Norwegian newspaper circles are currently dominated by three major media groups. Schibsted is the largest, and owns the daily tabloid Verdens Gang and broadsheet Aftenposten. Next largest is the Orkla industrial conglomerate, and last is A-pressen, which was formerly the newspaper cooperative for the Labour movement. Some of the larger newspapers, such as the national tabloids Dagbladet and Verdens Gang, have bought stakes in smaller local newspapers.
The number of newspapers that have gone bankrupt in Norway is considerably less than in many other Western countries. The low failure rate of newspapers is partly due to the fact that since 1969, the state has provided direct press support to financially weak newspapers. Press support is distributed according to pre-defined criteria and is intended to ensure the presentation of as many political viewpoints as possible in the national newspapers. Support is also provided to some of the small-scale local newspapers and “second tier” newspapers in areas not yet taken over by a single monopoly newspaper.
The first advertising media published in Norway appeared in 1763. The first modern newspaper was published in 1815 and local newspapers began to emerge in the 1830s. Towards the end of the 1800s, the telegraph and telephone greatly facilitated the distribution of news and the rotary press transformed the newspaper into a cheap media for the masses. Daily newspaper Aftenposten introduced active investigative reporting, and thus revolutionized the world of Norwegian journalism.
Most newspapers were originally founded by political parties, including Venstre (the Norwegian Liberal Party) and Høyre (the Norwegian Conservative Party), followed by the Labour movement. Starting in the 1960s, the political party press was gradually taken over by commercial owners. The climate for funding has grown harsher. When advertising was introduced to public broadcasting in the 1980s, newspapers found themselves having to compete with television and radio for the advertising market. The need for market adaptation is also reflected in the changing newspaper format, as many have replaced their traditional broadsheet with a tabloid format. New technology has led to greater use of photo and illustration material, colours and other typographic tools. The substance of newspaper reporting has approached television and the weekly press, becoming more focused on individuals and more popular subject matter. Three new types of newspaper were introduced in the 1990s: Sunday papers, free newspapers and Internet newspapers.
Norway has a rich flora of weekly magazines. Since 1990, the weekly press has chiefly consisted of popular family magazines, magazines for women and home life and magazines featuring celebrity news. In the 1980s, the celebrity magazine Se og Hør (Seen and Heard) became the most widely circulated printed media in Norway. Over the last few decades, the magazine press has become increasingly specialized into segments such as publications about cars, boats, computers, travel and hobbies.
In addition to the daily and weekly press, Norway has a wide-ranging trade press published by unions and associations. There is also a large assortment of academic periodicals.
Edited from Aschehoug and Gyldendal's Norwegian Encyclopedia / John Solheim