station. RÚV operates a television station, two national radio stations and four regional radio stations. (RÚV’s two radio channels dominate the airwaves, with around 52 per cent of listeners tuning into them daily, according to a March 2004 survey.) The regional stations are broadcasted off-the-network.

RÚV is funded by a licence fee, which is levied on all households with TV or radio and from revenues from commercials and sponsorships. Commercial earnings account for about a quarter of RÚV´s television revenue and as much as half of its revenue from radio. The governing board of RÚV is appointed by the parliament, Alþingi. The minister of culture appoints RÚV´s director-general for a period of five years.

By far the largest private broadcasting firm is 365-Miðlar with five television stations and about half of the dozen private radio stations. Measured by their share of viewers/listeners, the company has 37 per cent of the market in television and 44 per cent in radio (2004 figures). The only serious competitor to 365-Miðlar in television, is Skjár einn. It is a free-for-all channel, offering mostly entertainment, predominantly from the United States of America. It has around 20 per cent market share. Other television stations are much smaller and only broadcast regionally, some only for a few hours a day.

Television programmes in Iceland are predominantly of foreign origin. RÚV has the highest share of domestic material of 41 per cent (2004 figures). As much as 37 per cent originates in the USA and the United Kingdom.


3. DIGITAL MEDIA

The interactive service is limied, Skjár einn operates a digital and interactive television service (video on demand), with about 25,000 subscribers, distributed via broadband.

According to a government plan, almost the whole population will have access to digital television by 2007. According to the plan, digital television broadcasts are set to completely replace the analog system by 2010.


4. ONLINE MEDIA

Icelanders have warmly embraced the Internet and in 2002 more than 80 per cent had access, either at home or at work. The three largest and most popular news websites are http://www.mbl.is, http://www.visir.is and http://www.ruv.is.


5. NEWS AGENCIES

There are no news agencies in Iceland and the different media instead relies on its own editorial staff and on foreign news agencies for news from abroad.


6. MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

There are two organisations for journalists and reporters. The Icelandic Union of Journalists has over 500 members. Most journalists at RÚV belong to the Reporters Association.

Media proprietors have no organisation. Árvakur and 365-Media are members of the Confederation of Icelandic Employers. The seven largest advertising agencies and two publishing houses form the Society of Icelandic Advertising Agencies.


7. NATIONAL MEDIA POLICIES

Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Icelandic Constitution which prohibits all kinds of censorship. Iceland is also a signatory to the European Convention of Human Rights.

There is no specific law for media but new laws are in the pipelines which will put limits on ownership of media corporations. As the public broadcaster, RÚV must meet certain obligations, cultural and functional. Among those obligation is to offer impartial news service, cultural programmes and cater to all age groups. Its transmission must reach throughout the country and RÚV is obliged to maintain a short-wave service.

Newspaper publishers are private enterprises and do not receive subsidies from the government. Newspapers and magazines are subjected to VAT, albeit a reduced rates of 14 per cent instead of the standard 24.5 per cent.


8. ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS

The press is subjected to assorted general legislation. According to the Printing Act of 1956 authors are responsible for their published material. If they are not identified by name the responsibility falls on the publisher. Broadcasters and publishers are required by law to publish corrections. If they fail to do so they can be forced to by a court ruling.

The Union of Icelandic Journalists has a Ethics council that deals with complaints from the public. It accepts cases even if the journalist concerned is not a member of the Union. The five-member Council delivers rulings of whether or not the journalist or publication involved was in breach of the Union’s Code of Ethics but its rulings have no binding effect. All rulings are published on the website of the Union of Journalists, http://www.press.is, as well as in its journal. Complaints against RÚV can be brought up in RÚV’s governing board as well.


9. RECENT MEDIA DEVELOPMENTS

The high degree of consolidation has provoked fierce debate and political turmoil. A bill put forward by the government in 2004 put strict conditions on ownership. The Parliament approved it by a thin margin put the president refused to sign the bill, thus preventing it from becoming law.

The makeup of RÚV is set to be changed. In a separate bill, introduced in the spring of 2006 by the Icelandic minister of culture, the laws regarding RÚV and its regulatory framework will be significantly altered. Among the most important changes is that the licensing fee will be abolished and instead of being funded by a poll tax, RÚV will be made an incorporated company, although 100 per cent state owned.

The centrepiece of the 2004 media-bill were the four new conditions required to get a broadcasting licence, all of which put strict limits on ownership. A company could not receive a broadcasting licence if:

  • Its main business interests were not in the field of media.
  • More than five per cent of its shares belonged to a company or business-bloc that had a dominant market position in another business domain. This did not apply if the company or business-bloc had an annual turnover of less than Euro 22.8 million.
  • Another company owned more than 35 per cent of its shares. This also applied if companies in the same business-bloc owned a combined share of more than 35 per cent.
  • It owned a newspaper publisher, or had shares in a newspaper publisher, or was owned, in part or in whole, by a newspaper publisher.


10. PRIME SOURCES OF DETAILED INFORMATION

By far the most comprehensive source of information in English is ”Media in Iceland” written by Þorbjörn Broddason and Ragnar Karlsson in 2003 for the Internationales Handbuch Medien 2004/2005.

In preparation to the media bill, which was discussed, the government appointed a committee to evaluate the need for such legislation. The committee delivered its 116 pages-long report in April 2004. This report draws heavily on the two sources mentioned above. Statistic Iceland has an English version of its website, http://www.hagstofan.is.

The Union of Icelandic Journalists publishes a journal in Icelandic. The association has a website http://www.press.is which regularly publishes stories concerning media developments.


11. AUTHOR

Rúnar Pálmason holds an MA in European Public Affairs from the University of Maastricht and BA in History and Political science from the University of Iceland. He has been a reporter at Morgunblaðið since 2000.


12. MEDIA RESOURCES

Newspapers

Audio/Visual Media

Media Institutions

Blogs/Civil Media

Excerpt from EUROPEAN MEDIA GOVERNANCE: THE NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DIMENSIONS, published by Intellect (http://www.intellectbooks.com).

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