The Norwegian Radio Reform

The Norwegian Radio Reform HENRIETTE FOSSUM On 2 October 1993 the Norwegian Broad- present aspects of and future prospects for casting Corporation (NRK) launched its the radio offer from NRK. new radio, with three profiled channels. The event had in advance been characterized as no less than a revolution in the his- Historical Background tory of NRK Radio. Two weeks previously From 1933 when NRK was given mo- P4, the first private commercial radio chan- nopoly on broadcasting, until 1981 with nel with national coverage, had started the advent of local radio, the radio history broadcasting. The almost simultaneous oc- of our country was characterized by re- currence of the two events was no coinci- markable stability. During this period we dence. NRK was and has the ambition to had only one radio channel with national continue to be the leading public service coverage, NRK P1, which in addition was broadcaster in Norway. To meet the moun- given the responsibility of running the se- ting challenge from an increasing number venteen regional offices started during the of competitors and ensure its hegemony, seventies. radical changes were considered necessary in order to get rid of old political regulations and to modernize the institution and From One to Two National Radios its output. The fifty years of protection and peace With hindsight, and at least to outsiders, abruptly changed with the deregulations of the reform seems inevitable and the chan- broadcasting in 1981. The number of local ges undertaken obvious. But they met with radio stations exploded, within a few years considerable resistance; commentators cha- it exceeded 300. To the NRK management racterized the changes as cultural apart- it was clear that something had to be done. heid1, and listeners complained that the Four years later, in 1985, NRK officially new program offer completely violated opened its second national radio channel, their daily routines. The reform and the re- P22. Political disagreement had delayed the sistance against it can only be understood opening. The debate concerned whether in the light of our broadcasting history. I the new channel should compete with or shall therefore start with a brief overview complement the old one and where it of the historical background and of the should have its main editorial base. Against main competitors. Then I shall describe the wishes from NRK, it was decided that how the channels were profiled in response the two channels should be competitors to the competition, and round off with and that the headquarter of P2 should be 59 placed in Trondheim, the third largest city Whereas one of the two major deci- in Norway. According to the ruling ideo- sions concerning P2 thus turned out to be logy of decentralization, the new channel sound, the other one, that the programmes would thereby reflect the realities of our should be competitors, was not. As I have society in a different way from the old indicated, in spite of the decision the two channel, P1, seated in the capital together channels developed distinct profiles and with the administration and NRK TV. became in reality complementary. Most of The enforced move to Trondheim has the time the listener could choose between proved to be an advantage. Many consider light programmes at one channel and more the mother institution in Oslo to be too serious or informative ones at the other. rigid, bureaucratic and narrow in its myo- However, both had to be all round chan- pic focusing upon the capital and its imme- nels covering the traditional public service diate surroundings. At safe distance, the duties, such as information, education and new radio centre for P2, Tyholt, had more entertainment. NRK was therefore forced opportunity to evolve in a different direc- to have two news editorial offices, one in tion. It became less bureaucratic and with a Trondheim and one in Oslo. According to stronger feeling of unity, as reflected in the management, this resulted in much better cooperation across editorial lines. It double work, making it an expensive and developed into a magazine channel and ac- inefficient solution for the NRK. It was quired a distinct programme profile, al- definitely not a good way to meet an in- though by malevolent tongues conde- creasingly competitive environment. scendingly referred to as tabloid radio. Above all, it put more emphasis on local news across the whole of this elongated, Deregulation thinly populated country, crisscrossed by Local radio was permitted in 1981, initially mountains, valleys and fiords setting the on an experimental basis. In line with regu- conditions for considerable regional plural- lations for all the broadcast media in Nor- ity. It did indeed become a national chan- way, advertising was prohibited. In 1987, nel in a different way from P1, thus fulfill- new legislation opened for local broadcasting the intentions of the politicians when ing on a permanent basis and allowed ad- they placed it in Trondheim. vertising as a source of income. From its P1 was and still is the only channel beginning local radio has been the battle- technically equipped to carry the regional ground for several conflicts. A major one programmes. It may therefore seem has been the continuing tug-of-war be- strange that P2 should developed into the tween those who hold the view that local regional channel. The explanation to the radio mainly should be based on idealist apparent paradox is found in the way NRK engagement and regard it primarily as a is organized. The regional offices hold a way of enhancing local democracy, and special position in the NRK hierarchy, as those more interested in exploiting the they are not part of any of the radio divi- considerable economic potential in this sions, but sort directly under the general area. Most of the time, the latter have director3. To ensure regional output on the proved the strongest. Even though the national channel, a net of P2-reporters was regulations on local radio encouraged local established at the regional offices across attachment at least half of the pro- the country. grammes had to be produced within the 60 cover area and the owners had to be local part of the population, and NRK depicted residents, chains of local radios started to a grim, not too-distant future when the last emerge. This happened both through ille- listener to the nations leading public ser- gal trade where radios were bought and vice radio would turn off the set if noth- sold, usually camouflaged as fusions, and ing was done to win the young back again. through a sophisticated network where na- Regional identity is strong in Norway, a tional news, produced by large media com- sentiment respected, if not outright exploi- panies, was bartered for time for advertise- ted by many of our politicians. Few politi- ment in the local radios. Through this bar- cians would therefore object to more re- ter agreement the owners of the news gional programmes. Likewise, political cor- source could offer their advertisers near to rectness dictated that few would protest national coverage. With the limits of the against more programmes for the Sámi po- law so manifestly pushed, the politicians pulation and other minorities. For the same were forced to react. In line with the pre- reason classical music is a hit amongst vailing liberal ideology, the solution was most politicians, even though they tend to simply to move the limit and allow a na- play down their role as part of the elite and tional commercial radio channel. instead take on a role as deep-rooted in the On the FM band, there is only room for people; cultural elites give too few votes as four radio channels with national coverage they have only a marginal place in the Nor- in Norway. NRK held two of these, and wegian egalitarian social democracy. This with the prospects of a commercial natio- dilemma between political correctness and nal channel they had to act fast to get their populism was cunningly evaded in the ap- hands on the last one, to make a third plication by arguing that it was not classic NRK channel. A third channel was an old music in itself that was the main objective wish, dating back to and made explicit in for more time, but that NRK did not have the early sixties when the public service ra- enough programme time to transmit free dios in Sweden (Sveriges Radio) and Den- Euro concerts available through the EBU mark (Danmarks Radio) started their third agreement and through cooperation within channels. In 1987, NRK submitted the first the Nordic countries. application to the Ministry of Culture, ask- Most politicians were positive towards ing permission to establish a third channel. the application, but it was made clear that Their main arguments were the need to re- the profiles of any channel were not to be inforce the offer from the regional offices, changed in a more commercial direction. to make more room for programmes for What really won the politicians hearts was the Sámi population and other linguistic that listeners seemed to get more pro- minorities, to satisfy the needs created by grammes without an increased license. A the new wave of immigration, and to conservative minority objected, claiming strengthen the music offer, especially for that NRKs real intention was to create a classical music. In 1988 a new application channel that could directly compete with followed. The arguments were largely the the local radios; they could not see that same, but in addition time for programmes such a channel was needed. The proposal directed against young listeners was em- was granted by the parliament in 1991.

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