Lolland Municipality ordered to explain newspaper subscription cancellations

Denmark’s Parliamentary Ombudsman has demanded further explanation from Lolland Municipality over its decision to cancel three subscriptions to the local newspaper Lolland-Falsters Folketidende for politicians, reports DR.

The cancellations followed a critical article about the municipality’s administration. Two council members and Mayor Marie-Louise Brehm Nielsen, all from the local list Din Stemme, terminated their publicly funded subscriptions.

Lolland Municipality denies the move was intended to punish the newspaper, stating it still maintains other subscriptions to the publication and has not cancelled additional ones.

The Ombudsman, Christian Britten Lundblad, warned that cancelling subscriptions to pressure or punish the press violates the law. However, terminations based on objective grounds are permissible.

In a statement, the Ombudsman noted that remarks by local politicians—including one who reportedly wrote in an internal email that “the final lack of journalistic quality was the drop that made the cup overflow”—suggested the cancellations may have been intended as retaliation.

“It is not acceptable if the purpose is to punish or pressure specific journalists or media based on their reporting, such as a critical article,” Lundblad said.

The Ombudsman has asked the municipality to reconsider whether these statements alter the basis for its understanding of the cancellations’ intent.