MP says Sýn news exit should trigger media reform

Jón Pétur Zimsen, an MP for Iceland’s Independence Party, says the withdrawal of Sýn’s television news from the media market should serve as a wake-up call for the country. He made the comments in an interview with mbl.is.

“Sometimes dramatic events like this have to happen for us to do something,” said Zimsen, the first deputy chair of Alþingi’s committee on general and education affairs.

He said the situation was deeply regrettable and that it had been clear for months that Sýn’s television news operation was heading towards its final stage. The removal of the news from the broadcaster’s weekend schedule and the introduction of a new name for the television station had been rescue measures intended only to prolong its operation, he said.

Zimsen said the “elephant in the room” was Ríkisútvarpið, Iceland’s state broadcaster. He argued that the opposition, particularly his own party, had proposed various ways to improve the media environment, while Ríkisútvarpið continued to dominate the advertising market and absorb much of the advertising revenue.

He also agreed that the flow of advertising revenue to foreign social media platforms was a major problem, describing it as an even more complex challenge faced around the world.

However, he said it was essential to have more than one television news service available. The current situation in Iceland was rarely seen in other Western countries, he said.

Zimsen said he hoped another company would acquire the operation, mentioning Síminn as a possible buyer that could run it more effectively. He stressed the importance of private television news providing scrutiny and competition for Ríkisútvarpið.

“If there is nobody else who can take your bread away, you simply become complacent,” he said.

He also said television news from multiple sources was important for young people’s literacy and reading comprehension. Hearing different approaches and comparing news with their own experiences and searches for information could strengthen comprehension and critical thinking, he said.

Culture, Innovation and Higher Education Minister Logi Már Einarsson told mbl.is on Monday that it was sad that action had not been taken earlier to find ways to strengthen journalism in Iceland.

Zimsen called those remarks hollow, saying Sýn had been one of two media companies whose allocation was reduced in the government’s second distribution of media support. The other was Árvakur, which operates Morgunblaðið and mbl.is.