The Channel | 2002 | June

18 / 22

the channel | 19
in a very small country, everyday
journalism is packed with new actors.
Even a junior Swedish minister
delivering a not too exciting message
to the world is seen on TV with 43
microphones up his or her nose.
This results in slightly ridiculous
striving for profile, so-called scoops or
investigative reporting. By promoting
your own stories, you may stand out in
the crowd. Therefore, the day often
starts with news that primarily is an end
in itself. But our daily news summary,
intended for Swedes and others abroad,
is based on the old formula: First the
most important thing that has happened,
then the second most important thing,
etc. Indeed dinosaur-like. But so often
we hear people say how fed up they are
with news fragments every hour and at
the end of the day you still have no idea
what is going on. Content needs
Context.
During the night, we rebroadcast
programmes from Canada, Australia,
Switzerland, Japan and South Africa. I
cannot quite figure out why, but an
amazing number of people in
Stockholm do not sleep at night and tune
in to these foreign broadcasts. But why
listen to us then and not to the national
channels in Swedish? Simply because
it is interesting to hear news from other
parts of the world. Simply because Man
is interested to learn and understand, not
only to be entertained.
The same is expressed in e-mails, from
Vancouver to Vladivostok, from those
who have happened to hear Radio
Sweden being rebroadcast. The same is
expressed in e-mails from those who
have happened to find us on the Internet.
On FM we run national programmes in
ten languages for the biggest immigrant
groups in Sweden - the moment they
went on RealAudio they became global.
But why does a Kurd in Australia, an
Iranian in England or anAssyrian in the
US regularly tune in news about
Sweden?
Because after all content and context do
matter. The “market” is many, many
markets that do require substance and
accuracy. But the inquiring mind hardly
considers news and information a
commercial commodity.
Maybe I have one leg at the exhibition
downstairs, but if the “market” – the
listeners – do have the right to tell the
Finn Norgren is director of Radio Sweden
International. He has been a reporter, foreign
correspondent and editor both at newspapers
and at the national Swedish Radio. Finn has
also worked for the UN, the Red Cross and other
organisations involved with relief and
development assistance. In August, he takes
leave of absence from the radio and moves to
Rwanda for two and a half years to head a
project of decentralisation and reconciliation.
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politicians what to decide, the world
may not be turned into a soap.