Faroe Islands to scrap project-based media support

Faroe Islands Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen has said the current project-based media support scheme will be abolished and the media support law reviewed, KVF reported on Friday.

The scheme, which has been in place for the past four years, is not working, according to the private media outlets Sosialurin, Dimmalætting, Portal.fo and FM1, Norðlýsið, and Vágaportalurin.

The five outlets called on the prime minister to change the law during a meeting on Friday, ahead of Monday’s deadline for applying for project support.

Under the current system, media organisations can apply for funding for individual projects, which must be approved by the Media Support Board before support is granted.

The private media outlets said the board should not decide how media support is used, but rather which media organisations receive funding.

The editors want a return to the previous system, under which media organisations received support based on their wage costs.

Culture Minister Bárður á Lakjuni discussed the issue in a television studio, in an item on KVF’s programme Dagur og vika.