EU Commission approval
The EU Commission has approved the Swedish plans for a new media subsidy, which is supposed to come into force at the turn of the year, TT reports. This support is of great importance to many newspapers and media companies in Sweden, and approval from the EU has been required to ensure that it complies with competition laws.
The Commission considered that the aid is necessary and appropriate to promote development in the media sector and preserve media pluralism.
Industry reactions
Despite EU approval, there is some uncertainty and criticism within the industry, particularly around the timetable and rules for media support. Thomas Matsson, The CEO of Bonnier News, who leads the working group for media support at Tidningsudgivarna, expresses a fundamentally positive attitude towards the support, but criticizes the lengthy processes for TT.
He emphasizes the problematic fact that the government’s decision on the regulation for media support has not yet been made, which creates uncertainty about which rules apply.
Impact on smaller media houses
Large media groups such as Schibsted, Bonnier, NTM and Stampen are expected to cope with the delay, according to Matsson, but for smaller independent media houses the uncertainty surrounding the support can create great stress:
– Of course, (large groups such as) Schibsted, Bonnier, NTM and Stampen will cope with this delay. But for less independent independent media houses, it is very stressful, I think, not knowing if I am the recipient of this support, and when, if so, you will get the money that the politicians think you need and are entitled to.
The think tank Tiden has warned in a report that the new media support could lead to consequences such as closures, reduced media diversity, increased ownership concentration and a higher threshold for launching new media.
The goals and structure of media support
According to the new law, which was decided by the government on 15 November 2023 and which will enter into force on 1 January 2024, the purpose of media support is to strengthen democracy by promoting public access to high-quality independent news media, with a particular focus on local and regional news media.
According to the authority for press, radio and television the support includes:
The new media support is technology-neutral and includes daily press, online newspapers and free newspapers.
Future application process
The authority for press, radio and television has sent a draft of regulations for the new media support for referral to the relevant actors. The goal is to open a first round of applications in early 2024, with the hope of being able to make a decision on support and make payments in April 2024.
The information and text in the article is produced using AI tools. It is then processed and fact-checked by Nyheter24.