Dagbladet apologises to Brønnøysunds Avis for false claim to first Norwegian online newspaper

Dagbladet has formally apologised to Brønnøysunds Avis for falsely claiming in 1995 that it was Norway’s first online newspaper, a title that in fact belonged to the local paper.

In a visit to Brønnøysund, a Dagbladet reporting team presented the apology in person to Brønnøysunds Avis editor-in-chief Matti Riesto, acknowledging that the local paper had launched its online edition on 6 March 1995—two days before Dagbladet’s own debut.

Dagbladet had initially corrected the error in print the day after its original claim, but sought to make amends properly after 31 years. Riesto accepted the apology, noting the historical significance of the achievement for Brønnøysunds Avis.

The paper’s early online presence was driven by then-editor Petter Stephan Krokaa, 52 at the time, who, with journalist Torkil Marsdal Hanssen, launched the site in a single evening from a house outside Brønnøysund. The initiative positioned the paper as a digital pioneer, a reputation Riesto says the publication has since maintained.