Search results : 94

In recent months, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers (CM) adopted five country-specific Recommendations concerning the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Slovakia (first monitoring cycle); Slovenia and the United Kingdom (second monitoring cycle) and Hungary and Norway (third monitoring cycle). The Charter contains a number of provisions of relevance for the (audiovisual) media, the most detailed of which are to be found in Article 11. The latest Recommendations on the application of the Charter highlight a number of pertinent issues. In respect...

In a recent White Paper, the Norwegian Government upheld its proposal for a new Culture Act (see IRIS 2007-1:14). During the extensive round of hearings, the Green Paper proposal received massive support and with regard to all essential points has been upheld in the White Paper. Some structural amendments are introduced in order to make clear that obligations to establish predictable conditions for cultural development, promote professionalism and quality, and ensure availability of relevant information rest equally upon the State, the County Municipality and the Municipality. The Green Paper proposal...

In a recent Green Paper, the Norwegian Government proposed to establish, by law, the principle of editorial independence. The proposed Act includes two basic provisions; one obliging media enterprises to have an editor and one confirming the principle of editorial independence. Given the sweeping nature of such provisions, a central question concerns to which media enterprises the Act shall apply. According to the proposal, the Act will firstly apply to the traditional mass media such as newspapers, radio and television. With respect to radio and television, the proposal relies on the traditional...

Technological developments are changing methods of production, distribution and reception of media programmes. This factor together with the regulatory framework has created a totally new market situation within the broadcasting sector. According to the Norwegian Government, the new situation requires a revision of the general obligations of the public broadcaster. As part of such a revision, the Government proposed, in a recent Green Paper the introduction of a new set of basic principles to apply to the operations of the Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). The basic principles are intended as...

In 2000, the Norwegian newspaper Tønsberg Blad published an article about a list drafted by the Municipal Council of Tjøme. The list identified property owners suspected of breaching permanent residence requirements applying to certain properties. The article referred to a well-known singer and a well-known businessman (Mr. Rygh) stating that they might be “forced to sell their properties at Tjøme”. The article included a small photo of Mr. Rygh with the caption: “it must be due to a misunderstanding, says Tom Vidar Rygh”. A few weeks later, after being informed that the Rygh family’s property...