Media and Publishing in Iceland
Media
Newspapers
Morgunblaðið has for a long time been Iceland's largest and most influential newspaper. Its circulation exceeds 50,000 copies a day, making it certainly one of the most widely read newspapers in the world in relation to the size of its market. Morgunblaðið used to be a staunch supporter of the Independence Party, but has in recent years adopted a non-party political editorial policy.
Fréttablaðið is a daily paper, distributed freely, mostly in the capital area. In a short time the paper managed to gain ground and is now widely read.
In addition to these there is large number of other papers appearing weekly or less often.
Federation of Icelandic Journalists
The Federation of Icelandic Journalists was founded in 1897 by Jón Ólafsson, with the stated aim of supporting honest and responsible journalism as well as increasing contact and cooperation among journalists. Membership of the FIJ now numbers approximately 450, some of whom work freelance. Unemployment within the profession runs at around 2.5%. Icelandic journalists have various backgrounds and training. Before 1990, education in journalism had to be sought abroad, mainly to the USA and Scandinavia. Now the University of Iceland is offering a one-year advanced course of study for graduates who plan to work in the Icelandic mass media.
Radio
The first radio station in Iceland started operations in 1925. The Icelandic State Broadcasting Service began broadcasting in 1930. Radio was to serve as an important vehicle for attracting visitors to Iceland, and for providing information about Iceland overseas by relaying to foreign stations and direct broadcasting to continental Europe. Now there are two national state radio channels and many private radio stations that broadcast around the clock. The first privately owned radio station, Bylgjan, went on the air in 1986, followed by several others in the months and years to come.
Television
An American TV station operated since 1955 on the NATO base in Keflavík about 50 km from Reykjavík. On September 30, 1966 Icelandic viewers were able to watch television programmes in their own language for the first time. In the beginning, the State Television Station was only on the air for two nights a week. Screening was gradually extended, but for years there was no TV on Thursdays. Less than half of the material aired is Icelandic. Foreign programmes are generally subtitled, but dubbed for children. American programmes predominate, followed by British material.
During the 1986 superpower summit between Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in Reykjavík, Icelandic Television faced unprecedented competition from Channel Two, Iceland's first private television station. Channel Two grew very rapidly, airing most of its programmes encrypted, with decoders available for a monthly subscription. Late in 1995, two new commercial TV stations were launched.
Publishing
The average number of titles published during the last few years has been about 1,600 a year, of which a third represents translations from other languages. Considering the small size of the Icelandic population, the number of books published is certainly remarkable and a clear sign of great literary activity. However, many people are concerned about the prospects for book publishing in Iceland in face of increasing competition from other media and the high cost of publishing for a small market. While the number of titles has continued to increase, the number of copies of each book printed has probably fallen in recent years. One explanation for this new trend may lie in the great increase in the number and circulation of Icelandic periodicals. Sales of books and periodicals in foreign languages, particularly English, have also been growing rapidly.
Periodicals of all descriptions have played an important part in Icelandic cultural life for a long time. Many of them have proved short-lived, but others have been more resilient, most notable Skírnir which has appeared regularly since 1827, most of that time annually, but more recently as a twice-yearly publication devoted to literary and philosophical issues. By the latest count, made in 1998, a total of 880 periodicals were published in Iceland, up from 562 in 1990.
Adapted from "Iceland - The Republic", Handbook published by the Central Bank of Iceland, ed. by Mr. Jóhannes Nordal and Mr. Valdimar Kristinsson, Reykjavik 1996.
