Norwegian mass media comprises newspapers, television, radio, Internet newspapers, weekly magazines, the trade press and periodicals. The liberty of the press and freedom of expression for all inhabitants are laid down in the Constitution.
Newspaper ownership is largely confined to three large media companies, and most of the magazine press is owned by three major publishers. The television market is dominated by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and TV2. Norwegian media legislation is designed to prevent the concentration of media ownership in too few hands. No media company is allowed to own more than one-third of the total newspaper and broadcasting market.
There are a number of important press organizations. All the major newspapers are members of The Norwegian Newspapers Publishers’ Association. Journalists are by and large members of the Norwegian Union of Journalists, editors belong to the Association of Norwegian Newspaper Editors and the Norwegian Press Association (NP) acts as the umbrella organization for the entire sector.
Media policy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs. Various aspects of the Norwegian media situation have been reviewed by several publicly-appointed commissions since the 1980s. Press support for newspapers with a poor financial base has provided a lifeline to many newspapers that would otherwise have gone under. The technological and political framework for the media sector, however, has changed so rapidly that it has been difficult to implement long-term planning or clear-cut political development of media policy.
The Norwegian Mass Media Authority is the overall regulatory and supervisory agency for the media sector. The Mass Media Authority’s areas of responsibility include the distribution of press support to newspapers and allotment of concessions for local radio and television broadcasting activities. The agency is also responsible for monitoring advertising activity in Norwegian public broadcasting.
Edited from Aschehoug and Gyldendal's Norwegian Encyclopedia