Media News - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Journalist union accuses EU over press subsidy secrecy

The Swedish union of journalists has accused the EU Commission of colluding with media firm Bonniers against the system of press subsidies. Margot Wallström is also criticized for proposals that would further classify the EU Commission's routines. In a debate article in Dagens Nyheter on Monday, Agneta Lindblom Hulthén and Arne König of the Swedish Union of Journalists (Journalistförbundet), together with freelance journalist Staffan Dahlöf, accuse the EU Commission of colluding with media giant Bonniers against the current Swedish system of press subsidies. The commission is accused of withholding documents that are in the public interest. The trio also accuse EU commissioner Margot Wallström for working to stifle public debate of commission business in general with new proposals that would increase the secrecy around commission procedures and routines. The Swedish government had proposed that two major newspapers, Svenska Dagbladet and Skånska Dagbladet, are set to lose almost all of the subsidies they currently receive from the state. According to the proposal, press subsidies to newspapers in large cities will be reduced incrementally from the current level of 65 million kronor ($10.7 million) to 17 million kronor. The reduction will start next year and be phased in over a five-year period. It became public knowledge in May 2007 that it was Bonniers who had reported the Swedish system of press subsidies to the EU Commission. Bonniers' complaint became a public document as it was submitted to the Swedish ministry of culture. Bonniers is a privately-owned Swedish media group of 150 companies operating in 21 countries. The group controls titles such as Dagens Nyheter, Expressen and Dagens Industri as well as TV4 and SF. (The Local)

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