The Jeremiad Over Journalism

1. Introduction
The Jeremiad Over Journalism
- Studies in Americanization of Danish journalism
The jeremiad is a literary style lamenting people who have ―fallen into sinful ways and will face
ruin‖ unless they quickly reform. The jeremiad over journalism, as this study perceives it, bemoans
the current state of the profession, and longs for a golden past. The jeremiad is essentially
American, but it might as well have been Danish. 1
Since the early 20 th century, complaints about the American newspaper industry have found their
way to Danish journalistic publications coupled with a fear of American influence on local
journalistic practices. Consciously or unconsciously, the jeremiad over journalism has been used by
Danes to deplore the American propensity to focus on the ―shocking and astonishing.‖ 2 Closely
associated with the criticism of American journalism is the idea that unbridled commercialism is
detrimental to Danish journalism.
Yet, the commercial aspects of American journalism have also served as inspiration for Danish
journalists. To Henrik Cavling, the most prominent Danish journalist in the 20 th century, the United
States was a place where the press played an important democratic role which was wholly absent
from his experience in Denmark since newspapers were closely tied to specific political ideologies.
1 James A. Morone, Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
2003). Page 14 and 44. ―Moral alarms inspire the essential American literary form, the jeremiad (a lament that the
people have fallen into sinful ways and face ruin unless they swiftly reform).‖
2 H. T. Peck, "Amerikansk Journalistik [American Journalism]," Journalisten, October 1, 1906. Page 63-64. Peck
mentions the focus on sensation, celebrities and personalization coverage as something uniquely American, but goes on
to defend American journalism after having referred to the following common assertion. ―It has therefore been
ascertained and remarked until triviality that the lack of tact, sick vulgarity and shamelesness has never seen such a
dreadful development as the one that the American press, even in its most excellent representatives, not only tolerates,
but recommends.‖ My translation. Original text reads, ‖Det er derfor blevet slaaet fast og sagt indtil Trivialitet, at
Mangel paa Takt, sygelig Vulgaritet og skamløs Ublufærdighed har aldrig set en saa frygtelig Udvikling som den, den
amerikanske Presse selv i sine mest fremragende Repræsentanter, ikke blot tolererer, men anbefaler.‖
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―The press in America echoes the people‘s voice and yet, or perhaps therefore, it has reached
its astonishing development (...) under such conditions the journalist is transformed to
reporter. He has but one task, to go out and direct the questions at the masses and without his
own opinion write the answers in the so-called interviews which are at the core of the
American journalism.‖ 3
To Danish reporters, American journalism contained the best, as well as the worst, of the
profession. When it was at its best, American journalistic methods helped move democracy
forward, at its worst it undermined the people‘s ability to elect public officials based on qualified
information. 4 In terms of journalistic profit-seeking, ethics, production, methods and distribution
Americanization was at once welcomed as well as frowned upon.
Regardless of Danish journalists‘ attitudes towards Americanization, scholars argue that European
journalistic methods are increasingly approximating American conditions. Moreover, the most
powerful force behind this homogenization transforming ―both print and electronic media in
Europe,‖ with the accompanying consequences for journalism and democracy is believed to be
commercialization. 5
Since Americanization of Danish journalism and political discourse is both seen as a benefit and a
problem for democracy, 6 empirically studying Americanization on Danish journalism will help
shed light on its actual impact.
3 Henrik Cavling, Fra Amerika [From America], 2 vols., vol. 1 (Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, 1897). Page 89. My
translation. Original text reads, ―Pressen i Amerika er Folkerøstens Ekko og alligevel eller netop derfor har den naaet
sin forbavsende Udvikling. (…) Under saadanne Forhold forvandles Journalisten til Reporter. Han har kun én Opgave,
at gaa ud og rette Spørgsmaalene til Mængden og uden egen Særmening nedskrive Svarene i de saakaldte Interviews,
der er Kærnen i den amerikanske Journalistik.‖
4 Thomas E. Patterson, "The United States: News in a Free-Market Society," in Democracy and the Media, ed. Richard
Gunter and Anthony Mughan (ed.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000). Page 250. Also Joseph N. Capella
and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good (New York: Oxford University Press,
1997). Page 9-13 and 29-37. Leonard Downie Jr. and Robert G. Kaiser, The News About the News: American
Journalism in Peril (New York: Vintage Books, 2003). Page 108-109. Capella and Jameson have pointed to increased
cynicism in American news reporting which carries over to the electorate, and argued that the media is undermining
American democracy. Others like Downie and Kaiser point to American journalism not fulfilling its democratic
purpose, since the journalistic field has become too focused on entertainment and profit instead of serving American
communities by doing ―aggressive, thorough intelligent coverage and revelatory accountability reporting.‖
5 Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2004). Page 273. Also Sigurd Allern and Mark Blach-Ørsten, "The News Media as A
Political Institution: A Scandinavian Perspective," Journalism Studies 1 (2010). Page 2.
6 Frits Bredal, "Amerikanisering Af Dansk Valgkamp" [Americanization of Danish Election Campaigns]," Berlingske
Tidende, August 29, 2007. Bredal, for instance notes that Danish political analysts assert that political coverage
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Specifically this dissertation looks at the driving forces behind ―transmission,‖
―transnationalization‖ and ―appropriation‖ of Americanization and asks the question: How have
structural and symbolic developments emanating from the United States influenced Danish
journalism?
1.1 Research Methods
―The methodology of the social sciences can be likened to working with paint rollers, while the
methodology of the historian uses a small bristle,‖ writes the German economic historian Harm
Schröter about the study of Americanization. He asserts that, in all cases of comparison, ―qualitative
and quantitative evidence must be gathered to support conclusions.‖ 7
Employing both ―the paint roller‖ and ―the bristle,‖ this dissertation will study Americanization of
Danish journalism utilizing an interdisciplinary approach collecting both qualitative and
quantitative evidence. By combining a historical hermeneutical method with a quantitative content
analysis, the present study aims to identify both structural and cultural examples of American
influence. According to communication scholars Daniel Hallin and Paolo Mancini, little work has
been done tracing how the Americanization ―process happens concretely,‖ and the present study
seeks to provide tangible examples of how economic and cultural influences emanating from the
United States have succeeded or failed in being appropriated by Danish journalists. 8
The interdisciplinary approach to studying Americanization is practical since the qualitative and
quantitative methods chosen complement each other in important respects. To Hallin and Mancini,
quantitative work is ―useful to a point,‖ in tracing the process of Americanization but reveals little
of ―what really matters,‖ namely ―how journalists or other media personnel function in practice.‖ 9
Qualitative work, on the other hand, can reveal important aspects of journalistic practice, but can be
becomes increasingly superficial when influenced by the United States‘ commercially oriented example. Others find the
commercial aspect of American political campaigns and its coverage refreshing. See for instance Martin Vith
Ankerstjerne, "Kronik: Demokrati: Amerikanisering Af Valgkamp - Ja Tak! [Feature: Democracy: Americanization of
Election Campaigns - Yes Please!]," Berlingske Tidende April 18, 2008.
7 Harm G. Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in
Europe since the 1880's (Dordrecht: Springer, 2005). Page 7-11.
8 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 303-304. ―We found in
looking at the literature on ‗Americanization‘ that there was relatively little work done tracing how this process happens
concretely – what kinds of changes in journalism education take place, what interactions there are among journalists
from different countries, what consultants are brought in, and what seminars held, and so on.‖
9 Ibid. Page 303-304.
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―unrepresentative and atypical,‖ as well as ―neither replicable nor comparable,‖ when not conducted
systematically. 10
The present study attempts to remedy the above-mentioned pitfalls of content analysis and historical
hermeneutic inquiry by incorporating both approaches in the same study. Additionally, the
historical and content analysis conducted here will provide an example of ―comparative historical
research,‖ which Hallin and Mancini find lacking in the field of communication where
contemporary and ethnocentric studies abound. 11
The framework for historical analysis of Americanization is proposed by the Dutch Americanist
Mel van Elteren and focuses on ―transmission,‖ ―transnationalization,‖ and ―appropriation‖ of
impulses from the United States, while the content analysis is inspired by comparative quantitative
research between the United States and Europe which sees journalistic institutions‘ relationship to
the economic and political field as key variables shaping different journalistic practices
historically. 12
The historical analysis is guided by van Elteren‘s recommendation that researchers ―immerse
themselves in the life-worlds of historical actors as best as they can through combined cultural-
historical and historical-anthropological approaches that enable them to carefully offer tentative
interpretations of people‘s attitudes, emotions and actions of relevance – ‗readings‘ of past behavior
that seems most adequate within the hermeneutic circle of this interpretative research.‖ 13
Van Elteren‘s framework for studying Americanization is illustrated in Table 1 and 2 below and
introduces the three main analytical categories along with four levels of driving forces in
10 Fiona Devine, "Qualitative Methods," in Theory and Methods in Political Science, ed. David Marsh and Gerry Stoker
(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002). Page 204-205.
11 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 2 and 304. ―There is a
need for comparative historical research in communication. We were struck, just to take one example, at how little was
available – at least in the English-language literature and in other literatures we could read in the original – on the
history of the party press.‖Additionally, as Sørensen and Petersen note, while there has been a recent focus on
Americanization of Danish society within the last decade, very few studies before this time dealt with the cultural aspect
of Americanization. See Klaus Petersen and Nils Arne Sørensen, "Kommunister, Jan-Bøger Og Drømmekøkkener
[Communists, Jan-Books and Dream Kitchens]," Jysk Selskab for Historie, no. 1 (2007). Moreover, no studies within
the last decade has focused on Americanization of Danish journalism.
12 Mel Van Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence (Jefferson,
North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2006). Page 145-147. See also Jesper Strömbäck and Daniela
V. Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News Coverage in Sweden and the
United States," Press/Politics 11, no. 4 (2006). Page 132-134. As well as Daniel C. Hallin and Rodney Benson, "How
States, Markets and Globalization Shape the News: The French and US National Press, 1965-97," European Journal of
Communication 22, no. 1 (2007). Page 28-29.
13 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 124.
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Americanization of Danish journalism. These driving forces have been identified through secondary
literature as will become apparent in the subsequent literature review.
Transmission
Table 1 – Van Elteren’s framework for Americanization: Transmission from the United States, picked up through
transnational knowledge exchange and appropriated by the receiving country.
United States Government
State Department
Technology
Institutions
Schools of
Journalism
Non-profit
Fulbright
Key Individuals
U.S. Information
Agency
Newspapers
Transna
tionaliz
ation
Knowledge exchange
Table 2 – Framework for analysis of structural and symbolic Americanization
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Appropriation
Danish government
Foreign ministry (In)direct subsidies
Newspapers
Institutions
Non-profit
Journalisten
Key Individuals
Schools of
journalism

As can be seen in Table 2, from a transmission perspective, van Elteren‘s framework suggests
analyzing the ―the public, private profit, and private non-profit‖ sectors of society, here identified as
the United States Information Agency (USIA) under the Department of State, educational
institutions, media institutions, private corporations selling technology, as well as the non-profit
institutions that facilitated exchange between Americans and Danes. Lastly, key individuals are
identified by van Elteren as driving Americanization to other countries. 14
For purposes of the current study, previously classified documents from the Department of State are
used to operationalize the American government‘s attempts to transmit American values and ideas
overseas and will be the primary sources used for the analysis of American transmission.
Van Elteren understands Transnationalization as ―contact zones,‖ meaning areas where ―local
meanings and practices interact with the intruding beliefs and practices.‖ For the current project this
is specifically operationalized in regards to the educational exchange carried out between the United
States and Denmark from the end of World War II and forward. A host of Danish journalists were
afforded the opportunity to study in the United States while a number of Americans were likewise
invited to share their knowledge with Danes through different exchange organizations with the
Fulbright program being the most prominent. An analysis of archival documents from the Fulbright
Commission and the Denmark-America Foundation will provide the basis for this section.
Appropriation in Van Elteren‘s framework means identifying the ―volume (‗size‘ and scale) of
ideas, goods, services and practices imported or adopted from the United States, and the extent of
their reach.‖ For the purposes of the current project the appropriation analysis is delimited to the
Danish Union of Journalists‘ publication Journalisten, which is received and contributed to by the
vast majority of Danish journalists and discusses a wide variety of topics from government policy,
over education to journalistic practices. 15
The content analysis entailing ―a systematic reading of a body of texts, images, and symbolic
matter,‖ is guided by communication professor Klaus Krippendorff‘s conceptual framework which
14 Ibid. Page 145. As will become apparent in the chapters to follow Danish journalists such as Herbert Pundik and
Anders Krab-Johansen, among others, are considered key individuals due to their role in international knowledge
exchange and subsequent implementation of new-found knowledge in Danish journalistic practice.
15 Ibid. Page 145-178.
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emphasizes moving from ―research design,‖ through ―data making,‖ and ―inference‖ to ―narration‖
in the process of the study. 16
Specifically, the ―research design‖ phase explains the choices made in relation to the research
question, drawing inspiration from previous comparative content analysis studies, for example
media researchers Daniel Hallin and Rodney Benson, as well as Jesper Strömbäck and Daniela
Dimitrova. 17 The ―data making‖ phase elaborates on the units of analysis, the coding and reliability
of the study conducted, while the ―inference‖ phase ―bridges the gap between descriptive accounts
of texts and what they mean‖ invoking the texts‘ broader context to reach conclusions based on the
available information. 18 Lastly, the ―narration‖ phase seeks to discuss the results of the content
analysis in connection with findings of the qualitative study as well as other comparative scholarly
projects and makes connections between the two approaches.
1.2 Structure of the Dissertation
After the current introductory chapter, the dissertation is divided into five subsequent chapters.
Chapter 2 provides a critical review of the most important theoretical literature pertaining to the
study of Americanization of Danish society. In this part of the dissertation, I show that there has
been increased scholarly attention paid to Americanization of Danish society over the past decade,
but argue that none of these studies has focused on journalism specifically. I also argue that the
cultural imperialism perspective of the 1970‘s and 1980‘s is no longer plausible and should be
replaced by a theory of Americanization occurring as a cultural encounter within an asymmetrical
power relationship. Additionally, key concepts related to the historical and content analysis, such as
―commercialization,‖ ―objectivity,‖ ―new institutionalism,‖ as well as ―framing,‖ are defined.
16 Klaus Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2004). Page 83-
87. The four phases identified are based on Krippendorf‘s Figure 4.2 ―Components of Content Analysis,‖ on page 86.
17 Hallin and Benson, "How States, Markets and Globalization Shape the News: The French and US National Press,
1965-97." See also Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News
Coverage in Sweden and the United States." Hallin and Benson as well as Strömbäck and Dimitrova emphasize the
commercial aspect of media systems as well as the national media‘s proximity to the state as key variables for studying
transnational differences in journalistic products. Additionally, the content analysis is structured around theoretical
hypotheses of which characteristics one would expect Danish and American newspaper articles to display based on the
above authors, as well as other media scholars, who have written on comparative research.
18 Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Page 85-86.
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The third chapter, relating to structural Americanization, meaning ―economic, technological,
political‖ factors, 19 constitutes a critical overview of the American government‘s aims in regards to
the military, economic and technological policy towards Denmark. Here I argue, that Denmark had
some leverage in relation to the United States because of country‘s geographical importance to
NATO‘s defense. Moreover, I demonstrate that the American ―first amendment absolutism,‖ calling
for no government regulation of the media market, is at odds with Danish politicians‘ perspective
that the press is worthy of subsidies because it serves a democratizing purpose in society.
Nevertheless, this chapter also shows that the Danish media environment has become more
commercialized over the years, though this commercialization has of yet not had a tangible
influence on election coverage. Additionally, the third chapter reveals that there was great demand
for American technological products after World War II among Danish journalists a fact that lends
empirical support to the notion that some aspects of Americanization occurred by invitation instead
of imperialism.
The fourth chapter, focused on symbolic Americanization, meaning ―culture, ideology and
institutions,‖ 20 shows that the American government very actively, both covertly and overtly,
attempted to influence Danish journalism after World War II through transmission of cultural
products. I examine, the aims of the USIA, its own assessment of results, and Danish skepticism
over the Central Intelligence Agency‘s work in Scandinavia. Additionally, it is demonstrated that
the transnational exchange programs initiated by the United States government and private
organizations in Denmark had lasting effects on the students and scholars who went and gave these
students a more positive view of the United States than was the case before the exchange. The
experience for some also exposed the differences between the Scandinavian and American media
systems while creating an important international network for their future work and for some
impacted their journalistic practice. Lastly, the chapter demonstrates that Danish journalists were
aware of the commercial pitfalls espoused by the American media system, but at the same time
appropriated journalistic practices emanating from America. In very real ways, the United States
was seen by Danish journalists as the place to discover the future of journalism and the last part of
this chapter, heeding Hallin and Mancini‘s suggestion, offers two concrete examples of how
19 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 129.
20 Ibid. Page 142. See also Joseph S. Nye, The Paradox of American Power: Why The World's Only Superpower Can't
Go It Alone (New York Oxford University Press, 2002). Page 9-11.
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Americanization of Danish journalistic practice happened by analyzing appropriation of New
Journalism as well as investigative journalism.
The fifth chapter presents a content analysis of selected American and Danish newspapers‘ election
front-page coverage between 1968 and 2008 and argues that while the studied Danish journalists
adopted the American ideal of objectivity, the commercial influence from the United States has
been hampered in part by the publicist tradition of the Danish press, which is a requirement for
receiving direct government subsidies. The findings in the selected Danish newspapers‘ election
coverage thereby support the conclusion reached by the interpretative analysis of structural
Americanization.
The sixth chapter discusses the counterforces of Americanization and argues that the most
important aspect of Danish society which impedes American influence on Danish journalism is the
government‘s use of direct and indirect subsidies to promote political and cultural coverage among
a variety of news outlets which might otherwise not exist in a free market without economic
support. Additionally, a simplified model of peaks and valleys of Americanization in Danish
journalism is presented, as the influence from the United States has been non-linear. Since the
American government‘s strategic and economic goals cannot be separated from their cultural
objectives, the unpopular foreign policy of the United States in the late 1960‘s and early 1970‘s led
to less interest in using America as an example to follow, or describing the country favorably in
journalistic content. A similar tendency can be seen in the pages of Journalisten during the 1980‘s
when commercial influence and American propaganda became topics discussed regularly in the
main journalistic publication. Further, this chapter discusses some of the methodological
shortcomings of the present dissertation and provides suggestions for further research in the field.
1.3 Research Question
Through an analysis of newspaper content and archival material this dissertation will answer the
following question: How have structural and symbolic developments emanating from the United
States influenced Danish journalistic institutions and practices primarily after 1968?
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2. Theory
In order to tie abstract concepts such as Americanization, commercialization, objectivity,
institutionalism and framing to the concrete study, this chapter will identify key texts related to the
research question, and make an argument for how macro-level American influence translates into
changes in journalistic institutions and micro-level reporting practices in Denmark.
The following sections will clarify and define the theoretical concepts of Americanization,
commercialization, the ideal of objectivity, new institutionalism 21 and framing. Moreover, the
literature below will identify the key driving forces involved in the subsequent empirical analysis of
structural and symbolic Americanization.
The overarching aim of the chapter is to pin-point the importance of commercialization, technology,
and educational exchange among other driving forces in previous studies of American influence
which will then serve as the basis for sections within the chapters of structural and symbolic
Americanization based on evidence from the archival analyis. Additionally, an important
connection is made in relation to the content analysis, as it is here argued that developments at the
structural level can impact individual journalists‘ framing through the restraining and enabling
influence of journalistic institutions. For example, I argue that commercial pressure exerted on
journalistic institutions is potentially reflected in journalistic news frames.
Turning to the subsection of important literature on Americanization, I argue that in order to study
structural Americanization fruitfully, one needs to realize that there is a power ―asymmetry‖
between Denmark and the United States, yet also recognize that the is a certain ―power of the weak‖
to shape impulses from public and private sectors in America. 22 The perspective of asymmetrical
power rejects ―cultural imperialist‖ theory which understands Americanization as a process where a
―hegemonic America manipulated and ultimately imposed its way on passive recipients.‖ 23 Often a
21 Timothy Cook, Governing with the News: The New Media as a Political Institution, Second ed. (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 2005). Page 65 and 70-71. Cook combines sociological and political science definitions of
―institutions,‖ his aim is ―not to add to the theories of institutions, but to throw light on our understanding of the news
media.‖
22 Poul Villaume, "Replik - Om Tankefængsler, Sikkerhedsdilemmaer Og Interessefællesskaber [Response: On
Imprisoned Ideas, Security Dilemmas and Community of Interests]," Historisk Tidsskrift 16, no. 2 (1995). Page 463-
464.
23 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 116.
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pre-condition for Americanization is the receiver‘s voluntary acceptance, 24 but there are also certain
structural limits to what is accepted and what is rejected. 25
Additionally, the subchapter on ―objectivity‖ will demonstrate that the ideal of objectivity in
journalism originated in the United States and incorporates both ontological, epistemological, and
procedural understandings of objectivity. Moreover, the section shows that the discursive practices
associated with American journalistic ―objectivity‖ have spread to Europe.
In terms of ―commercialization,‖ this chapter shows that when commercial influence takes
precedence it tends to overwhelm idealistic notions of customs or culture in favor of a
monetarization of decision-making.
Moreover, it is argued that journalistic institutions curtail individual journalists‘ autonomy
somewhat, which shows how societal structures such as increased commercialization impact
journalistic institutions and can be argued to influence individual journalistic content.
Lastly, this chapter ends with a definition of framing. It is here shown that journalists actively select
and highlight aspects of perceived events based on organizational routines, a fact that has real
consequences in regards to how receivers understand the material presented. 26
2.1 Literature Review: Americanization
"The advent of the United States of America as the greatest of world-Powers is the greatest
political, social, and commercial phenomenon of our times,‖ wrote William T. Stead in The
Americanisation of the World in 1902 over the course of 182 pages. Stead attempted to trace
―Americanisation‖ across the entire world focusing on religion, literature, journalism, art, science,
music as well as theater, marriage, sports and business.
24 Harm G. Schröter, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European
Economy, 1900-2005," European Review of History 15, no. 4 (2008). Page 341.
25 Mel Van Elteren, "Rethinking Americanization Abroad: Toward a Critical Alternative to Prevailing Paradigms," The
Journal of American Culture 29, no. 3 (2006). Page 348-354.
26 Robert M. Entman, "Media Framing Biases and Political Power: Explaining Slant in News of Campaign 2008,"
Journalism 11, no. 4 (2010). Page 391. According to Entman, ―frames introduce or enhance the availability and apparent
importance of certain ideas for evaluating a political object.‖
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Stead had it right. Americanization was ―the greatest political, social, and commercial
phenomenon‖ of the 20 th century according to contemporaries. Even authors who disliked much of
what they perceived America to be acknowledged that there was something to be learned from the
United States. 27
While the Americans, in Stead‘s view, were extremely dynamic in every area he studied, his
background was journalism, and he was very conscious of American influence on British media.
As a consequence, Stead alluded to important characteristics of Americanization when he wrote,
―American journalism, as compared with that of Great Britain, is more enterprising, more
energetic, more extravagant, and more unscrupulous.‖ Moreover, ―the interview was a distinctively
American invention, which has been acclimatised in this country.‖ 28
Stead‘s implicit understanding of Americanization (he never defined it explicitly) has interesting
parallels to subsequent the work of Americanization scholars, who have emphasized the distinctive
elements of American society. Among them is van Elteren, who wrote about Americanism and
Americanization approximately 100 years after Stead‘s study. 29
Van Elteren‘s work on Americanization has coincided with an increased focus on how the concept
takes shape in a Danish context. 30 Yet, while studies exist that examine the Americanization of
Danish music, retail and fashion, and other culture industries, no studies have systematically
analyzed the Americanization of Danish journalism.
Van Elteren, as we have seen, distinguishes between two interpenetrative levels of
Americanization: the structural dealing with strategy, economy and technology; and the symbolic,
dealing with cultural transmissions. While the current study emphasizes the latter, it also recognizes
the need to take structural aspects of Americanization into account, and a chapter is therefore
27 Paul Dehn, Weltwirtschaftliche Neubildungen [Global Economy Innovations] (Berlin: Allgemeiner Verein für
Deutsche Litteratur, 1904). Page 191. ―Not imitate, rather learn,‖ wrote Dehn critically, but acknowledged that there
was much to learn from the United States. In contrast, the Danish journalist Henrik Cavling was greatly inspired by the
United States and wrote about this inspiration in his travel accounts. Cavling, Fra Amerika [From America]. Page 87-
112.
28 William T. Stead, The Americanisation of the World (London: The 'Review of Reviews' office, 1902). Preface and
page 111. According to Jean Chalaby, Stead actually incorporated the interview into British journalism practice
between 1883 and 1890. Jean K. Chalaby, The Invention of Journalism (New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1998). Page
127-128.
29 Elteren, "Rethinking Americanization Abroad: Toward a Critical Alternative to Prevailing Paradigms."
30 See for example Klaus Petersen and Nils Arne Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans," in The
Americanization of Europe: Culture, Diplomacy, and Anti-Americanism after 1945, ed. Alexander Stephan (New York:
Berghahn Books, 2006).
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devoted to their study. 31 Based on Van Elteren‘s writings, Americanization is defined as,
―[P]rocesses in which economic, technological, political, social, cultural, and/or
sociopsychological influences emanating from America or Americans impinge on values,
norms, belief systems, mentalities, habits, rules, technologies, practices, institutions, and
behaviors of non-Americans.‖ 32
In terms of the content analysis, the current study will trace American influence on Danish political
news coverage during national election campaigns from 1968 to 2008 analyzing how two
―distinctively‖ American concepts, commercialization and the journalistic ideal of objectivity, can
be identified through articles‘ framing in selected newspapers. National election campaigns,
according to media scholars are especially useful for cross-national comparisons as ―it allows for
analysis over time‖ as well as ―across cultures.‖ 33 Moreover, ―election studies spur innovations in
political communication,‖ and have also been shown to prompt innovation in Danish journalistic
practices, thereby making election periods ideal when looking for changes over time. 34
2.1.1 Cultural Imperialism
During the 1970‘s and 1980‘s the prevailing understanding of American influence was one of
31 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 145-146.Van
Elteren‘s framework for historical analysis includes an overall evaluation of ―America‘s position in the global system.‖
The chapter on structural Americanization provides this insight in relation to Denmark‘s position in the global system.
32 ———, "Rethinking Americanization Abroad: Toward a Critical Alternative to Prevailing Paradigms." Page 345.
33 Elihu Katz and Yael Warshel, eds., Election Studies: What's Their Use? (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press,2001).
Page 1-10. Katz and Warshel note, ―As the role of parties continues to decline and the role of the media increases,
campaigns provide a major vantage point for investigating not only the direct influence of media on opinion but also the
indirect influence via phenomena such as media analysis of campaign events ('spin'), media representations of the
distribution of opinion, media forecasts that may produce 'bandwagon effects' and 'spirals of silence,' or strategic 'horserace'
coverage that may produce cynicism towrad the electoral process.‖ See also Jay G. Blumler and Denis McQuail,
"Political Communication Scholarship: The Uses of Election Research," in Election Studies: What's Their Use?, ed.
Elihu Katz and Yael Warshel (Boulder: Westview, 2001). Page 236-239. Blumler and McQuail also argue that election
studies are convenient benchmarks for tracing developments over time, are useful when examining political
communication in new media formats, help test key concepts from political communications theory and contribute
significantly to the debate about citizenship. Also see Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of
Media and Politics. Page 303-304.
34 Blumler and McQuail, "Political Communication Scholarship: The Uses of Election Research." Page 236. See also
Peter Bro, Aktionsjournalistik [Public Journalism] (Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2004). Page 15-17. Bro
shows how American public journalism inspired Danish regional election coverage in 1997.
13

cultural imperialism where individuals on the receiving end of Americanization had little
opportunity to resist these influences. An overview and brief analysis of two American and one
Danish example are provided in the pages below.
Schiller, 1976
Media scholar and journalist Herbert Schiller‘s thematically organized book ―Communication and
Cultural Domination,‖ serves as an early example of the ―cultural imperialism‖ paradigm within
Americanization studies. In the book, Schiller demonstrates how closely the United States‘ policy
towards worldwide communication after World War II was tied to the country‘s economic, strategic
and technological interests. 35 Through the prism of class-struggle between workers and capitalists
worldwide, Schiller traces United States policy from World War II to the 1970s and shows that
American leaders overtly have tried to mold the global communication structure to their own
advantage. Utilizing terminology which includes ―cultural take-over,‖ ―cultural imperialism,‖ ―U.S.
global hegemony,‖ and ―imperial ascendancy,‖ 36 Schiller argues that,
―Assisted by the sophisticated communications technology developed in the militarily
oriented space program, techniques of persuasion, manipulation, and cultural penetration are
becoming steadily more important, and more deliberate, in their exercise of American power.
In addition, the accumulation of fifty years of domestic marketing expertise is now let loose in
the world at large (…) Made-in-America messages, imagery, life-styles, and information
techniques are being internationally circulated and, equally important, globally imitated.‖ 37
According to Schiller, cultural imperialism, as propagated by the United States, dominates other
nations who are ―attracted, pressured, forced, and sometimes bribed into shaping social institutions
35 Herbert I. Schiller, Communication and Cultural Domination (New York: International Arts and Sciences Press,
1976). Page 53-54. Writing on the development of satellites for communication purposes, Schiller notes, ―[i]n this effort
monopolistic business worked closely with the U.S. Armed Forces, whose interest in instantaneous global
communications was extraordinarily high.‖
36 Ibid. 5-24.
37 Ibid. Page 3.
14

to correspond to, or even promote, the values and structures of the dominating center of the
system.‖ 38
As is apparent in Schiller‘s argument, nations on the receiving end of American influence have little
agency or ability to resist the impulses received. Though Schiller sees American military and
economic influence on the decline in the 1970s due to the failed Vietnam War, he perceives
American attempts at influencing global communication structures as being on the rise. 39
In the realm of American journalism, Schiller demonstrates that after World War II leading media
owners and editors have been able to frame the discussion over free access to information to
coincide with the news outlets‘ own economic interests. Additionally, Schiller argues that American
institutions have directly influenced journalism teaching in Latin America, ―patterned after the
North American model,‖ by subsidizing journalism schools through funds which at times flow
through ―obscure channels.‖ 40
Furthermore, Schiller posits that the United States‘ dominance in the technological realm, especially
in the use of satellites for communication purposes, after World War II led to a shift in global
communicative power from Britain, who dominated information transfer through cables in the early
20 th century, to the United States. The shift in power, in Schiller‘s view, leads to dependence on
American government sponsored technological innovations by less affluent nations and thereby
perpetuates global inequality. 41
Though Schiller‘s argument concerning the economic, strategic and technological policies explicitly
meant to promote American interests globally is well-founded, and thereby presents a valuable
contribution to the study of structural Americanization, his view of cultural imperialism leads much
to be desired empirically.
As in the example with American-sponsored journalism education in Latin America, Schiller
generalizes without specifically stating how many or which universities are subsidized, and exactly
what he means by the phrase concerning funding through ―sometimes obscure channels.‖
38 Ibid. Page 9.
39 Ibid. Page 22-23.
40 Ibid. Page 11 and 25-29.
41 Ibid. Page 47. Schiller writes, ―it is imperative today to consider the general role of technology not only as an
instrument for effectuating cultural domination but as an embodiment of this very domination.‖
15

Additonally, Schiller‘s reliance on cultural imperialism as the framework though which he
interprets events leaves out the instances when American technology is actually welcomed in by
other countries and not forced upon them. As will become apparent in the subsequent section on
how structural Americanization was perceived in Denmark, there was actually quite a demand for
technology from the United States which was believed to make everyday journalism practices easier
and not least cheaper. This aspect of ―empire by invitation,‖ as the Norwegian director of the Nobel
Committee, Geir Lundestad, has termed American influence in the post-World War II years, is
absent from Schiller‘s study. 42
Ritzer and Stillman (2003)
George Ritzer and Todd Stillman‘s book chapter ―Assessing McDonaldization, Americanization
and Globalization,‖ gives a fairly pessimistic appraisal of Americanization defined as ―a powerful
one-directional process that tends to overwhelm competing processes (e.g. Japanization) as well as
the strength of local forces that might resist, modify and/or transform American models into hybrid
forms.‖ 43 Americanization is described in terms of cultural, political and economic imperialism and
in Ritzer and Stillman‘s view does not leave room for much individual agency on the receiving end
of the process.
Ritzer and Stillman organize their concepts in a hierarchy and argue that ―globalization is the
broadest process, Americanization is a specific, powerful globalizing force, and McDonalidization
is (among other things) a constituent part of Americanization.‖ Yet the authors concede that in the
political realm Americanization is perhaps the single most important concept in order to understand
present day global society.
The authors define McDonaldization as a ―top-down, ‗iron cage‘ version of modern social theory,‖
associated with efficiency as well as standardization, and disclose their view of Americanization as
cultural imperialism with the following definition.
42 Geir Lundestad, "Empire by Invitation? The United States and Western Europe, 1945-52," Journal of Peace Research
23, no. 3 (1986). Page 276. ―American expansion was one of the most striking phenomena of the post-war period; this
expansion can be said to have created an American empire equal in scope to any the world had seen before. Yet, this
was to a large extent an empire by invitation and it turned out that many of those who issued the invitations prospered
more in material terms under the new order than did the United States itself.‖
43 George Ritzer and Todd Stillman, "Assessing McDonaldization, Americanization and Globalization," in Global
America? The Cultural Consequences of Globalization, ed. Ulrich Beck, Natan Sznaider, and Rainer Winter, Studies in
Social and Political Thought (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003). Page 35.
16

―Americanization is a cousin to a neo-Marxian conception of economic imperialism and
cultural hegemony. This perspective asserts that America‘s aggressive exporting of media and
commodities amounts to a crypto-imperialist attack on national sovereignties.‖ 44
In line with their ―cultural imperialist‖ definition of Americanization, the authors attach negative
connotations to the concept that may not have been present had the study incorporated van Elteren‘s
more inclusive definition focusing both on the ―sender‖ and ―receiver‖ perspective while
acknowledging the asymmetrical power relationship between the two. To Ritzer and Stillman
globalization holds more positive potential for the people experiencing this process than does
Americanization or McDonaldization. Here globalization emphasizes the ―self-creating agency‖ of
individuals which in turn ―generates a host of new organizational forms that increase the options for
local actors, rather than damaging or displacing traditional forms.‖ 45
In essence, Ritzer and Stillman thereby see globalization as a process which expands individuals‘
choices in modern society, while Americanization limits these choices. Yet, despite their
pessimistic view of Americanization, the authors concede that the concept is presently useful,
because of the United States‘ current military, diplomatic, economic, technical and cultural power,
while they argue that globalization theory will be prove more functional in the years to come as
America‘s dominant position is increasingly challenged. 46
―It seems clear that the globalization perspective has perhaps glimpsed the future but also has
overstated the case for the present. Nation states are by no means on the verge of
disappearing‖ 47
Even if Ritzer and Stillman view Americanization negatively, the concept to them still holds
important explanatory power in terms of politics. ―Americanization is a political reality,‖ note the
44 Ibid. Page 31.
45 Ibid. Page 34-36. This observation is also apparent from the classification between the concepts made by the authors.
Globalization is described as ―multi-directional circulation of persons, information, resources and commodities,‖ while
Americanization, according to the authors is, ―exploitation of world markets and resources.‖ Lastly, McDonaldizaiton is
portrayed as ―emphasis on eficiency, predictability, calculability, and the replacement of human with non-human
technology.‖
46 Ibid. Page 42-43.
47 Ibid. Page 43-44.
17

authors, adding that the United States plays a role of ―key mediator‖ in international diplomacy and
is ―obviously an influential political player on the world scene.‖ 48
Ritzer and Stillman conclude that McDonaldization, with its emphasis on efficiency and rational
principles, is on the rise but at ―the expense of individual creative energy,‖ while ―globalization‘s
insights into the diversity of other ‗global flows‘,‖ serve as a useful corollary to the ―perils of
Americanization.‖ 49
Ritzer and Stillman‘s categorization of the three main concepts rests mainly on secondary literature
and seems not to have taken the latest developments within Americanization studies into account.
The authors have used a definition for Americanization based on a book from 1962, 50 while the
definitions chosen for globalization and McDonaldization are from 1992 51 and 2000 52 respectively.
This difference in chronology seemingly plays a part in the authors‘ out-dated view of
Americanization as ―cultural imperialism‖ compared to definitions emphasizing assimilation or
asymmetrical power. 53
Christensen et al., 1983
In 1983 Peter Knoop Christensen et al. edited Amerikanisering Af Det Danske Kulturliv i Perioden
1945-58 [Americanization of the Danish Cultural Life in the Period 1945-58] a volume that the
authors described as the first study to incorporate the concept of Americanization in Danish
economy and culture after World War II. The authors define Americanization as ―the sum of the
economic, political, ideological and cultural influence we receive from USA in the period, but in
addition the development and processing of i.e. the production environment, the production
methods, the distribution patterns, social interaction, literary expressions and language.‖ 54
From the very first pages it is apparent that the authors view the struggle between labor and capital
(and by extension capitalist fueled American influence) as the driving force of history. The text
48 Ibid. Page 43.
49 Ibid. Page 46.
50 Francis Williams, The American Invasion (New York: Crown, 1962).
51 Roland Robertson, Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture (London: Sage, 1992).
52 George Ritzer, The McDonaldization of Society (Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge, 2000).
53 Ritzer and Stillman, "Assessing McDonaldization, Americanization and Globalization." Page 36. The authors use
Francis Williams‘ definition from his 1962 book The American Invasion as their characterizaiton of Americanization.
54 Peter Knoop Christensen, ed. Amerikanisering Af Det Danske Kulturliv I Perioden 1945-58. [Americanization of the
Danish Cultural Life in the Period 1945-58] (Ålborg: Ålborg Universitetsforlag,1983). Page 8.
18

abounds with references to American ―imperialism,‖ ―hegemony,‖ ―class struggle,‖ ―working
class,‖ and critical stabs at the ―bourgeoisie.‖ 55
As a consequence, the text serves as a lucid example of the ―cultural imperialism‖ paradigm within
Americanization studies. 56 In the authors‘ interpretation the influence from the United States is all
encompassing and furthermore happens against the wishes of the so-called Danish ―masses.‖ In a
telling example, the authors argue that a referendum concerning membership of NATO ―could
easily have been decided to the advantage of the opposition,‖ and cite Gallup surveys between
February and April 1949 to back up their claim. Yet, for every political party cited in the survey,
with the obvious exception of the communists, the support for NATO membership is on the rise
between the first and third survey.
Support for NATO is not attributed to a genuine popular sentiment, but rather a ―hetz against [the]
Soviet [Union],‖ as well as ―horror propaganda‖ from the Social Democrats. 57 Consequently, the
Danish population‘s ability to resist or adapt American influence is absent from this study and
especially in the realm of culture does this become evident for the authors.
Through the four overall themes of ―Cold War,‖ ―growth,‖ ―class cooperation,‖ and ―family‖ the
authors analyze cartoons, journals, novels, advertisements, film, music and the development of
language. This leads Christensen et al. to conclude that the messages conveyed through the Danish
version of Readers Digest along with cartoons and novels, resonate with the working class‘ wishes
for (or experience of) upward social mobility, while the bourgeoisie is not affected by the same
―American trivialization,‖ but instead adopt American influences or practices through high-brow
plays, journals or rationalization techniques in business. 58
In a final attempt to demonstrate Danish opposition to American influence, the authors argue that
anti-Americanism in Denmark, personified by the hippie movement, was inspired by the student
protests in France, the cultural revolution in China, and the Vietnamese fight against American
imperialism, but Christensen et al. ignore the fact that this Danish movement was largely inspired
55
Ibid. Page 11, 19, 22, 29, 35, 46, 63, 83-86, 88-89, 90, 96.
56
Marianne Rostgaard, "Opinionsdiplomati Og Amerikanisering [Public Diplomacy and Americanization],"
Arbejderhistorie, no. 4 (2004). Page 107.
57
Christensen, ed. Amerikanisering Af Det Danske Kulturliv I Perioden 1945-58. [Americanization of the Danish
Cultural Life in the Period 1945-58]. Page 60-61.
58
Ibid. Page 251-259.
19

y the so-called American counterculture, 59 made up of a ―disaffected‖ young students who ―chose
long hair and beards as a way of distancing themselves from traditional norms of middle-class
respectability.‖ 60
In this respect, the authors make the ―cultural imperialism‖ fallacy of viewing the United States as a
monolithic nation in regards to the military, the economy and the diverse cultural currents.
Christensen et al. convincingly demonstrate the United States‘ leading role in transnational
economic organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), but put too much emphasis on capitalism as the primary
driving force of Americanization at the expense of agency within the ―receiving‖ nation. 61
Conclusion
The above review have revealed some of the key aspects forces in Americanization deemed
important by researchers writing from a cultural imperialist perspective. Schiller‘s study emphasizes
the importance of the American government‘s conscious involvement in shaping international
communications networks after World War II. Ritzer and Stillman‘s study acknowledges that
Americanization is the most fruitful way to understand contemporary society out of the
transnational tendencies they evaluated. Additionally, Christensen et al. argue the significance of
capitalism as the main driving force behind Americanization and point to the Danish
counterculture‘s importance in understanding opposition to Americanization, and in the process
inadvertently highlight the fact that the Danish counter-culture resisted structural Americanization
but appropriated parts of symbolic Americanization.
59
Ibid. Page 290-292. These observations have also been made by Søren Schou, "Det Er Dansk - Eller Er Det? [It Is
Danish - or Is It?]," Mediekultur, no. 5 (1987). Page 14 and Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American
Anti-Americans." Page 138. Also Klaus Bruhn Jensen, ed. Dansk Mediehistorie 1880-1920 Og 1920-1960 [Danish
Media History 1880-1920 and 1920-1960], 4 vols., vol. 2, Dansk Mediehistorie (København: Forlaget
Samfundslitteratur,2001). Page 322.
60
William F. Chafe, "The Unfinished Journey: America since World War II," (New York: Oxford University Press,
1991). Page 326.
61
Christensen, ed. Amerikanisering Af Det Danske Kulturliv I Perioden 1945-58. [Americanization of the Danish
Cultural Life in the Period 1945-58]. Page 14, 22 and 42-44. ―The daily dose of ‗Americanization‘ is difficult to avoid
since it occurs at the work place and in the spare time (…) these cultural expressions are contingent upon some basic
economic structures – that the ideology is produced by an imperialistic superpower, and that both directly and
indirectly it is connected to profit motives to export different products which contain this ideology.‖ Page 88.
20

2.1.2 Assimilation
The most prominent example of an assimilationist view, meaning a relationship close to
―negotiating among equals,‖ is provided by Richard Pells in a study of relations between the United
States and Europe. 62 Due to the limited focus on Americanization processes in Denmark during the
1990‘s the only example of ―assimilationist‖ Americanization research in a Danish context is
provided by the American journalist and author Nancy Graham Holm, who for a number of years
taught at the Danish School of Journalism (DJH).
Pells 1997
In his study Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture
Since World War II, American Studies professor Richard Pells traces the American cultural impact
on Europe primarily after World War II. Pells‘ focus on Europe is important, since a host of other
studies in the same vein focus more narrowly on American influence on one specific locality. Pells‘
book is an interesting dialectic exercise where the author spends a lot of space and energy on
arguing American influence, but still finds examples to counterbalance the original claims of
influence. Despite convincingly arguing that the United States‘ government played an active role in
promoting American influence on both the cultural, political, and economic levels, Pells
nevertheless concludes that ―Americanization‖ is myth.
Through a chronological and thematic approach, and with the a vast focus on culture, Pells depicts
how Europeans and Americans thought about each other before World War II, and how Americans
have influenced Europe after 1945; aided greatly be the European immigrants who arrived in the
United States in the 1930s and 1940s.
Pells‘ impressive overview of cultural initiatives takes the reader from the Marshall Plan, to the
Fulbright Program, the ascendancy of American Studies and the role of the United States
Information Agency in shaping opinions around Europe. Also the American media‘s prominent role
in post-War Europe is explored. Pells demonstrates how the American idea of journalism was more
or less forced upon Germany and played an inspirational role in other countries.
62 Richard Kuisel, "Debating Americanization: The Case of France," in Global America? The Cultural Consequences of
Globalization, ed. Ulrich Beck, Natan Sznaider, and Rainer Winter (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003). Page
98.
21

In the end Pells wraps up his study by listing examples of European influence on the United States,
and also mentions examples of European resistance to American influence. Yet, Pells‘ argument
that Europe was never ―Americanized‖ remains unconvincing.
By way of example, early in his book Pells declares that ―during the 1950s and 1960s, America
dominated the economies of Britain and the Continent as never before.‖ Later Pells argues that the
European emigrants to America before World War II represented ―a hemorrhage of talent and
intellect from which the Continent never recovered,‖ and also describes Washington‘s attempt to
transplant America‘s style of journalism to Germany as ―remarkably successful.‖ Still, Pells
concludes that it was ―inevitable that the Marshall Planners,‖ failed to ―Americanize‖ Europe. 63
Behind this conclusion is a convincing rejection of the outdated ―cultural imperialism‖ paradigm
but Pells seemingly goes too far in assigning agency to European citizens, when he claims that
Europe has had as much influence on the United States after World War II as the United States has
had on Europe. Part of the reason is probably to be found in the fact that Pells spends almost the
entire book discussing cultural aspects, without the facet of power, despite asserting that,
―American culture and American power were inextricably connected.‖ 64 Pells‘ analysis would have
benefited from a greater discussion of the structural aspects of American influence, meaning the
economic and political framework, within which American and European culture has interacted
since 1945. 65
Additionally, part of the reason that Pells‘ argument of mutual influence fails to convince is because
of frequent generalizations, such as ―the European countries – often ashamed of their behavior of
the prewar governments, and suffering in the immediate postwar years from economic chaos and
social dislocation – emphasized their art, literature, language, and philosophy.‖ 66 Because of the
breadth of Pells‘ study countries often gets lumped together within Europe, and even regional
differences disappear within discussions of ―The French,‖ ―The British‖ or ―The Germans.‖
Furthermore, Pells‘ analysis from time to time raises questions about the representativity of the
examples that he draws upon. The author for example devotes five pages to recounting his own
63 Richard Pells, Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture since World
War II (New York: Basic Books, 1997). Page 27, 50-51, 188 and 344.
64 Ibid. Page 39.
65 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 218.
66 Pells, Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture since World War II.
Page 83.
22

experience as a visiting scholar in Europe and backs it up with four or five other individual account
in the footnotes, but rarely is a survey or a broader study used to enhance the assertion of a
representative argument. 67
Holm, 1999
In her study ―American Influence on Danish TV Journalism,‖ Nancy Graham Holm argues that
endogeneous forces as much as exogeneous forces have shaped the development of Danish
television from 1990 to 1999 and that while ―Danish TV journalism has changed fundamentally in
the last ten years it is not a direct result of American influence.‖ 68
Utilizing questionnaires and qualitative interviews with Danish journalists, Holm nevertheless
admits that ―it is difficult to measure America‘s influence on Danish TV journalism,‖ and does not
attempt to define or operationalize Americanization any further. Despite Holm‘s description of the
difficulties in measuring American influence, the author finds that changes have been taking place
with increased speed after 1988 when the Danish Broadcasting Service no longer was the sole actor
on the Danish TV market. Thereby, Holm implicitly argues the importance of commercialization
and deregulation in transforming the Danish media market.
According to Holm, the changes ascribed to Danish TV journalism are not exclusively the result of
American influence, but these developments are ―a response to competition, changes in technology
and globalization. (…) It is incorrect, therefore, to say that America is responsible.‖ 69 Despite her
argument that media markets are mostly shaped by endogeneous forces, Holm‘s text does not seem
to reflect over differences within the countries she describes. On the contrary, Americans ―thrive on
innovation,‖ Danes ―do not like change,‖ some Danes prefer a growing trend towards populism,
while Danish intellectuals ―have a tendency to prefer the elitist‖ public service model for television.
Holm sees the Danish adherence to public service as an important counterforce of American
influence especially combined with Danish aversion to change.
―[I]n spite of market forces, techonology and globalization, there has been strong resistance to
outside influence. In spite of America‘s enormous power to influence, there is one
67 Ibid. Page 145-151.
68 Nancy Graham Holm, "American Influence on Danish TV Journalism," Update (1999),
http://www.update.dk/cfje/VidBase.nsf/ID/VB00140562. Article accessed July 11, 2008. Page 12.
69 Ibid. Holm does, however, point out that ―the electronic teleprompter, used in American [sic] since the 70s was
introduced to Danish TV news only in the 1990s.
23

fundamental reason why her media influence would be limited in Denmark. Danish society is
deeply rooted in tradition and there are powerful cultural boundaries which protect Danish TV
journalism from outside influence, boundaries so strong that penetration is a slow process.
Nevertheless, the Danish TV industry is definitely in a growth and development phase. Most
of the changes between 1988 and 1999 were the result of market forces.‖ 70
Generalizations, lack of precision in the use of Americanization, and subsequent challenges in
operationalizing a study of American influence, however, hamper the credibility of Holm‘s study.
Though plausible, it is, for example, not apparent how Holm knows that electronic news gathering
(ENG) vans in Denmark ―is definitely the result of American and British influence.‖ 71
In the end, nevertheless, it seems that Holm arrives at her conclusion that Americanization is not
responsible for changes in Danish television journalism simply because she does not at any point
attempt to define Americanization. Had Holm systematically used van Eltern‘s broad definition of
processes ―emanating‖ from the United States, and later being transferred to another culture on both
the structural and symbolic level, she may well have concluded that the centrality she attributes
market forces, changes in technology, and globalization all, to some extent, could be attributed to
American influence. 72
Conclusion
The above review of driving forces behind Americanization from an ―assimilationist‖ perspective
reveal that Pells emphasizes the American governments active role in shaping European society
after World War II. The economic aid administered under the Marshall Plan and the cultural
influence from the United States Information Agency are emphasized as important factors behind
American influence, and the development of German journalism after an American model is
stressed.
Additionally, Holm‘s study underlines the importance of commercialization on change in media
environments while also stressing the important counterforce of the Danish government‘s adherence
to public service ideals in hampering American influence.
70 Ibid. Page 3.
71 Ibid. Page 9.
72 Elteren, "Rethinking Americanization Abroad: Toward a Critical Alternative to Prevailing Paradigms." Page 355-359.
Nils Arne Sørensen also makes the argument that globalization to a large extent must be viewed through the prism of
Americanization. See for example, Tom Buk-Swienty, "Amerika I Danmark," Weekendavisen, January 4 2008.
24

2.1.3 Power Asymmetry
The most prevalent current interpretation of relations between the United States and surrounding
societies is one of a disproportionate power relationship. This approach takes as its premise that a
nation‘s greater economic, military and (mass-) cultural power also translates into greater influence
when interacting with other nations. The international research in this field will be presented first
followed by the latest Danish scholarship.
Kuisel (2003)
In ―Debating Americanization: The Case of France‖ Richard Kuisel emphasizes language as a
prime indicator of Americanization in France and points to the French government‘s attempt to
regulate American-English as an example of Americanization‘s pervasiveness.
Kuisel defines Americanization as ―the import by non-Americans of products, images, technologies,
practices and behavior closely associated with America/Americans. Or, in more general terms, the
phenomenon can be defined as the adoption of mass consumption, market capitalism, and mass
culture.‖ The author then points to the difficulty of studying behavior and values, but maintains that
Americanization can be measured in ―for instance the number of movie screens devoted to
Hollywood films.‖ 73
Kuisel rejects the ―cultural imperialist‖ interpretation of Americanization as ―simplistic and highly
tendentious,‖ and also cautions against going so far towards interpretations of globalization or local
assimilation that one loses sight of Americanization‘s significance. Dividing his study into four
main parts, Kuisel analyzes Americanization in France through the prism of ―assimilation,‖ ―culture
in motion,‖ ―globalization‖ and ―behavior, meaning and identity,‖ which leads him to conclude that
there is still much to be said for maintaining Americanization as an analytical category.
Against the claims that Disney, Coca Cola and McDonalds have been assimilated into French
culture, Kuisel finds little evidence and instead asserts that ―nothing basic is changed about food,
the ambience, the appeal, or the operations.‖ Kuisel also argues that despite the warranted criticism
that ―America has never transmitted a single, coherent message,‖ referring to the great cultural and
regional diversity in the United States, there are still ―products and images, technologies and
73 Kuisel, "Debating Americanization: The Case of France." Page
96-97.
25

practices that have been and sometimes still are, closely identified with ‗America,‘ which is evident
if one looks at the process historically.‖ 74
Additionally, in terms of globalization, Kuisel argues that the United States is still so central to this
process, that it must play a prominent part in any study. ―Globalization in the twentieth century has
had (and to a considerable extent still has) an American face,‖ writes Kuisel and adds ―America
remains the prime producer and distributor of an identifiable mass culture as well as certain
practices.‖ 75
In the final part of his analysis, Kuisel addresses the difficulty of causality and admits that many
variables, such as ―women in the workforce, intensified urbanization, traffic congestion, greater
leisure, higher incomes among adolescents and shorter midday breaks,‖ must be taken into account
before concluding that since the number for fast-food outlets has grown and the number of French
cafés decreased France is becoming more Americanized. 76 Despite these qualifications Kuisel
concludes that a significant shift has taken place in France and that Americanization has occurred
based on a study of language as well as culture and consumption.
However, one must also be mindful that Kuisel‘s study is largely based on secondary literature and
news sources as opposed to primary resources. Citations of The New York Times, Washington Post,
The Economist and Le Monde abound while references to other scholars‘ discussion of the concept
appear less frequently. 77
Schröter, 2005
In 2005 the German economic historian Harm G. Schröter published a book called Americanization
of the European Economy, and three years later summarized the results in an article called
―Economic Culture and its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European
Economy, 1900-2005.‖ Like van Elteren introduced in the introductory chapter, Schröter
emphasizes economic influence on Europe as a key driving force of Americanization. Schröter
74 Ibid. Page 103.
75 Ibid. Page 105-106.
76 Ibid. Page 109. Kuisel also cautions about concluding too much about Americanization based on French youth drinks
more Coca-Cola and less wine than their parents‘ generation.
77 Ibid. Kuisel does, however, mention well-known cultural and Americanization scholars such as Pierre Bourdieu, Loïc
Wacquant, Rob Kroes, Jessica Gienow-Hecht,Heide Fehrenbach and Uta Poiger among others.
26

argues that Americanization is not a linear process, but instead can be characterized as ―a jerky,
time-lagged development characterized by surges and pauses.‖ 78
The German professor therefore identifies three major phases of Americanization in the 20 th and
early 21 st century. In Schröter‘s view the 1920s, the period between 1949 and 1973 as well as 1985
to the present day must be seen as the ―major waves of Americanisation‖ with ―cultural, political,
military and financial strength‖ providing the background for each. 79
Schröter defines Americanization as ―an adapted transfer of values, behaviour, technologies,
patterns of organization and norms to the economic life of other states‖ and emphasizes that
Americanization is a qualitative cultural concept, that historically has not lent itself well to
methodologies like ―cliometric economic analysis.‖ 80 Americanization, in Schröter‘s view takes
place through a ―sender,‖ ―conduit,‖ and ―receiver,‖ and rests on ―certain core values which are
more widespread in the US than in Europe.‖ 81
Among these ―core values,‖ Schröter sees the ―extremely strong and positive role,‖ played by the
economy in society as well as individuals‘ life as something more prevalent in the United States
than on the European continent. Additionally, the belief in competition, advantages for individuals
equaling the society‘s best interest, strong individualism and a ―trend towards a commercialisation
of human relations,‖ is seen by the author as distinctly American. 82 Consequently, in Schröter‘s
study, for Americanization to occur, ―the institution, practice, or mentality in question has to be
78
Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 205.
79
Ibid. Page 206. ———, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European
Economy, 1900-2005." Page 331.
80
Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 1-7. ―The concept of Americanization was originally culturally based and therefore did not have
a quantifiable sharpness that would make it accessible to cliometric economic analysis (…) a quantitative survey of
surface indicators of Americanization would be misleading,‖ notes Schröter and uses the example ―labor force
participation,‖ a number which is higher in the United States than Western Europe. ―Such data can mislead, however; in
this case a high labor force participation rate cannot by itself be claimed as an American characteristic, since this would
mean that the former socialist states in Eastern Europe – with rates up to 90 per cent – were more Americanized than
either Western Europe or the United States.‖ See also ———, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of
the Americanisation of the European Economy, 1900-2005." Page 332.
81
Schröter, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European Economy, 1900-
2005." Page 332-333. Schröters understanding of Americanization understanding Americanization as occuring through
a ―sender,‖ ―conduit‖ and ―receiver,‖ is comparable to van Elteren‘s understanding of the process as ―transmission,‖
―transnationalization‖ and ―appropriation.‖.‖
82
———, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 10.
27

found first in the US, then transferred deliberately, and subsequently re-established somewhere
else.‖ 83
Following these initial definitions and clarifications, Schröter moves to discussing the three main
waves of Americanization, emphasizing the first waves‘ focus on ―scientific management‖ and the
―rationalization movement.‖ 84 Additionally, market research is argued by Schröter to be something
uniquely American which enabled the Hollywood film industry to achieve superiority over
European competitors like Nordisk Film after World War I, despite the European industry being
ahead of the Americans before 1914. 85
The second wave of Americanization is closely related to the United States‘ superiority ―not only in
economics and finances but also in military, political and even moral matters,‖ after World War II.
From 1945 and forward, the World Bank, IMF and GATT, which ―shaped the foundations for
international exchange of goods and finances,‖ were all based on American guidelines. This meant
that European ―trade and exchange was liberalized,‖ and though the Marshall Plan played an
important part in regards to European ―energy, infrastructure, production and trade,‖ Schröter
argues that the American focus on winning European ―heads and hearts,‖ was more important and
successful in terms of Americanization.
The cultural exchange that took place between Europe and America is seen by Schröter as being a
key driving force in Americanization with the opportunities this provided opinion leaders from both
Europe and the United States to experience a different culture. Schröter, however, implies that the
impact was greater on the Europeans than the other way around in his choice of words. ―Managers,
economists, trade unionists, technicians, even representatives of housewives‘ organizations, were
invited to have a look. American managers and professors toured Europe in order to teach.‖ 86
Among the achievements of post-World War II Americanization were less national industrial
cartelization, systematized business education, mass-production, self-service in shops, structural
business changes by introducing divisions in companies, as well as advertising agencies among
other developments until ―the second wave of Americanisation ebbed during the 1970s.‖ 87
83 Ibid. Page 5.
84 Ibid. Page 214.
85 ———, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European Economy, 1900-
2005." Page 335.
86 Ibid. Page 336.
87 Ibid. Page 337-338.
28

The third wave of Americanization can be described briefly with the argument that ―de-regulation
and privatization became the prescribed cure for all European economic ills,‖ and ―[t]he de-
regulation and privatization trend was quickly adopted by European governments, beginning with
Britain‘s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher selling British Telecom in 1982.‖ According to
Schröter these developments had a ―great impact on transportation and the communications industry
across Europe.‖ 88
Additionally, inventions in the IT-industry were spearheaded by the United States and subsequently
taken in by the Europeans, which meant that the American firms also defined the rules and that
―standards were set in the US.‖ Perhaps the greatest shift during the third wave of Americanization
was on the stock exchange, as investments in publicly traded companies became increasingly
focused on short-term gain. ―Other interests such as the interests of stakeholders (employees,
neighbours, customers…) or technological innovation play no role of their own in this approach.
This concept, which expresses a core of American economic values, was accepted and became the
most quoted business idea in Europe in the 1990s,‖ concludes Schröter. 89
Schröter convincingly argues that Americanization in the economic realm is closely tied to phases
of American structural and symbolic power. When the United States initiated the great depression
or lost moral superiority in Vietnam the allure of Americanization also subsided. Americanization
scholars have furthermore argued that there was a rise in anti-Americanism during the Bush
administration, a fact which Schröter also briefly alludes to. 90
Despite his attempt to tie economic Americanization to cultural and social issues, Schröter does,
however, overlook the very conscious effort exerted by the American government in winning over
opinion-leaders after World War II.
88 Ibid. Page 339.
89 Ibid. Page 339-340.
90 Alexander Stephan, "Cold War Alliances and the Emergence of Transatlantic Competition: An Introduction," in The
Americanization of Europe: Culture, Diplomacy, and Anti-Americanism after 1945, ed. Alexander Stephan (New York:
Berghahn Books, 2006). Page 5-6 and 18-20. Also mentioned in Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-
American Anti-Americans." Page 141. Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of
American Economic Influence in Europe since the 1880's. Page 207.
29

―No commentator has suggested the existence of a grand design or a comprehensive
masterplan drawn up by the US government or by the country‘s enterprises, foundations, and
other institutions to transfer American values abroad.‖ 91
As will become apparent in the chapter on symbolic Americanization, influencing European culture
and economy by transferring ―American values abroad,‖ was an explicit strategy of the American
government from the years of the Marshall Plan and beyond.
Van Elteren, 2006
In 2006 Mel van Elteren published Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of
Domestic and Global Influence; one of the seminal studies of Americanization because of its
precision in discussing the concept historically and presently, while presenting a framework for
future studies.
Utilizing a wide array of secondary literature, Van Elteren structures his book in three main parts.
First, the dutch scholar outlines how Europeans have thought about and influenced the United
States from the 19 th century until today. Van Elteren then moves on to describe the United States‘
domestic battles over what it means to be American, 92 and in the end he suggests an overall
framework for studying Americanization outside the United States.
Van Elteren deliberately maintains Americanization as a useful analytical category distinguished
from Globalization, McDonaldization or Westernization based on the argument that these
approaches, while often acknowledging the centrality of the United States, tend to see
Americanization from a cultural imperialist perspective. In van Elterns view the field of
Americanization studies have moved away from ―cultural imperialism‖ towards a more nuanced
91
Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 9.
92
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 50-74. Van
Elteren here describes an American domestic debate over marginal groups, where the concept of Americanization
designates processes of integration prescribed by the more powerful actors in American culture. See for example Philip
Gleason, "American Identity and Americanization," in Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, ed. Stephan
Thernstrom (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980). Page 55-57.
30

view of Americanization which means taking ―transmission, appropriation and transnationalization‖
into account. 93
Furthermore, van Eltern rejects the argument that studies of Americanization cannot be undertaken
since ―America‖ is not a uniform entity and projects a multitude of messages. Even if one does not
accept the idea of the United States as a nation-state, van Eltern still argues that,
―There is a stubborn historical-societal reality, a ‗real‘ America, out there, with economic,
technological, military, social, political, cultural and other features that lie outside the realm of
social imagination and may in themselves bring about material, structural and symbolic
changes elsewhere.‖ 94
As we have seen in the introductory chapter, van Eltern calls for an approach to studying
Americanization which explains the driving forces behind transmission, transnationalization and
appropriation of things American. According to van Elteren, researchers must account for both the
structural and symbolic levels including the supra-national level, working through public, private
and non-profit institutions to the level of key individuals.
The structural Americanization, in Van Elterens view, sets the boundaries for the symbolic
Americanization to take place within. At the structural level, van Elteren describes what the former
Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, Joseph S. Nye, has termed hard power,
which is primarily conceived of as military and economic power. 95
In van Eltern‘s framework, Nye‘s conceptualization of hard power ―can be used to make others
change their position‖ through ―inducements/rewards (carrots) or threats (sticks).‖ 96 However, the
concept of soft power is concerned with getting other nations to follow the American examples
93 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 184-188.
94 Ibid. Page 125. See also Gleason, "American Identity and Americanization." Page 56-57. ―An American nationality
does in fact exist (…) to affirm the existence of American nationality does not mean that all Americans are exactly alike
or must become uniform in order to be real Americans. It simply means that a genuine national community does exist
and that it has its own distinctive principle of unity, its own history, and its own appropriate sense of
belongingness.‖
95 Nye, The Paradox of American Power: Why The World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone. Page 8. ―Military and
economic power are both examples of hard command power that can be used to induce others to change their position.‖
96 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 142.
31

ecause they admire its values and want to emulate or aspire to the United States‘ principles of
―democracy, personal freedom, upward mobility and openness.‖ 97 Soft power rests on ―intangible
power resources such as an attractive culture, ideology, and institutions (…) Like love, it is hard to
measure and to handle, and does not touch everyone, but that does not diminish its importance.‖ 98
Van Elteren‘s study does admit to the difficulty of studying things specifically ―American,‖ since
these are always ―diffuse, in flux, without clear boundaries and constantly remade,‖ 99 but maintains
that the concept can be studied as long as ―necessary specifications and qualifications‖ are
observed. 100 Among these qualifications are the importance of analyzing not necessarily what
America is, but what people perceive America to be; the import side of Americanization. 101 Yet, at
the same time van Elteren insists that there is something tangible, and therefore transmittable, about
the United States which can be studied.
If one was to criticize anything about van Elteren‘s study, it would be the fact that despite
acknowledging several different views on what America is, the author has seemingly a very definite
view of what it should be also. As a consequence, van Elteren‘s normative opinion about U.S.
policy, especially during the Bush administration years when his book was published, at times
shines through when he for example calls an anti-immigration bill ―draconian,‖ and talks about
―troubling‖ provisions in relation to immigration provisions. 102
Schou, 1992
In 1992 Søren Schou published a Danish study of Americanization partly based on Peter Knoop
Christensens work, but with a more nuanced view of American influence. In the book chapter
―Postwar Americanisation and the revitalization of European culture,‖ Schou argued that the
97
Nye, The Paradox of American Power: Why The World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone. Page 8-11.
98
Ibid. Page 9.
99
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 121.
100
Ibid. Page 218.
101
Ibid. Page 129. ―The emphasis here is on the importance of what people observe and think and how this affects their
emotions and actions.‖
102
Ibid. Page 90 and 93. Van Elteren also cites a lot of seemingly ―cultural imperialist‖critiques of globalization and the
fight against U.S. capitalism between page 186 and 191 without affording scholars with different viewpoints much
space at all. See for example his discussion of global music on page 190.
32

cultural imperialism paradigm must be rejected since the concept is too ―crude‖ and therefore
―insensitive to the process of accommodation taking place.‖ 103
To Schou, Americanization means ―the study of the transmission of values, ideas, images and
myths from the USA to other parts of the world, but it deals with processes of transformation as
well. While Schou acknowledges that some aspects of Americanization, ―such as: How many
American films were seen by Danish audiences during the period 1945-9?‖ can be studied
quantitatively, the author, like Kuisel and Schröter, is also aware of such an approach‘s limitations.
Schou problematizes solely quantitative studies of Americanization, as an analysis exclusively
focusing on the amount of American films viewed could say nothing about how these movies ―were
seen and interpreted by a Danish audience, or what needs they satisfied.‖ According to Schou such
―quantitative considerations‖ are therefore insufficient if one is to understand ―Americanisation
proper.‖ 104
Americanization proper in Schou‘s view deals with the cultural aspects of Americanization, aspects
which are difficult to flesh out, but the author lists four reasons for why the United States were
more successful in exporting their societal values, even to occupied countries, than other powerful
countries have been. 105
Economic influence in the shape of the Marshall Plan, serves as a key variable in Schou‘s analysis
but there were more important reasons for the American society‘s attractiveness. First, Schou points
to ―the Americans being the bountiful relatives from abroad,‖ who had a ―halo of luxury and
wealth‖ which was inspiring to the Europeans that experienced restrictions on consumer goods
during the war.
Second, American mass communication provided culture-starved Europeans the ―entertainment and
escapism‖ along with a view of a better life in a time when it was in great demand.
Third, the United States that Europeans came to know was not a U.S. of crude race-, gender- and
class divisions, but rather a ―glorified replica‖ transmitted through radio and film made even more
103 Søren Schou, "Postwar Americanisation and the Revitalisation of European Culture," in Reappraising Transnational
Media, ed. Michael Skovmand and Kim Christian Schrøder (London: Routledge, 1992). Page 143.
104 Ibid. Page 144.
105 Ibid. Page 146. Schou uses the example of Russian influence in the Baltic countries and German influence during
World War II as examples of occupying countries that have not been as successful as the United States was in Germany.
33

elievable by the progressive, almost social democratic, policies of the Roosevelt administration,
which made American culture even more palatable to Europeans.
Finally, and in Schou‘s opinon the decisive reason ―why Americanisation lead to widespread pro-
Americanisim,‖ was that the image of the United States presented to Europeans was both glorified,
but also ―convincing‖ since it was produced by many of the finest European artists.
According to Schou, many leading European cultural and political personalities had fled the
continent and settled in the United States in the years surrounding World War II. Thus, American
culture was enriched with gifted European immigrants, while their European counterparts had few
resources to improve the quality of cultural production and be innovative. As a consequence, the
developments of the mass communications industry increasingly originated in the United States,
while the quality of the entertainment received a great boost by being infused with European
talent. 106
Towards the end of his study Schou introduces the concept of ―time lag,‖ as many of the American
innovations within the culture industry took some years before they found their way to Western
Europe especially in World War II‘s immediate aftermath. According to Schou, this ―time lag‖
ensured that the Europeans were only exposed to cultural products deemed potentially successful,
while less stellar productions were tried and tested in the United States but not necessarily exported.
―The specific constellation of American populism and high artistic standards in entertainment
on the one hand and European postwar dreams of a more colourful and prosperous life on the
other would in my opinion account for the spectacularly successful process of
Americanisation.‖ 107
Finally, Schou argues that while academic elites on both sides of the Danish political spectrum
deplored influence from the United States, on the left perceived as a threat to working class culture
106 Ibid. Page 146-148
107 Ibid. Page 151.
34

and on the right a threat to national high culture, the vast majority of Danes enthusiastically
embraced these new American impulses. 108
With his mention of the Marshall Plan, Schou does invoke some aspects of structural
Americanization, and since his focus is cultural Americanization it is not surprising that economic
or political considerations play only a fairly small role in his study. Schou‘s analysis and
subsequent arguments does, however, often hinge on the authors‘ authority. While the argument is
convincingly presented there is not a much primary empirical data to back it up. 109 Schou mostly
builds on secondary literature and synthesizes about Americanization from there, albeit successfully
so.
Villaume, 1995
Poul Villaume designates his massive study of Danish foreign policy between 1949 and 1961
―political-diplomatic‖ history and situates it between ―revisionist,‖ and ―post-revisionist‖ traditions
of diplomacy studies. 110 Based on newly released primary sources the author conducts a bottom-up
analysis which rejects the deductive, theoretical approaches aimed at ―finding regularities and
precepts with predictive power within international politics.‖ 111 This ideographic study instead
presents a thematically structured account of Danish foreign policy which is organized
chronologically within the individual chapters.
One of Villaume‘s most valuable contributions is his enormous work on identifying source material
not previously analyzed in a Danish context and which leads to the author‘s argument that Denmark
―found an acceptable balance between consideration of Soviet interests and alliance loyalty which
contributed to further the low tension in the Nordic area.‖ 112
After a failed attempt at creating a Nordic alliance, Villaume describes how Denmark reluctantly
joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 4, 1949 and thereby lent strategically
108 Ibid. Page 153.
109 Ibid.. For example Schou writes ―let me give,‖ ―in my opinion,‖ and ―we Europeans,‖ in his argument and the reader
is at times therefore left to rely on Schou‘s academic authority rather than empirical data.
110 Poul Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark,
Nato and The Cold War] (Copenhagen: Eirene, 1995). Page 21.
111 Ibid. Page 28.
112 Nikolaj Petersen, "Et Vigtigt Skridt for Dansk Samtidshistorie - Med Forbehold. Opposition Mod Poul Villaumes
Disputats, Allieret Med Forbehold. Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig. En Studie I Dansk Sikkerhedspolitik
[an Important Step for Danish Contemporary History - with Reservations. Opposition to Poul Villaumes Doctoral
Thesis. Allied with Reservations. Denmark, Nato and The Cold War]," Historisk Tidsskrift 16, no. 2 (1995). Page 422.
35

important areas on Greenland to NATO supervision. 113 In the context of the present study,
however, Villaume‘s greatest contribution is his trailblazing status in terms of using primary
sources from the United States to support claims of the Americans‘ conscious influence on Danish
journalism. While Villaume does not explicitly use the concept of ―Americanization,‖ in his
doctoral thesis, he does nevertheless convincingly detail the conscious efforts from the United
States‘ Department of State when it comes to influencing Danish public opinion.
Despite receiving criticism for not emphasizing the cultural aspect of the Cold War enough,
Villaume in a subsequent response argued that ―the cultural-ideological aspects of the NATO-
partnership and the Americanization of the media are in fact the subject of independent analysis in
the book.‖ Additionally, ―it is here documented for the first time [my emphasis] that the Danish
press and the state broadcasting system was infiltrated with more or less systematic ‗grey
propaganda‘ of American origin.‖ 114
Due to Villaume‘s research it is clear that the United States Information Agency primarily worked
very hard to create a favorable view of the United States by establishing relations with ‖influential
Danish opinion leaders, especially people within the foreign- and defense ministry, the Danish
Atlantic Treaty Association along with pro-NATO editors, journalists, radio program officers and
lecturers.‖ 115
―The United States‘ intelligence service CIA, which from 1950 increasingly was integrated in
American policy-making, to a great extent recruited American and European journalists as spies and
propagandists,‖ furthermore ―economically and politically CIA infiltrated a number of American
and European newspapers and news media, among these the larger news bureaus, i.e. Reuters.‖ 116
The New York Times, for example, ran an article-series in 1977 where it was argued that the Danish
news agency Ritzaus Bureau ―reportedly,‖ was infiltrated, 117 and in 1988, The Danish Union of
Journalist‘s also took up the subject in their professional periodical Journalisten. 118 Yet, apart from
113
Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato
and The Cold War]. Page 17 as well as 121-122 and 156.
114
———, "Replik - Om Tankefængsler, Sikkerhedsdilemmaer Og Interessefællesskaber [Response: On Imprisoned
Ideas, Security Dilemmas and Community of Interests]." Page 463.
115
———, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato and
The Cold War]. Page 793.
116
Ibid. Page 769.
117
Ibid. Page 792.
118
Frede Jakobsen, "Online Til Fem Danske Redaktioner [Online to Five Danish Newsdesks]," Journalisten, April 20,
1988. Page 1.
36

Villaumes study of the period between 1949 and 1961 no systematic analysis of the American
influence on the Danish press has been conducted. In terms of its diplomatic aspects, Villaume‘s
study has been criticized for not affording Danish domestic political and tactical considerations
enough weight in his analysis, and for focusing too little on the Soviet Union. 119
Marianne Rostgaard 2004
In 2004 historian Marianne Rostgaard published an article called ―Public Diplomacy and
Americanization,‖ in which she briefly traces the historiography of public diplomacy showing that
the field has moved from a paradigm of traditionalists over revisionists to post-revisionists.
In the traditionalist view, there was no reason to discuss or examine the foundation of the Cold War,
the conflict was seen as having an inherent and obvious necessary value in itself. The revisionists
researched and questioned the decisions and motives behind decision-making during the Cold War
and saw the Marshall Plan as a means to help American economy more than a benevolent exercise
to help rebuild devastated allied countries.The post-revisionist tradition focused less on the Cold
War‘s ideology, but based on the primary sources that became available during the 1980‘s, the post-
revisionists expanded the field of study beyond the sole focus of the United States and the Soviet
Union. Along with the expanded focus came an increased focus on the role of culture during the
Cold War struggle. Rostgaard notes ―in a Danish context, one have to say, that the cultural side of
the Cold War has been a neglected area.‖ 120
Through a discussion of the CIA-sponsored Congress for Cultural Freedom, Rostgaard
problematizes the notion that the American agency‘s support translated into actual influence. Posed
as a question, Rostgaard asks, ―can one be sure that the receiver decodes the message in the the way
the the sender intentioned?‖ and provided the answer that underlines the importance of context
while noting that ―it is important to incorporate both the sender-sides intentions and the receiver-
sides reception to carry out an assessment of the effects.‖ 121
119 Petersen, "Et Vigtigt Skridt for Dansk Samtidshistorie - Med Forbehold. Opposition Mod Poul Villaumes Disputats,
Allieret Med Forbehold. Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig. En Studie I Dansk Sikkerhedspolitik
[an Important Step for Danish Contemporary History - with Reservations. Opposition to Poul Villaumes Doctoral
Thesis. Allied with Reservations. Denmark, Nato and The Cold War]." Page 407 and 410. Also Niels Thomsen,
"Skamros Med Forbehold [Lavish Praise with Reservations]," Historisk Tidsskrift 16, no. 4 (1995). Page 434.
120 Rostgaard, "Opinionsdiplomati Og Amerikanisering [Public Diplomacy and Americanization]." Page 105-106.
121 Ibid. Page 109-110.
37

In the second part of her article, Rostgaard discusses the concept of Americanization in connection
with Cold War research. Rostgaard thinks of the United States of a symbol and a cultural sign more
than an actual physical entity and notes that ―the image that is created of the USA, both by a
conscious effort by the United States, but also in the receiving nation, does not necessarily have
anything to do with the actual United States.‖
In the end Rostgaard uses the German historian Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht to further question the
understanding of Americanization as a one-way influence. Culture specifically must be understood
as more multifaceted and a negotiation between the sender and receiver, where the receiver
―domesticates‖ American culture and changes it into one‘s own; an implicit support for the cultural
encounter-theory. 122 As support for this interpretation, Rostgaard points to the fact that the
Americans themselves adjusted their conscious attempts at influencing other countries overseas to
fit into specific national receptions.
Rostgaards article is a very useful overview of the main debates within the latest literature of Public
Diplomacy and Americanization, but due to its focus on culture, the structural elements of
Americanzation are left out and ―America‖ is therefore seen purely as a symbol rather than an
actual nation with real economic and political consequences. Additionally, based on secondary
literature, Rostgaards precisely defines Public Diplomacy in her discussion but she never attains the
same precision in her use of ―Americanization.‖ 123
Petersen and Sørensen, 2006
In 2006 Klaus Petersen and Nils Arne Sørensen published one of the first attempts at an overall
Americanization study since Peter Knoop Christensen‘s Amerikanisering Af Det Danske Kulturliv i
Perioden 1945-58. [Americanization of the Danish Cultural Life in the Period 1945-58].
In ―Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans,‖ a brief introduction to the political and
economic considerations which brought Denmark under the American sphere of influence is
followed by a description of the American overt, semi-overt and covert information programs.
Petersen and Sørensen show that officials working out ot the American Embassy in Copenhagen
122 Ibid. Page 112. ―An acquisition and readjustment occurs, one does not just absorb passively.‖
123 Ibid. Page 117-118.
38

systematically sought to influence Danish ―opinion makers within the media, politics, and the
educational system, as well as arts and culture.‖ 124
Through archival and etymological studies, secondary literature and interviews Petersen and
Sørensen present a convincing case that information was transmitted to the Danes from the
American Embassy, that exchange programs enabled many current and future prominent Danes to
experience the United States, and that there were also covert attempts, for example sponsored by the
CIA, to influence Danish public opinion.
In elite cultural circles, jazz served as an important inspiration and example of how American music
practices were adopted and adapted by a domestic Danish audience, and in terms of mass culture
Hollywood movies, Readers Digest (in Danish called Det Bedste) as well as Donald Duck comics
were hugely popular. ―In every one of these cases, an American cultural style was imported to
Denmark and eventually integrated,‖ writes Petersen and Sørensen. 125
Yet, despite their convincing depiction of American cultural, economic and political influence, the
authors never really define what they mean by ―American,‖ and though they allude to two
America‘s in their discussion of anti-Americanism in Denmark, it is not always clear which
―America‖ it is that influences Denmark. A clearer definition of what is meant by Americanization
would have been desirable as well as a discussion of whether or not using American products also
equals Americanization. As it is the reader is left to sort out what is overt and what is covert
influence and is seldom given concrete examples of what the effects of this influence was. 126
The authors also emphasize influence from Germany and Britain and demonstrate that direct
American influence did not become prevalent until the 1960‘s. Yet, Petersen and Sørensen
potentially underestimate the Americanization of British and German culture which was later
exported to Denmark. Van Elteren considers this a form of Americanization by ―secondary
124
Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans." Page 117-118. According to the authors,
the programs were, ―those making information about the United States available for Danes, those influencing Danish
institutions to adopt and use American propaganda products as their own, and – as evidenced by specific examples –
those providing secret support to pro-American Danish operators.
125
Ibid. Page 132. Sørensen and Petersen thereby implicitly alludes to a similar understanding of the Americanization
process as van Elteren
126
Ibid. Page 127. One well-chosen example is the Danish industry, where the authors demonstrate that in terms of
industrial relations, scientific management and rationalization, Danes adopted American practices. These concrete
examples offer tangible support for the Americanization argument.
39

appropriation,‖ 127 but Sørensen and Petersen do not discuss whether it is European or American
influence mainly. 128 In this sense the book chapter can perhaps be seen as crediting the Europeans
with more agency in the process of Americanization than was actually the case.
Petersen and Sørensen, 2007
Together with Klaus Petersen, Nils Arne Sørensen in 2007 published the article ‖Kommunister,
Jan-bøger og drømmekøkkener [Communists, Jan-books and dream-kitchens].‖ In this article the
authors argue that much of what we know about the Cold War comes from people in a position of
power, and very seldom from ―ordinary people.‖ The two scholars therefore recommend that future
studies should focus on ―the Cold War‘s imprints in mass cultural media and genres.‖ 129
Petersen and Sørensen tie everyday life during the Cold War to the concept of Americanization, and
note that Europeans have previously talked about it as ―imitation‖ or ―affected by,‖ which in the
author‘s words is ―far from precise.‖ Petersen and Sørensen do not define the concept any further,
however, but go on to demonstrate the United States‘ role in a European context throughout the 20 th
century. In the authors‘ view, some of most effective ways of affecting the Europeans was through
propaganda, and the exchange programs tied to this information effort.
―For that purpose the plan‘s most important piece was probably the study tours, where Danish
businesspeople, union leaders, academics and journalists with their own eyes experienced the
United States, and where they, according to the plan, brought back inspiration to modernize
Danish society in the American image. (…) The Marshall Plan is usually thought to be one of
the most successful American initiatives in the Cold War. It is clear, that the program‘s
longsighted dimension – to ensure growth and prosperity in Western Europe – was based on
perceptions that must be characterized as distinctly percolation-theoretical, but just as clearly,
this percolation-process actually succeeded. Leading Danes‘ stay abroad did affect the Danes‘
everyday life at the workplace, in education and as consumers.‖ 130
127 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 168. Elteren
notes that in the case of smaller countries like Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, ―American ideas, goods,
services and practices reached individual countries often through other ones.‖
128 Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans." Page 132-133.
129 ———, "Kommunister, Jan-Bøger Og Drømmekøkkener [Communists, Jan-Books and Dream Kitchens]." Page 33.
Sørensen and Petersen specifically suggest sportsjournalism, movies, popular literature, magazines and hobby journals.
130 Ibid. Page 40-41. My translation. Original text reads, ―Til det formål var planens vigtigste brikker sandsynligvis de
studierejser, hvor danske erhvervsfolk, fagforeningsledere, akademikere og journalister ved selvsyn oplevede USA, og
40

Through these conscious efforts, the United States was able to win the Cold War everyday battle for
the Danish hearts and minds, and thereby dominate the perceptions of ―the good life.‖ The authors
conclude, ―our main point in the above is that the Cold War cannot be understood fully from a
traditional high politics frame of analysis,‖ and add that while there is much research on the
everyday aspects of the Cold War internationally the field is still in its infancy in Denmark.
Though well-written and convincing, Petersen and Sørensens article, nevertheless would benefit
from having included their own definition on what Americanization actually is. The article presents
quite a few examples of American-inspired Danish practices, but the reader never gets a well-
supported answer to whether or not the study tours actually were one of the most important pieces
in American propaganda and exactly how the Marshall Plans percolation-process actually
succeeded – if it did. 131
Sørensen, 2009
In 2009 Nils Arne Sørensen published the book chapter ―Kulturmøder, Selvkolonisering Og
Imperialisme Om USAmerikaniseringen Af Europa [Cultural Encounters, Selfcolonialization and
Imperialism About USAmericanization of Europe],‖ which offers a contemporary view how
Americanization is understood in Denmark.
Utilizing van Elteren‘s definition, Sørensen notes that the Dutch scholar‘s attention to processes, as
well as his wide range of approaches to studying Americanization, forms a useful foundation for
further exploration. Since van Elteren‘s definition lacks a definite suggestion to what the main
driving forces of Americanization are Sørensen proceeds to give his scholarly assessment. At the
core of Sørensen‘s understanding of Americanization‘s driving forces is capitalism. Capitalism
enabled the United States to build the institutions which subsequently played a key part in
Americanization. Among the driving forces enabled by capitalism are private companies
hvor de - som planen var - tog inspiration med hjem til at modernisere det danske samfund efter amerikansk forbillede
fx med tidsstudier, markedsføringsanalyser og selvbetjeningsbutikker for at anføre tre konkrete eksempler. (...)
Fremtrædende danskeres studieophold i USA kom til at påvirke danskernes hverdagsliv på arbejdspladsen, i
uddannelsesinstitutionerne og som forbrugere.‖
131 Ibid. Page 41.
41

transferring technology and previously unknown consumer goods, individual knowledge exchanges,
and economic aid in the shape of the Marshall Plan combined with cultural-diplomatic activity. 132
Furthermore, Sørensen rejects a view of Americanization as being cultural imperialism, where the
people of the receiving end are helplessly exposed to the overwhelming impulses from the United
States, but instead embraces what he calls the cultural encounter model. In Sørensens view, ―it is
obvious, that the actors who historically have driven the Americanization processes forward, must
be sought on both sides of the Atlantic.‖ 133 Yet, despite this individual agency on both sides of the
Atlantic, Americanization and Europeanization do not hold equal weight, but are to be understood
as an asymmetric power-relationship with the United States, more often than not, setting the
agenda.
According to Sørensen, the precondition for processes of Americanization is naturally the
Europeanization of North America. The author thereby underlines the importance of not seeing
Americanization as being one-directional. On the contrary, Sørensen uses the example of the
American Revolution to demonstrate the complexity of such ―transnational processes.‖ According
to Sørensen the American Revolution served as a model for Europeans resisting autocracy but the
American Revolution found its ideology through the work of European intellectuals. 134
Sørensens chapter is an excellent synthesis of Americanization studies‘ current state in Denmark,
but it draws heavily on secondary literature based on studies in other European countries and
utilizes little empirical data to support or contest these developments taking place in Denmark. In
that sense it offers very little concrete advice concerning how to go about conducting a study of
Americanization. 135
132 Nils Arne Sørensen, "Kulturmøder, Selvkolonisering Og Imperialisme Om USAmerikaniseringen Af Europa
[Cultural Encounters, Selfcolonialization and Imperialism About USAmericanization of Europe," in Transnationale
Historier [Transnational Histories], ed. Anne Magnussen Sissel Bjerrum Fossat, Klaus Petersen, Nils Arne Sørensen,
(Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2009). Page 183-188. Sørensen here refers to Coca Cola and chewing gum as
consumer goods and printing presses among other items in terms of technology.
133 Ibid. Page 190.
134 Ibid. See also ———, "Er Vi Blevet Ameridanere? Om Amerikaniseringsprocesser Gennem 200 År [Have We
Become Ameri-Danes? On Americanization Processes through 200 Years]," Historielærerforeningen for Gymnasiet og
HF, no. 177 (2008).
135 The example of Jolly Cola, Yankie Bar, and Dandy chewing gum are, along with a play called ―Ideale Magter [Ideal
Powers] and a brief reference to the Congress for Cultural Freedom, the only Danish examples that Sørensen draws on.
42

Kryhl Jensen, 2009
Building partially on Villaume‘s work from 1995, Martin Kryhl Jensen in his article ―A War on
Values,‖ analyzes the American cultural diplomatic approach to Denmark between 1945 and 1960.
Focusing on the means and ends towards influence on Danish society, Kryhl Jensen describes the
inception of the United States Information Agency and shows that prominent Danish journalists
were closely linked to American Embassy officials in the years immidiately after World War II.
Based on Danish and American archival material, Kryhl Jensen also depicts how American officials
directly tried to influence Danish journalists through their personal relationships and by inviting
Danish editors to The White House for a meeting with President Harry Truman. 136 According to
Kryhl Jensen, Danish journalists were seen by the Americans as an effient way to reach larger
society.
―[The Americans] thus focused on reaching as wide a segment of the Danish population as
possible by nurturing their connections with the people who already were or were expected to
be leading in Danish society.‖ 137
Moreover, the author shows that educational exchange, for instance the ―Leader Grant‖ under the
Fulbright Program, was central to the American strategy. Several journalists went on exchange to
the United States and the centrality of the media is also underlined by the fact three of the American
Embassy‘s seven sections, ―Motion Pictures,‖ ―Press and Publications,‖ and ―Broadcasting‖ were
related to Danish journalists and communicators. 138
Kryhl Jensen‘s description of the duties carried out by the seven different USIE-sections, i.e.
inviting Danish journalists to the United States or prompting publication of anti-Soviet articles,
136 Martin Kryhl Jensen, "En Krig På Værdier - Mål Og Midler I Det Amerikanske Kulturdiplomati [A War on Values:
Means and Ends in the American Cultural Diplomacy]," in Fodnoter, ed. Bent Jensen (Copenhagen: Center for
Koldkrigsforskning, 2009). Page 9. According to Kryhl Jensen, the American head of USIE, Roy V. Peel, wrote to Ebbe
Munck on August 25, 1945 seeking a correction notice of what he believed to be a misleading article about the United
States in Information.
137 Ibid. Page 11.
138 Ibid. Page 17-28. Influencing Danish teachers is, however, also shown to be a distinct priority by the Americans.
According to Kryhl Jensen, the seven USIE-sections at the American Embassy were ―Library and Institute,‖ ―Exchange
of Persons,‖ ―Motion Pictures,‖ ―Press and Publications,‖ ―Broadcasting,‖ ―Special Events,‖ ―Other Governments:
Informational and Cultural Activities.‖
43

convincingly demonstrates how American officials consciously worked to gain the upper-hand in
the (cultural) Cold War. 139
However, one drawback of Kryhl Jensen‘s cultural diplomacy study from 1945 to 1960 is the fact
that the author‘s argument primarily rests on documents written between 1950 and 1952. There are
a few references to documents written by American Embassy officials in 1953 but Kryhl Jensen‘s
article does not discuss whether the conclusions reached regarding the early 1950‘s are also valid in
the late 1950‘s.
Conclusion
To sum up, Schröter and Van Elteren, for example, emphasizes the role of the American
government and the structural elements of the economy as driving forces behind American
influence. As such the theoretical framework for the content analysis of newspaper articles goes
well hand-in-hand with the main literature on Americanization with the focus on the role of
government and commercial influence.
The previous section also revealed driving forces that lets the researcher go even further in
uncovering concrete examples of Americanization. Rostgaard emphasized the importance of
studying Americanization from both a sender and receiver perspective while Kryhl Jensen,
Sørensen and Petersen place their emphasis on the cultural diplomacy being transmitted from the
American Embassy and the knowledge exchange between Denmark and the United States as well as
the importance of key actors. Sørensen in his study from 2009 furthermore focuses on the
connection between commercialization and the transfer of technology as a key driving force along
with the actions of key agents on both sides of the Atlantic.
All the above mentioned factors, the Danish and American government military and economic
policies, private companies‘ export of technology, knowledge exchange as well as key individuals
will, as evidenced by Table 2 be viewed as primary driving forces behind American influence on
Danish journalism, in the ensuing analysis of structural and symbolic Americanization. Using
theories primarily from media sociology and political science, the following section will focus on
the ideal of objectivity which played a prominent part in symbolic Americanization of Danish
journalism, and will also be used as one of two main independent variables in the subsequent
139 Ibid. Page 24-25.
44

content analysis focusing on change in newspaper frames and styles over time.
2.2 Objectivity
The foundation for the emergence of objective news reporting emphasizing ―faithful descriptions of
facts or events,‖ was laid in 19 th century North America and is the one characteristic of U.S.
journalism that ―stands above all others.‖ 140
During the course of the 19 th century journalistic discoursive practices were increasingly separated
between ―matters of fact men,‖ and interpretative writers. In strict news reporting journalists
desisted from using value-ladden prose and thereby set themselves apart from what the Swiss media
scholar Jean Chalaby has described as ―the opinion-oriented practices of publicists and the personal
narratives of literary authors.‖ 141 American journalists and editors espoused this ideal of impartial
news in order to provide ―citizens with enough objective information to govern themselves,‖ but
despite the homage paid to impartial news, there was still a significant interpretative or
―editorializing‖ element to 19 th century newspaper writing. This propensity to editorialize in news
articles changed around the turn of the century though.
―The editors who enforced objectivity after 1900 banned all comment or interpretation,
raising questions about almost any adjective or verb in a report. To ‗editorilize‘ was the
reporter‘s mortal sin.‖ 142
The adoption of the objectivity ideal went hand-in-hand with a shift in ―science towards a stricter,
‗pure‘ objectivity.‖ 143 While American journalists quickly recognized the limits of absolute
objectivity, editors and reporters consciously developed a journalistic methodology to minimize the
140 Stephen J.A. Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond, ed. Philip J. Cercone,
Mcgill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004). Page 19 and 214.
See also Wolfgang Donsbach, "Lapdogs, Watchdogs and Junkyard Dogs," Media Studies Journal 9, no. Fall (1995).
Page 18.
141 Chalaby, The Invention of Journalism. Page 129-130.
142 Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Page 217.
143 Ibid. Page 216.
45

interpretative elements of the craft. Objectivity thus also served as a crucial way for journalists to
make a genuine claim to professionalization.
Moreover, when Joseph Pulitzer publicly announced his endowment to the Columbia School of
Journalism in 1904, it marked an important shift towards greater professionalization in journalism
since journalism education shortly hereafter became part of American universities. From the early
1900s and forward the ideal of objectivity became a prevalent feature of American journalists‘ press
codes and articles contemplating the professions ethics.
Yet, objectivity, as the the Canadian philosopher and journalist Stephen Ward reminds us, can be a
slippery concept. Ward in his book The Invention of Journalism Ethics traces the history of
objectivity focusing especially on the concepts connection to journalism and distinguishes between
ontological, epistemological and procedural senses of objectivity. 144
To Ward, something is ontologically objective if it ―exists independently of experience,‖ and can be
regarded a ―fact, not a fiction.‖ Epistemic objectivity, on the other hand deals with ―people‘s beliefs
and methods of inquiry,‖ while procedural objectivity is striven for in the realm of law, government
and institutional administration in order to reach ―fair and reasonable decisions.‖ In terms of
procedural objectivity, ―the goal is not so much theoretical understanding as correct decisions.‖ 145
The journalistic understanding of objectivity, as we shall see in the pages to come, combines all
three of the above, when emphasizing adherence to facts, following journalistic methodological
conventions and striving to present information from sources fairly.
2.2.1 Emergence of Objectivity
According to Ward, ―one of the earliest known uses‖ of objectivity in a journalism textbook was
Charles G. Ross‘ The Writing of News from 1911 146 and when the American Society of Newspaper
Editors (ASNE) adopted a code of ethics in 1922 it espoused ―objective‖ characteristics such as
―sincerity, truthfulness, accuracy,‖ as well as ―impartiality‖ and being free from ―opinion or bias of
144 Ibid. Page 15-16. ―Any solution to the problem of objectivity must begin with clarifying the many senses of
objectivity inherited from the evolution of language and culture,‖ notes Ward.
145 Ibid. Page 16-18.
146 Ibid. Page 214.
46

any kind. 147 Consequently, Schudson notes, ―What we might call modern analytical and procedural
fairness dates to the 1920s‖ 148 an argument supported by Ward who writes that ―the doctrine of
journalism objectivity was invented in the 1920s – a North American invention of newspapers and
journalism associations.‖ 149
During this decade, Walter Lippmann wrote important texts on the relationship between science and
journalism, 150 and in 1928 ASNE first used the term ―objectivity‖ in their ―session dealing with
fairness, balance and the like.‖ 151 By the 1920s ―objectivity was finally a moral code. It was
asserted in the textbooks used in journalism schools, it was asserted in codes of ethics of
professional associations.‖ Perhaps more importantly, the ideal of objectivity became the norm in
(political) reporting. 152
The strict separation between ―editorializing‖ and facts developed in the early 20 th century,
combined with journalistic methodology to separate facts from interpretation and the establishment
of university-based schools of journalism all contributed to the rise of traditional objectivity in the
United States and the concept quickly spread outside its borders. 153
2.2.2 Objectivity Reaches Europe
A Danish norm for more ―objective‖ news writing was espoused by Ole Cavling in 1928, when he
called for dividing articles into ―lead‖ and ―body‖ and furthermore proposed that the beginning of
147
Michael Schudson, "The Objectivity Norm in American Journalism," Journalism 2, no. 2 (2001). Page 162.
148
Ibid. Page 161. See also ———, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers (Basic Books,
1978). Page 147-156.
149
Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Pagd 214.
150
Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion: With a New Introduction by Michael Curtis, 2nd ed. (New Brunswick:
Transaction Publishers, 1922/1998). Page 363. Here Lippmann wrote about his lack of faith in absolute objectivity and
yet in his great faith in science as the way to improve journalistic practices. ―Unless the event is capable of being
named, measured, given shape, made specific, it either fails to take on the character of news, or it is subject to the
accidents and prejudices of observation (…) The press is no substitute for institutions. It is like the beam of a
searchlight that moves restlessly about, bringing one episode and then another out of darkness into vision. Men cannot
do the work of the world by this light alone. They cannot govern society by episodes, incidents, and eruptions. It is
only when they work by a steady light of their own, that the press, when it is turned upon them, reveals a situation
intelligible enough for a popular decision.‖
151
Richard Streckfuss, "Objectivity in Journalism: A Search and a Reassessment," Journalism Quarterly 67 (1990).
Page 974-978.
152
Schudson, "The Objectivity Norm in American Journalism." Page 163-164.
153
Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Page 218-219. ―Newsroom manuals,
such as the stylebook of the Canadian Press news agency, had so many rules that reporters and editors kept these
‗bibles‘ of the craft within reach for constant reference. The rules were evidence that a rough-and-ready empiricism was
no longer enough.‖
47

each article should answer a wide array of questions, where the most common were, ―When, Where,
How, Why and Who." 154 Cavling also called for the independence of newspapers to ensure that it
was possible to follow a given editorial course without being afraid of repercussions.
―No paper acquires influence unless it is so affluent that it without fear can follow the course
it has set. An ignorant, myopic people equal a weak and dependent press. But next to
newspapers there are, in the modern society, not two factors, which to the degree of radio and
movies counteract ignorance, short-sightedness and materialistic myopia. Our generation‘s
newspaper editors need not fear, that their publications are to intelligent for the vast masses,
even if the circulation is not counted in whole and half millions. The smart editor rather fears
the opposite.‖ 155
According to the Danish media researcher John Chr. Jørgensen the Anglo-American style of news
writing was adopted in Denmark around 1930 but the Danish press still harbored views associated
with political parties. 156 Over time, however, American ―objective‖ news values, with the help of
the American government and its ―free press crusade,‖ were incorporated into transnational
journalistic organizations. 157
When The International Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEJ) was created, the three
Scandinavian countries were all among the 12 founders in Paris in June 1948. 158 The organization‘s
154
John Chr. Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From
Classical News to Narrative] (Aarhus: Ajour, 2007). Page 10-13.
155
Ole Cavling, Journalistik - Kortfattet Vejledning I Moderne Journalistik [Brief Guide to Modern Journalism]
(København [Copenhagen]: Nordisk Forlag, 1928). Page 9. My translation. Original text reads, ―Intet Blad erhverver
sig Indflydelse, medmindre det er saa velhavende, at det uden Frygt kan følge den Kurs, det har sat sig. Et uvidende,
snæversynet Folk er ensbetydende med en svag og afhængig Presse. Men næst efter Aviserne findes der i det moderne
Samfund ikke to Faktorer, der i den Grad som Radioen og Filmen modarbejder Uvidenhed, Kortsynethed og
materialistisk Snæversyn. Vort Slægtleds Avisledere i De forenede Stater behøver ikke at frygte for, at deres Blade er
for intellligente for den store Mængde, selv om Oplagene tælles i hele og halve Millioner Eksemplarer. Den kloge
Redaktør frygter snarere det modsatte.‖
156
Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 11.
157
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 256. Hallin and Mancini
note that the World Association of Newspapers since 1948 through ―training programs, conferences, publications, and
lobbying‖ has promoted the liberal (Anglo-American) conception of press freedom and professionalism. See also
Margaret A. Blanchard, Exporting the First Amendment: The Press-Government Crusade of 1945-1952, ed. Ray Eldon
Hiebert, Longman Series in Public Communication (New York: Longman, 1986). Page 1.
158
Chresten Brixtofte, "F.I.E.J., Den Internationale Bladudgiver-Organisation Oprettet [F.I.E.J., the International
Publisher Organization Founded]," in Medlemsblad for Organisationen af Bladudgivere i Provinsen (Medlemsblad for
Organisationen af Bladudgivere i Provinsen. July, 1948). Page 5. The 12 founding nations consisted of France,
48

first president was Johan van der Kieft from Holland, and though FIEJ was initially dominated by
European editors, the international federation fairly quickly adopted Anglo-American journalistic
guidelines. 159
While it took some time for the European journalists to warm to the ideal of objectivity in news
reporting, Chalaby has shown that Europeans did adopt the stylistic conventions associated with
objectivity and the interview from America. 160
―[A]gents in the journalistic discourse developed their own discursive norms and values, such
as objectivity and neutrality (…) [T]his discursive revolution did not occur universally.
Journalism is not only a discovery of the 19th century, it is also an Anglo-American invention.
It is in the United States, and to a lesser degree in England, that the discursive practices and
strategies which characterize journalism were invented. (…) Other nations, such as France,
progressively imported and adapted the methods of Anglo-American journalism." 161
Key European actors combined with conscious policy from the American government and
transnational organizations thus helped spread the ideal of objectivity from the United States to
Europe.
2.2.3 Definition of a Strategic Ritual
Objectivity in journalism is an inherent paradox. On the one hand journalists acknowledged that
objectivity was unattainable, on the other hand they pursued the ideal in the craft of news writing. 162
The task of the news reporter did not leave much room for a lengthy ―epistemological examination‖
on a daily basis, and after the 1920s the notion of objectivity was reduced to a strategic ritual with
England, The United States, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, Denmark, Norway and Sweden
with the aim to exchange ideas and information world-wide.
159 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 256. ―Point 1 reaffirming
the basic principle of press freedom; Point 2 the need for impartiality; Point 3 the separation of news from commentary
(…).‖
160 Jean K. Chalaby, "Journalism as an Anglo-American Invention: A Comparison of the Development of French and
Anglo-American Journalism, 1830s-1920s," European Journal of Communication 11, no. 3 (1996). Page 304-306.
161 Ibid.
162 Schudson, "The Objectivity Norm in American Journalism." Page 164. ―At the very moment that journalists claimed
‗objectivity‘ as their ideal, they also recognized its limits.‖
49

certain agreed upon conventions, but it continued to play a seminal role in American journalists‘
self perception. 163
―By the 1960s, both critics of the press and defenders took objectivity to be the emblem of
American journalism, an improvement over a past of "sensationalism" and a contrast to the
party papers of Europe. Whether regarded as the fatal flaw or the supreme virtue of the
American press, all agreed that the idea of objectivity was at the heart of what journalism has
meant in this country." 164
To Ward, the journalistic propensity to mix ontological, epistemological, and procedural
understandings of objectivity, means that traditional journalistic objectivity adheres to six related
standards; factuality, fairness, non-bias, independence, non-interpretation and neutrality as well as
detachment. 165 The journalistic adherence to the principles above means focusing on verified facts,
balancing rival viewpoints, keeping personal interests out of reports, reporting without being
influenced by commercial or editorial pressure, keeping news descriptive as opposed to
interpretative and not taking sides in a dispute. This is the essence of traditional objectivity, and
while media scholars and journalists alike have recognized these guidelines as untenable, the ideal
of objectivity still lives on. The adherence to the ideal of objectivity is exemplified by an
contemporary textbook where the practice of journalism is described in a manner fitting for ASNE‘s
code of ethics.
―In news stories, all opinions, judgments and accusations must be attributed to a source. The
163 Gaye Tuchman, "Objectivity as Strategic Ritual: An Examination of Newsmen's Notions of Objectivity," American
Journal of Sociology 77, no. 4 (1972). Page 660-662.
164 Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers. Page 9.
165 Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Page 19. ―(a) Factuality: Reports are
based on accurate, comprehensive, and verified facts. (b) Fairness: Reports on controversial issues balance the main
rival viewpoints, representing each viewpoint fairly. (c) Non-bias: Prejudices, emotions, personal interests, or other
subjective factors do not distort the content of reports. (d) Independence: Reports are the work of journalists who are
free to report without fear or favour. (e) Non-interpretation: Reporters do not put their interpretations or opinion into
their reports. (f) Neutrality and detachment: Reports are neutral. They do not take sides in a dispute. Reporters do not
act as advocates for groups and causes.‖
50

only places for reporters' opinions or interpretations are in columns, stories labeled 'analysis'
or first-person stories, which are usually labeled or preceded by an editor's note." 166
Objectivity in journalism thereby becomes an exercise in separating facts from values, reporting
coolly as opposed to emotionally and representing both sides fairly. 167 Yet, the development
towards traditional objectivity also meant that ―objective reporting deteriorated into a dry formula
for writing all news stories‖ by the 1940‘s and 1950‘s. According to Ward, ―Each story used the
‗5W‘ lead, the inverted-pyramid structure, and careful attribution of comments to officials.‖ 168
Answering the who, what, when, where, and why in the beginning of newspaper articles thereby
became central to ideal of objectivity and has been considered ―first and greatest commandment in
the matter of journalistic style.‖ 169
―Objective reporting means avoiding as much as possible the overt intrusion of the reporter‘s
personal values into a news story and minimizing explicit interpretation in writing up the
story. Reporters do this by eschewing value-laden vocabulary and by writing in the third-
person impersonal, not the first-person personal. Above, all they attribute the story to, and
especially any interpretation of what it means, to sources. In matters of controversy, they
attempt to balance sources with conflicting perspectives.‖ 170
In summary, the ideal of objectivity is a descriptive rather than interpretative approach and the
distinction between facts and values, unemotionally as opposed to emotionally and balancing
166
Carole Rich, Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method (Belmont: Wadsworth Thomson Learning, 2005).
Page 79.
167
Schudson, "The Objectivity Norm in American Journalism." Page 150.
168
Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Page 222. Ward also notes, ―this
style, dull though it was, suited many of the new business-like owners and seemed to suit the readers of a more
conservative time. The news stories were less libellous and tended to contain little partisan comment that would offend
a diverse readership.‖
169
Robert Karl Manoff and Michael Schudson, "Reading the News," in Reading the News: A Pantheon Guide to
Popular Culture, ed. Robert Karl Manoff and Michael Schudson (New York: Pantheon Books, 1986). Page 3. ―The
‗five W‘s and an H‘ (the H for How?) are still part of the journalism-school catechism, and editors still expect a news
story lead to address them. But these questions hide within their simplicity and their apparent common sense a whole
framework of interpretation from which reporters – even the best and most ‗objective‘ reporters – operate, and
necessarily so. After all, the world does not submit directly to blunt interrogation.‖
170
Leon V. Sigal, "Who? Sources Make the News," in Reading The News, ed. Robert Karl Manoff and Michael
Schudson (New York: Pantheon Books, 1986). Page 15-16.
51

opposing statements will serve as the definition of objectivity in the subsequent analysis. 171
Conclusion
In summary, the above section has shown that the journalistic ideal of objectivity is defined by
scholars and reporters, as factual, balanced, descriptive and commercially independent coverage.
The ideal of objectivity played a significant role in the spread of American discursive practices and
as such it is a important variable in any historical or content analysis of American influence. This
section has shown that the ideal of objectivity emanated in the United States and therefore fulfills
one of the prerequisites for a discussion of Americanization as identified in van Elteren‘s definition,
which emphasizes processes ―emanating from America or Americans‖ which impinge on non-
Americans. 172
The following section will define the second key independent variable used for the subsequent
content analysis; namely commercialization which is also identified in the Americanization
literature as a key driving force behind American influence.
2.3 Commercialization
As became apparent through the literature review on Americanization, commercial influence, is
viewed as one of the ―core values‖ or driving forces behind American influence around the
globe.‖ 173 Commercial influence is also a fundamental concept in studies of American journalism
and its influence on Europe. "The history of the American press from the 1970s to the present is
economic history,‖ writes communications scholar James T. Hamilton and adds, ―news is a
commercial product." 174 The prominence of the market also plays a significant role for Hallin and
171
For a discussion of the journalistic propensity of balancing opposing statements see Tom Goldstein, Journalism and
the Truth: Strange Bedfellows, ed. David Abrahamson, Visions of the American Press (Evanston: Northwestern
University Press, 2007). Page 63-76.
172
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 103.
173
Ibid. Page 103 and Schröter, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the
European Economy, 1900-2005." Page 333.
174
James T. Hamilton, "The Market and the Media," in The Press, ed. Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson,
Institutions of American Democracy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). Page 351. ―Although journalists may
not explicitly consider economics as they cover the day's events, the stories, reporters, firms, and the media that
ultimately survive in the marketplace depend on economic factors. The decisions of producers and editors are driven by
supply and demand.‖
52

Mancini, when discussing convergence between the United States and European journalism as they
note, ―the most powerful force for homogenization of media systems, we believe, is
commercialization.‖ 175
Thus, when looking at what Schröter calls the ―third wave of Americanization‖ it is impossible to
overlook the commercial aspect of the process in the world of journalism. Yet, even though many
scholars use the term commercialization, few use it with precision, and a clarification of the concept
along with a historical overview of its impact in the United States and Europe will be the aim of the
following section. 176
2.3.1 Between Public Service and the Market
At least since the 1960‘s increased professionalization, concerned with public service as an ethical
ideal, has gone hand-in-hand or head-to-head with commercialization. Since the 1970s American
newspapers, according Hallin have been ―increasingly oriented towards Wall Street‘s expectations,‖
at the detriment of the newspapers‘ public service notions. 177 The debate over whether or not
journalism has a public service function to fulfill in American society is central to the understanding
of commercialization. Because, while the Commission on Freedom of the Press in 1947, strongly
urged the press to perform a public service role, investors in newspapers have subsequently given
profit a higher priority. 178
Thus, commercialization of the media is to be understood as a detachment from the professional
public service ideals in exchange for a view of the media as a commodity; ―A toaster with pictures,‖
175 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 273. See also Michael
Schudson, The Sociology of News (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003). Page 200-201.
176 Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 207. ―This third wave differs from the previous two in that it has run parallel to, and been
reinforced by, the globalization of the world economy. Americanization is not globalization. (…) Still, because
American solutions have by and large dominated the world economy since the 1980s, globalization has often resembled
Americanization. And, to be sure, the basic principles behind globalization are those associated with Americanization:
more competition, commercialization, primacy of the economy, and individualization.‖
177 Daniel C. Hallin, "Commercialism and Professionalism in the American News Media," in Mass Media and Society,
ed. James Curran and Michael Gurevitch (London: Oxford University Press, 2000). Page 220-222. See also Jr. and
Kaiser, The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril. Page 108-109.
178 Hallin, "Commercialism and Professionalism in the American News Media." Page 219 and 222. See also Robert G.
Picard, "Money, Media and the Public Interest," in The Press, ed. Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2005). Page 343. ―These investors are primarily interested in the financial performance
of the firms, rather than content quality and the meeting of social and democratic goals.‖
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as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Mark Fowler famously
claimed in 1981. 179
Commercialization then, in the words of Schröter, ―signifies a shift in how society‘s values are
defined,‖ A shift where normative and idealistic notions about ―custom or culture,‖ give way to
―monetarization of decision-making and relationships.‖ 180 Or phrased in another way, ideals about
public service journalism yield to the publishers pursuit of profit.
In the media industry this shift towards increased commercialization took the shape of a greater
concentration in the newspaper-market. More newspapers were owned by fewer companies and
relied more on entertaining and personalized coverage, than the public service social function
advocated by the the Commission on Freedom of the Press. 181
Yet, the literature on commercialization also reveals the complexity of the process, While increased
commercialization of the news has led to less international news stories, it has on the other hand
broadened coverage of public issues such as ―health or family life.‖ 182 Additionally, Hallin and
Mancini argue that commercialization seemingly only lead to ―neutral professionalism‖ in reporting
under certain market conditions. For example, when competition is strong increased
commercialization seems to ―encourage media to differentiate themselves politically and to stress
the color and drama of opinion over the gray utility of information.‖ 183
Increased commercial pressure from immediate competitors as well as increased competition due to
greater global diffusion of news, led media outlets to alter, and experiment with, the form in which
they present their stories. As the German media scholars Winfried Schulz and Reimar Zeh point
out, "the presentation of politics is becoming increasingly dramatized and personalized, with the
179
Robert B. Horwitz, The Irony of Regulatory Reform: The Deregulation of American Telecommunications (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1989). Page 245. See also David Croteau and William Hoynes, The Business of Media:
Corporate Media and the Public Interest, Second ed. (Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2006). Page 27. As well as
Haynes Johnson, Sleepwalking through History: America in The Reagan Years (New York: W. W. Norton & Co.,
1991). Page 141.
180
Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 214-215.
181
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 221 and 277-282. See
also Anker Brink Lund and Preben Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the
Future of State Media Subsidies]," (Copenhagen: Ramböll, 2009). Page 63.
182
Daniel c. Hallin, "The Passing of The "High Modernism" Of American Journalism," Journal of Communication 42,
no. 3 (1992). Page 22. See also Hallin, "Commercialism and Professionalism in the American News Media." Page 230.
183
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 286. The market
conditions leading to increased neutrality is identified by Hallin and Mancini as ―monopoly local newspapers,‖ ―public
service broadcasting,‖ and ―the government-regulated oligopoly broadcasting that prevailed before deregulation in the
1980‘s‖ in the United States.
54

emphasis on scandals, conflicts, and controversies.‖ 184 The goal was to attract viewers and readers
to a greater extent by making the presentation of news more exciting. An example of this is an
increased focus on strategy news which to a certain extent depicts politics as a game.
"By opposing the two candidates within one story the channels emphasized the 'game
schema' (i.e. competitive aspects such as controversies and conflicts) in order to offer a more
dramatic and vivid presentation." 185
Commercial influence, as noted, increased in the late 1960s with the newspapers‘ ―trend towards
public ownership,‖ but a significant shift with ramifications in Europe also occurred in the 1980s. 186
During President Ronald Reagan‘s time in office, The Fairness Doctrine requiring TV stations to
voice both sides of issues deemed of public interest and importance was done away with and ―the
commission authorized broadcasters to sponsor political debates without being subject to equal time
requests.‖ Additionally, the ―policies limiting ownership of radio and television stations were
relaxed‖ and the FCC, under the chairmanship of Fowler, loosened its demands that TV stations had
to serve the public interest in order to renew their licenses. 187
Fowler‘s FCC-reign led to further emphasis on commercial aspects of American media, and the
trend continued when Bill Clinton took office. During Clinton‘s time in The White House, ―the
1970 FCC regulations concerning financial interest and syndication,‖ were lifted. This meant that
television networks were no longer barred from ―owning their own programming.‖ 188
Based on the premise, that ―communications policy should be directed towards maximizing the
services the public desires,‖ Fowler wanted American media to be solely regulated by the marked,
and in 1982 stated,
184
Winfried Schulz and Reimar Zeh, "The Changing Election Coverage of German Television. A Content Analysis:
1990-2002," Communications 30 (2005). Page 388.
185
Ibid. Page 397. Lynn Vavreck, The Message Matters: The Economy and Presidential Campaigns (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2009). Page 52-54.
186
Hallin, "Commercialism and Professionalism in the American News Media." Page 222.
187
Horwitz, The Irony of Regulatory Reform: The Deregulation of American Telecommunications. Page 245-246.
Horwitz notes, however, that the trend towards liberalization in the FCC started under chairman Charles D. Ferris in the
late 1970‘s. See also Croteau and Hoynes, The Business of Media: Corporate Media and the Public Interest. Page 70-
71.
188
Croteau and Hoynes, The Business of Media: Corporate Media and the Public Interest. Page 71.
55

―The Commission should rely on the broadcasters' ability to determine the wants of their
audiences through the normal mechanisms of the marketplace. The public's interest, then,
defines the public's interest.‖ 189
Fowler was a firm believer in deregulation, and his decisions had lasting effects on the
communications environment in the United States, as well as the structural Americanization
experienced in Europe. As Schröter noted, England spearheaded European deregulation in the
1980‘s using the United States as an example. 190 Fowler‘s policies made its way not only across the
Atlantic, but also across the English Channel, and in the subsequent years commercialization
increasingly made its presence felt in the European media markets as state monopolies over
television was broken across the EU and media legislation deregulated. According to Hallin and
Mancini, the increased commercial pressure in the media world due to deregulation and greater
news flow across national boundaries became especially pronounced in the 1980‘s where the
European Commission ―stressed the goal of creating a common European audiovisual market that
would facilitate the development of transnational media companies capable of competing with
American media conglomerates.‖ 191
Denmark was no exception and on October 1, 1988 the Danish state ended its monopoly over
broadcasting, a process which had been prepared since the early 1980s, and a competing national
television channel entered the media market. As a consequence, the emergence of TV 2 Denmark,
combined with less regulation, increased commercial influence across Danish media platforms. 192
The commercial developments within television journalism were ―strongest in the case of
television,‖ but they influenced the print media also. 193 Hallin and Mancini therefore point out that
189 Mark S. Fowler and Daniel L. Brenner, "A Marketplace Approach to Broadcast Regulation," Texas Law Review 60,
no. 207 (1982). Page 209-210. See also Hamilton, "The Market and the Media." Page 367.
190 Schröter, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European Economy,
1900-2005." Page 338-340. This point will be further in the section called ―Structural Americanization.‖
191 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 276-277. Hallin and
Mancini also notes that a number of commercial changes were taking place before the 1980‘s, but that the phenomenon
known as the ―commercial deluge‖ occurred in the 1980‘s.
192 Klaus Bruhn Jensen, Dansk Mediehistorie 1995-2003 [Danish Media History 1960-1995], ed. Klaus Bruhn Jensen, 4
vols., vol. 4, Dansk Mediehistorie (København: Forlanget Samfundslitteratur, 2003). Page 30-33 and 51. See also Holm,
"American Influence on Danish TV Journalism."
193 Hallin, "Commercialism and Professionalism in the American News Media." Page 221.
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―commercial pressures have intensified with deregulation of broadcasting and changes in ownership
patterns that have brought newspapers under the influence of Wall Street. Similar changes are
clearly under way to varying degrees thorough out Europe, most dramatically in the sphere of
broadcasting.‖ 194
Conclusion
This section has defined commercialization as a process where normative and idealistic notions
about custom or culture, in this case the media environment, give way to a ―monetarization of
decision-making and relationships.‖
Consequently, idealistic notions of journalism working as a fourth estate providing citizens the best
possible opportunity to participate in democracy and working in the public‘s interest, yields to the
need to make money when commercialization in its crudest form becomes dominant in news
institutions. Additionally, this section has shown that in media markets with great competition,
increased commercialization does not necessarily lead to neutral news, but rather reinforces the
need to differentiate a specific news outlet by taking an explicit stance on key issues.
The notion of commercialization plays an important part in the subsequent analysis of structural
Americanization as well as the content analysis. The following section will argue that structural
Americanization, at the macro-level impacts individual journalists producing news content through
the intermediary role of news institutions and thus helps to explain how the content analysis focused
on macro-level developments such as commercialization can be argued to also explain changes in
actual news production.
2.4 Journalism as an institution
According to American political scientist Timothy Cook, the news media cannot simply be viewed
as different organizations within individual countries, but rather must be considered institutions
with considerable influence over the eventual news produced by individual journalists. In this sense
Cook‘s writings serve as an important link between the structural economic Americanization
194 It is, however important to note that Danish adherence to the public service tradition and press subsidies, have also
been argued to play an important inhibiting role in relation to commercialization. Jesper Strömbäck, Mark Ørsten, and
Toril Aalberg, Communicating Politics: Political Communication in the Nordic Countries (Nordicom, 2008). Page 19-
21. See also Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 250-252 and
284.
57

described by van Elteren which leads to increased commercial focus, and the actual journalistic
product as it is framed by reporters.
Utilizing secondary literature, public speeches and media content, Cook outlines three criteria that
must be fulfilled in order for different organizations to be considered an institution. According to
Cook, ―unspoken procedures, routines, and assumptions (…)[which] extend over space and endure
over time (…) [and preside] over a societal and/or political sector,‖ indicate an institutional
framework. 195 Moreover, Cook shows how journalism fits the three criteria outlined and argues that
individual journalists work within powerful institutional norms and settings. In Cook‘s words,
―Given how newsworthiness is inextricable from the journalistic methods that created the
news, given the wide consensus on news processes and content across a wide range of media
and modalities, and given the way in which both officials and the public turn to the media to
provide the social function of communication, it is clear that the news media are a social
institution.‖ 196
Though Cook at times offers an almost normative critique of journalism, 197 and seems to choose a
definition of institution, that fits well with his argument about journalism‘s role in American
politics, Cook‘s study has been widely praised, and is corroborated by the late French sociologist
Pierre Bourdieu‘s book On Television. Bourdieu argues that, consciously or unconsciously,
journalists ―censor themselves." 198 Though Cook and Bourdieu did not credit each other‘s work as
part of the foundation for their own, there are notable similarities between Cook‘s work on
journalism as an institution, and Bourdieu‘s understanding of habitus and by extension field. 199
According to Bourdieu,
195
Cook, Governing with the News: The New Media as a Political Institution. Page 70-71.
196
Ibid. Page 84.
197
According to Cook the news media are more concerned with style than substance which is evidenced by the
following quotes, ―Standards of importance now pale next to the storytelling imperative for local television news,‖ ―in
pursuing objectivity, reporters end up implicitly adding a particular bias to the news – a structural bias,‖ also ―issues
and occurrences that do not easily become a narrative are likely to be neglected in favor of those that do,‖ and ―I find
the news media, as they are presently structured, to be ill-suited for such a task [enhancing the quality of American
government].‖ Ibid. Page 98, 111-112 and 208.
198
Pierre Bourdieu, On Television, trans. Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson (New York: The New Press, 1998). Page 15.
199
Rodney Benson, "News Media as a 'Journalistic Field': What Bourdieu Adds to New Institutionalism and Vice
Versa," Political Communication 23, no. 2 (2006). Page 188-189.
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"Only in imaginary experience (in the folk tale, for example), which neutralizes the sense of
social realities, does the social world take the form of a universe of possibles equally possible
for any possible subject. Agents shape their aspirations according to concrete indices of the
accessible and the inaccessible, of what is and is not 'for us', a division as fundamental and as
fundamentally recognized as that between the sacred and the profane." 200
According to Bourdieu, individuals are shaped by their past experiences in a way which shapes their
present choices. In Bourdieu‘s view, expectations of present choices‘ results based on previous
experience determine decisions. In Bourdieu‘s writings the habitus is what stabilizes individuals as
they perpetuate their choices based on their conceived possibilities. As a consequence in the end the
habitus adds to the stability of a greater whole.
―(…) the habitus tends to protect itself from crises and critical challenges by providing itself
with a milieu to which it is as pre-adapted as possible, that is, a relatively constant universe of
situations tending to reinforce its dispositions by offering the market most favourable to its
products.‖ 201
If Bourdieu‘s train of thought is carried over into the newsroom it means that journalists do have a
certain leeway for personal choice, but that these choices are based on the journalists‘ previous
experience which make them more likely to perpetuate practices in the newsroom than transform
practices in the newsroom. As a consequence, the way that the newsroom is shaped by history and
organization has an important impact on the individual journalists.
Cook, like Bourdieu, points out that media institutions wield a significant impact over the final
news product simply because of the need to ―routinize the unexpected,‖ as media sociologist Gaye
Tuchman phrased it. 202 Cook argues that ―newspersons do make important choices, but they are
200
Pierre Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, trans. Richard Nice (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990). Page 64.
201
Ibid. Page 61.
202
Gaye Tuchman, "Making News by Doing Work: Routinizing the Unexpected," The American Journal of Sociology
79, no. 1 (1973). Page 110. See also Schudson, The Sociology of News. Page 86. Schudson, however, argues for a
59

generally implicit in the routines they follow rather than explicit‖ and the tendency for news outlets
to monitor their competitors also reinforces the tendency of a homogenous field rather than a
diversified one. 203 In Cook‘s words, ―[t]he strong similarities of news processes and news content
across modalities (television, radio, newspapers, and newsmagazines), size of organization, national
or local audiences, etc., point to the news media as a single institution. 204
2.4.1 Bourdieu’s Field Theory and Habitus
Cook‘s notion of institutions seems closely connected to Bourdieu‘s understanding of field. To
Bourdieu, a societal field be it journalism, economy or politics is made up of ―invisible structures‖
and mechanisms, not wholly unlike Cook‘s ―unspoken procedures, routines, and assumptions.‖ 205
In Bourdieu‘s words, the journalistic field is to be understood as a ―force field‖ which ―contains
people who dominate and others who are dominated,‖ a space where social agents struggle to
maintain or improve their position. These different positions within the journalistic field in turn
determine the strategies pursued. 206 The journalistic field, which according to Bourdieu, belongs to
the somewhat subjugated field of cultural production, relative to the economic and political field, is,
in the words of the French sociologist Patrick Champagne, ―caught between the competing
imperatives of ‗freedom of press‘ and the ‗laws of the market.‘ 207 In accordance with the jeremiad
over journalism, Bourdieu laments the increased commercialization of the journalistic field,
especially in television, which he sees as making its presence felt on other journalistic platforms
certain degree of independence within the different journalistic organizations when he points out that ―the genius of
American journalism is that it operates out of commercial organizations built on the autonomy of news professionals."
203
A concrete example of the tendency to monitor the competition was offered by Washington Post‘s publisher
Katherine Graham in 1984, when she remembered wondering out loud to editor Ben Bradlee about why other
newspapers were not covering the Watergate break-in, ―If this is such a hell of a story, where is everybody else?‖
Michael Schudson, Watergate in American Memory: How We Remember, Forget, and Reconstruct the Past (New York:
BasicBooks, 1992). Page 105.
204
Timothy Cook, Governing with the News: The News Media as a Political Institution (London: University of Chicago
Press, 1988). Page 73-84.
205
Pierre Bourdieu, "The Political Field, the Social Science Field, and the Journalistic Field," in Bourdieu and the
Journalistic Field, ed. Rodney Benson and Erik Neveu (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2005). Page 29-30. Bourdieu, On
Television.Page 39-42.
206
Bourdieu, On Television. Page 40-41. Michael Grenfell, ed. Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts (Stocksfield:
Acumen,2008). Page 69.
207
Patrick Champagne, "The 'Double Dependency': The Journalistic Field between Politics and Markets," in Bourdieu
and the Journalistic Field, ed. Rodney Benson and Erik Nevey (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2005). Page 48.
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like the press and publishing, because this means that an ―audience ratings mentality‖ increasingly
rules decisions concerning media content. 208
―It seems to me that the journalistic field is losing more and more of its autonomy (…) The
weight of the economy within the field is constantly growing (…) [Yet] cultural capital
remains on the side of the ‗purest‘ journalists of the print press, and they are often the ones
who launch the critical debates that television picks up.‖ 209
As Champagne has noted, ―[j]ournalistic production is always strongly dictated by the social,
especially political and economic conditions in which it is organized.‖ 210 The power of commercial
―ratings mentality‖ of television spills over into other fields also within journalism. TV in the
journalistic field ―is more and more dominated by the market model‖ and thereby exerts force on
newspapers and magazines as well as individual journalists. The consequence is then that ―through
the weight exerted by the journalistic field, the economy weighs on all fields of cultural
production.‖ 211
Yet, even though the journalistic field is caught between, and in many respects dominated by, the
political and economic field, it does wield its own significant power, and in Bourdieu's words ―all
the fields of cultural production today are subject to structural pressure from the journalistic
field.‖ 212 Or more specifically,
―Even though they occupy an inferior, dominated position in the fields of cultural production,
journalists exercise a very particular form of domination, since they control the means of
public expression. They control, in effect, public existence, one‘s ability to be recognized as a
public figure, obviously critical for politicians and certain intellectuals.‖ 213
208
Bourdieu, "The Political Field, the Social Science Field, and the Journalistic Field." Page 43.
209
Ibid. Page 42.
210
Champagne, "The 'Double Dependency': The Journalistic Field between Politics and Markets." Page 50-52.
211
Bourdieu, On Television. Page 56
212
Ibid. Page 56.
213
Pierre Bourdieu, On Television, trans. Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson (New York: The New Press, 1996). Page 46.
61

Cook‘s and Bourdieu‘s observations about the institution and field of journalism also find support
in the writings of van Elteren and Schröter, who understand structural Americanization as a process
driven to a significant degree by the commercialization affecting the European communications
industry. Furthermore, in Bourdieu and Cook‘s view the journalistic institutions affected by
structural Americanization exert powerful influence over the individual journalists by the very way
that news outlets are organized horizontally as well as vertically.
As Hallin has pointed out in a study of commercialism and professionalism, ―subtle influence has
always flowed from the top down in media organizations.‖ Hallin‘s observation of influence fits
well into Cook and Bourdieu‘s conception of news organizations and as an example Hallin refers to
Edwin Diamond‘s study of The New York Times, where the publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr,
remarks, ―I don't believe in telling editors and reporters what to do. But I do believe in long,
philosophic conversations with my editors about where the paper, the city and the country are
going.‖ 214 As Hallin‘s example indicates, journalists within news institutions do have some room to
maneuver, but at the same time they are influenced by the boundaries set by the publisher of the
particular institution. In this sense, as we shall see in the following section, the way that journalists
eventually frame their stories can be argued to be influenced by the institution they work within.
In other words, the Americanization which has taken place at the macro-level has affected the
journalistic field, primarily through increased commercial pressure, and as a consequence of its
organization the journalistic field/institution furthermore exerts a significant impact on actual
journalistic content as this is shaped by the individuals‘ habitus and position within the journalistic
field. But as noted, there is room for individual agency even when on the receiving end of
Americanization or institutional pressures.
"Basically, there is always some leeway for selective borrowing, creative appropriation and
alteration by domineering cultural influences by subaltern groups, thus producing hybrids
from their own heritage and ideas, ideals, values and practices imposed upon them. Yet the
cultural-mental space for doing this is more constrained than postmodern or poststructuralist
analysts assume." 215
214 Hallin, "Commercialism and Professionalism in the American News Media." Page 233. Edwin Diamond, Behind the
Times: Inside the New New York Times (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995). Page 124.
215 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 130.
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The discussion concerning agency over structures is also at the heart of the criticism directed at
Bourdieu‘s work. French sociologist Michèle Lamont for example argues that Bourdieu‘s field
theory emphasizes utility maximation in economic decisions to a greater extent than is supported by
her own empirical research. 216 Furthermore, Richard Kuisel has criticized Bourdieu for espousing
cultural imperialism interpretations despite the existence of research to dispel this mono-causal
view of American influence. 217
Conclusion
This section has shown that individual journalists‘ autonomy is somewhat curtailed by the
institutions they work within. The implication is that societal structures which impact the
journalistic institution also impact individual journalists. A link is thereby made between structural
Americanization, primarily commercialization, and the actual journalistic product found in
newspapers. For the present study this realization, for example, means that when a publisher or
editor of a news organization appropriates practices from the United States, an argument can also be
made that individual journalists are affected. Additionally, structural factors such as deregulation of
the media market, increased international ownership through public trading of newspapers or
increased commercial pressure from television‘s ―ratings mentality‖ also spill over into the
newspaper market and can therefore be seen as having a tangible effect on the eventual news
articles produced.
In the following section the concept of framing will be defined, as subtle details in a news story are
shown to have important consequences for how this story is perceived in broader society. The
observation that framing of news stories matters has implications for the content analysis, as
increased commercialization is argued to lead to less focus on political issues during election
216 Michèle Lamont, Money, Morals, & Manners: The Culture of the French and the American Upper-Middle Class
(Chicago The University of Chicago Press, 1994). Page 179. ―My results suggest revisions for one of the main models
of human nature currently in use in the social sciences. This model posits that human beings are essential motivated by
utility maximization, and that because economic resources are more valuable than other resources they are the main
determinant of social action.‖
217 Kuisel, "Debating Americanization: The Case of France." Page 98. ―Unfortunately some prominent French
intellectuals, such as the late Pierre Bourdieu, ignore this scholarship and persist in propagating the notion of cultural
imperialism.‖ See also Pierre Bourdieu and Loïc Wacquant, "On the Cunnning of Imperialist Reason," Theory Culture
Society 16, no. 1 (1999). Schudson also problematizes ―the fairly crude generalization of On Television‖ when he writes
that both American and French empirical studies arrive at the conclusion, that the media closely mirror the views of
―high government officials.‖ This argument runs counter to Bourdieu‘s that the journalistic field is gaining leverage
over the political and economic (as well as academic) field. Michael Schudson, "Autonomy from What?," in Bourdieu
and the Journalistic Field, ed. Rodney Benson and Erik Neveu (Cambridge Polity Press, 2005). Page 216.
63

campaigns.
2.5 Framing
Framing, media researcher Robert Entman, recently pointed out ―is an omnipresent process in
politics and policy analysis. It involves selecting a few aspects of a perceived reality and connecting
them together in a narrative that promotes a particular interpretation.‖ 218
Entman‘s understanding of frames is a useful extension of the American sociologist Gaye
Tuchman‘s ―framing‖ analogy where she describes ―news‖ as a ―window on the world.‖
Tuchman‘s image is a succinct way of pointing out, that perspectives on news stories change
depending on who looks through the ―frame.‖ 219 In her study of the construction of reality,
Tuchman pointed to two cornerstones used to define framing, namely the news producers and the
news consumers.This distinction between the framing of news content and the framing‘s effect is at
the very core of framing research and therefore also at the core of Entman‘s, oft-cited definition
where he emphasizes both the journalist‘s selection and the audience‘s interpretation of news
content,
"Framing entails selecting and highlighting some facets of events or issues, and making
connections among them so as to promote a particular interpretation, evaluation, and/or
solution." 220
In the current project‘s content analysis, media frames are studied along with the components which
make up individual newspaper articles. Hence, the focus in this section will on framing content as
opposed to framing effects.
It is, however, important to note that concepts such as agenda setting and priming also play a central
role in the media studies literature on framing. 221 McCombs and Shaw‘s ground-breaking article
218 Entman, "Media Framing Biases and Political Power: Explaining Slant in News of Campaign 2008." Page 391.
219 Gaye Tuchman, Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality (New York: Free Press, 1978). Page. 1.
220 Robert M. Entman, "Cascading Activation: Contesting the White House's Frame after 9/11," Political
Communication 20 (2003). Page 417.
64

―The Agenda-Setting Function of the Mass Media,‖ for example prompted a host of studies that
attempted to substantiate or dispel the assertion that, there was a strong relationship between
campaign issues and "the judgments of voters as to the salience and importance of various
campaign topics." 222
McCombs and Shaw‘s results were subsequently supported by Shanto Iyengar, Mark Peters and
Donald Kinder in the article "Experimental Demonstrations of the 'Not-So-Minimal' Consequences
of Television News Programs." Iyengar et al. incorporated the concept of priming in their analysis
and concluded that,
"We have shown that by ignoring some problems and attending to others, television news
programs profoundly affect which problems viewers take seriously. (…) We have also
discovered another pathway to media influence: priming. Problems prominently positioned in
television broadcasts loom large in evaluations of presidential performance. 223 "
However, before one can start to research framing effects, a clear understanding of frame analysis
must be arrived at.
2.5.1 Framing Content
In his 1974 massive introductory study of framing, sociologist Erving Goffman distinguished
between natural and social frameworks. Where natural frameworks, according to Goffman, are
characterized by larger-than-life forces which can be observed elegantly in the ―physical and
221
Claes H. de Vreese, "News Framing: Theory and Typology," Information Design Journal + Document Design 13,
no. 1 (2005). Page 52. See also Robert M. Entman, "Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm," Journal
of Communication 43, no. 4 (1993). As well as Claes de Vreese and Hajo Boomgaarden, "Valenced News Frames and
Public Support for the EU," Communications 28 (2003). Or Dietram A. Scheufele, "Framing as a Theory of Media
Effects," Journal of Communication 49, no. 1 (1999).
222
Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald L. Shaw, "The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media," Public Opinion
Quarterly 36, no. 2 (1972). Page 182.
223
Shanto Iyengar, Mark D. Peters, and Donald R. Kinder, "Experimental Demonstrations of the 'Not-So-Minimal'
Consequences of Television News Programs," American Political Science Review 74 (1982). Page 854-855.
65

iological sciences,‖ the social frameworks are man-made, ―a live agency‖ which ―begins with a
mental decision. 224 ‖
Goffman uses news coverage as an example of social frameworks and as such became one of the
pioneers in linking the concept of framing with the way the media presents its news. Furthermore,
Goffman stressed the human agency involved in the news process. Though journalists work within
restraints of their respective institutions, and conscientiously attempt to approach an ideal of
objectivity, they still shape the news in terms of selection and salience, and thereby undermine the
struggle for absolute ―objectivity.‖ Schudson, among others, have pointed to this obvious
constructionist component of news reporting as is apparent from this description of journalists‘
special relationship to reality,
―Journalists not only report reality but create it. To say that journalists construct reality in
producing the news is not to say they do so without constraints. (…) Journalists normally work
with materials that real people and real events provide. But by selecting, highlighting, framing,
shading, and shaping in reportage, they create an impression that real people – readers and
viewers – then take to be real and to which they respond in their lives.‖ 225
However, if frames are constructed and have real consequences in terms of people‘s responses to
them, how are frames actually detected? Scheufele points to the fact that, "journalists actively
construct frames to structure and make sense of incoming information,‖ and furthermore argues that
variables like ideology, attitudes and professional norms, play an important part in how frames are
built by journalists in news coverage. 226 Futhermore, Scheufele asserts that "organizational
routines" and "external sources of influence‖ (e.g., political actors, authorities, interest groups, and
other elites) also influence the way that frames are shaped which fits well with Cook‘s argument of
journalists affected by the institutional level.
224
Erving Goffman, Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience (New York: Harper Colophon
Books, 1974). Page 21-23.
225
Schudson, The Sociology of News. Page 2.
226
Scheufele, "Framing as a Theory of Media Effects." Page 115.
66

De Vreese emphasizes that, ―frames are specific textual and visual elements or ‗framing devices‘,‖
which are distinct from the ―core news facts‖ of the remaining news story.‖ 227 More specifically,
Capella and Jamieson have established three criteria that must be met in order for a frame to be
located in a text. First, ―the frame should have identifiable conceptual and linguistic characteristics.
Second, it should be commonly observed in journalistic practice. Third, the frames should be able to
be reliably distinguished from other frames.‖ 228
Patterson, among others, 229 has pointed to a development in political frames, which have moved
from focus on issues over focus on strategy to journalists‘ ―self-referential reflections on the nature
of the interplay between political public relations and political journalism,‖ called metacoverage. 230
Additionally, when comparing the United States‘ news coverage with that of European countries,
scholars have, among other things, found that the strategy news frame is more common in French
news than in American, 231 while a study between Sweden and the United States found strategy
coverage more prevalent in the American media system. 232
Conclusion
The above section has provided a definition for the concept of framing emphasizing the journalists
active role in selecting and highlighting aspects of an event. Framing is argued to take place based
on organizational routines within media institutions, and also argued to have real consequences for
how individuals on the receiving end understand and act based on the news. Additionally, this
section has provided a brief introduction to the concept of issue and strategy frames in relation to
political campaigns. 233 The following chapter will analyze structural Americanization in relation to
Danish journalism focusing on strategy, economy and technology.
227 Vreese, "News Framing: Theory and Typology." Page 54. ―The distinction between core elements and framecarrying
elements has effectively been applied in the operationalization of news frames in most studies of framing
effects.‖
228 Capella and Jamieson, Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good. Page 47.
229 Thomas E. Patterson, Out of Order (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993). Capella and Jamieson, Spiral of Cynicism:
The Press and the Public Good. Or Schudson, The Sociology of News. Page 92-114.
230 Holli A. Semetko and Patti M. Valkenburg, "Framing European Politics: A Content Analysis of Press and Television
News," Journal of Communication 50, no. 2 (2000). Page 17.
231 Hallin and Benson, "How States, Markets and Globalization Shape the News: The French and US National Press,
1965-97." Page 39.
232 Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News Coverage in
Sweden and the United States." Page 141-142.
233 In this project, issue frames are defined as stories where a political candidate‘s explicit political viewpoints or a
candidate‘s proposed solutions to the country‘s challenges are presented, while the strategy frames are focused on who
67

3. Structural Americanization
The two previous chapters briefly introduced the concept of structural Americanization, defined as
American influence on ―economic policies‖ as well as ―international politics and security.‖ 234 The
theory chapter also showed, that several scholars of Americanization point to commercialization as
a central driving force behind American influence at the structural level and Sørensen argued that
commercialization was closely connected to export of technology. Through structural decisions and
agreements between the Danish and American government departments, as well as knowledge
exchange between journalistic institutions, educational institutions and key individuals, features of
the American media environment is argued by the scholars above to impact the Danish media
institutions. These Danish journalistic institutions have in turn set the boundaries within which
journalists work and frame their news stories.
Hence, Americanization must be understood from a transmission, transnationalization and
appropriation perspective; the sender, the exchange and the receiver perspective. 235 As Table 2
showed, there are several levels to both the transmission and appropriation aspects of
Americanization. Following Sørensen‘s prescription of driving forces, the emphasis in the ensuing
analysis will be placed on the American governments attempt to influence, the knowledge exchange
going on between institutions (media as well as educational) and lastly the reception perspective as
expressed through the Danish Union of Journalists‘ periodical Journalisten where key individuals
are often identified. 236
At these levels, the literature review in the preceding chapter has identified the following driving
forces which will serve as the parameters for the subsequent analysis. At the structural level,
capitalism, 237 military power, 238 and technology, 239 are deemed of great importance. While on the
is ahead or behind in a specific political race or the where a politician is ascribed tactical motives behind certain actions
in the campaign.
234
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 133.
235
Ibid. Page 184.
236
Sørensen, "Kulturmøder, Selvkolonisering Og Imperialisme Om USAmerikaniseringen Af Europa [Cultural
Encounters, Selfcolonialization and Imperialism About USAmericanization of Europe."
237
Ibid. Also see Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic
Influence in Europe since the 1880's. As well as Holm, "American Influence on Danish TV Journalism." And
Christensen, ed. Amerikanisering Af Det Danske Kulturliv I Perioden 1945-58. [Americanization of the Danish Cultural
Life in the Period 1945-58].
238
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. See also Roland
Robertson, "Rethinking Americanization," in Global America? The Cultural Consequences of Globalization, ed. Ulrich
Beck, Natan Sznaider, and Rainer Winter (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003).
68

symbolic level, key actors on both sides of the Atlantic, 240 propaganda (overt, semi-overt and
covert), 241 exchange programs, 242 and the ideal of objectivity 243 are argued to spur Americanization
in other countries.
Van Elteren‘s Americanization framework will serve as the basis for the chapter on symbolic
Americanization, while the chapter on structural Americanization aims to pinpoint ―America‘s
position in the global system,‖ in relation to Denmark after World War II. 244 Among the economic
policies pursued by the United States were the ―spread of capitalism,‖ as well as ―market
liberalism,‖ and closely tied to these American economic objectives were technological and
scientific innovation. 245
Through the prism of previously confidential United States government documents, secondary
literature and articles from the Danish Union of Journalists‘ publication Journalisten, this chapter
will make the following arguments.
1. In terms of strategy, Denmark was in an asymmetrical power-relationship with the United
States, but from an American perspective still considered a very important NATO-ally
thereby giving Denmark a certain ―power of the weak.‖
239
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Also see Schiller,
Communication and Cultural Domination.
240
Sørensen, "Kulturmøder, Selvkolonisering Og Imperialisme Om USAmerikaniseringen Af Europa [Cultural
Encounters, Selfcolonialization and Imperialism About USAmericanization of Europe."
241
Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato
and The Cold War].
242
Petersen and Sørensen, "Kommunister, Jan-Bøger Og Drømmekøkkener [Communists, Jan-Books and Dream
Kitchens]." Also see Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic
Influence in Europe since the 1880's.
243
Chalaby, "Journalism as an Anglo-American Invention: A Comparison of the Development of French and Anglo-
American Journalism, 1830s-1920s." Also see Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling
[Journalism with Style - From Classical News to Narrative].
244
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 145.
245
Ibid. Page 109. ―‗Americanization‘ both in common and scientific usage often stood for modernization,
industrialization, technological innovation, spread of capitalism, market liberalism, consumer society, mass culture,
modern entertainment as well as democratization and Westernization, or more specifically economic and political
incorporation into Western geopolitical regions and Western transnational associations.‖ Also Pells, Not Like Us: How
Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture since World War II. Page 11. Pells point to ―the
worship of machines and assembly lines, ‗streamlined‘ and standardized products, commercialism, mess consumption,
and the emergence of a mass society,‖ as values characterized as uniquely American. Also Schröter, Americanization of
the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe since the 1880's. Page 210.
Schröter has argued that ―since the 1980s the third wave of Americanization with its combination of economic and
technological change and ideological rethinking has washed hard against the foundations of the European welfare
state.‖
69

2. In relation to economy, the second section will argue that the United States has actively
pursued an economic policy espousing deregulation on trade and telecommunications which
has affected Denmark from the late 1980s and forward. Yet, commercialization were often at
odds with the Danish politicians and journalists‘ aspirations of diversity in national media
channels. Direct media subsidies from the government thereby became a way to curtail
commercialization. The combination of public service television and the publicist ideals
among leading Danish newspapers served to counteract claims of American media
imperialism. Yet, there was a very real demand for knowledge about American journalistic
developments as well as a demand for American journalist products among Danish
journalists and the public they served.
3. Concerning technology the third section will argue that Danish journalists and technical
newspaper employees looked more to the United States for inspiration than any other
country. The inspiration gathered from the United States also led to an emphasis on Anglo-
American technology being utilized in Danish newsrooms.
3.1 Americanization and strategy
In terms of structural Americanization, Denmark immidiately after World War II was initially
considered under the British sphere of influence by the Americans, but as Denmark joined the
massive economic-aid Marshall Plan and later NATO between 1947 and 1949, the country became
part of the greater geo-political battle between the Soviet Union and the United States. The United
States had since 1945 held an unrivaled global position of power militarily and economically and
consequently the relationship that Denmark entered into with the United States after the end of
World War II was one exemplified by asymmetrical power. Despite knowledge that Denmark
would be abandoned in case of an attack of the Soviet Union on the NATO-countries, Danish
politicians, like Julius Bomholt from the Social Democrats, nevertheless felt that the nation had to
make a choice between east and west, as a Scandinavian defense agreement failed to materialize,
and the Danes somewhat reluctantly then chose to join the Atlantic Pact. 246 Hence, the relative
246 Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato
and The Cold War]. Page 112-118. About Denmark not being defended in case of a Soviet attack see page 147-148.
Concerning Denmark consciously not living up to the goals set for NATO-countries, and thereby exerting the ―power of
the weak,‖ see page 354-357.
70

importance of Danish participation in NATO, from an American perspective, makes the late 1940s
the natural point of departure for an analysis of structural Americanization. 247
3.1.1 Power of the weak
―Danish reservations about American leadership within this [Western] community stem from two
causes,‖ wrote Public Affairs Officer William G. Roll in 1951 to the Department of State and
added, ―[f]irst, statements lifted from their contexts, as e.g. President Truman‘s statement about the
use of the atomic bomb, or statements to which undue weight is attached, such as those of ex-
President Hoover, are sometimes taken by Danish opinion-leaders as evidence of lack of constancy
in American foreign policy.‖ 248
As the quote shows, Danes had not wholehearted embraced American influence on Danish foreign
policy by 1951. On the contrary, Danish politicians in the 1950s recognized the importance of good
relations with the United States but also worked hard to maximize what could be gained from its
wealthy ally and ensure that Danish domestic politics were not affected (too much) by outside
interests. As Villaume has argued, Danish politicians in the 1950‘s were strongly encouraged by
American officials to spend more on defense in exchange for the economic support provided
through the Marshall plan, but Danish politicians wanted to spend the money on domestic
programs. Consequently, the Americans in 1955 concluded that the Danish government had not
invested enough in the countrys military and as a result considered cutting economic aid. In the
end, however, the United States decided against decreasing Danish assistance partly because it
could ―weaken USA‘s position in Greenland.‖ 249
Denmark‘s ability to resist American political pressure to a large part hinged on the country‘s
strategic location and the relationship to Greenland. Greenland was a recurring theme in American
officials‘ reports back to Department of State and Ambassor John Gunther Dean in 1976 noted that,
―[t]here are several factors which make US interests in Denmark greater than would ordinarily be
247 Ibid. Page 97 and 112-115.
248 William G. Roll, "Effectiveness of USIE Program in Denmark," (National Archives. RG 59. Department of State.
Decimal file. 1950-1954. From 511.59/12-650 to 511.59/12-2950. Box 2422. March 8, , 1951).
249 Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato
and The Cold War]. Page 348-354. According to Villaume, American officials also believed that a decrease in aid to
Denmark would weaken Prime Minister H.C. Hansen and be a pretext for further cuts in Danish defense spending.
71

expected in a country of its size,‖ while adding,
―The interests are relatively unchanging and stem basically from a similarity in national views
rooted in Denmark‘s long democratic tradition, its western value system, and its strategic
location. Denmark‘s position at the entrance to the Baltic and it sovereignty over Greenland
and the Faroes, both important to the defense of the North Atlantic, make its role in the NATO
alliance a key one.‖ 250
Dean‘s comments underlined the importance placed by the Americans on Denmark‘s participation
in NATO not least because of Greenland and the Faroe Islands and were a continuation of
American policy that stretched back to the 1940‘s. The important American air-bases on Greenland,
meant that Denmark came to be seen by the United States, as a small, but not wholly unimportant,
peg in the puzzle to secure a dominant global position. Specifically, American foreign policy
analysts in 1948 held the view that access to Danish and Norwegian ―island possessions‖ was ―vital
to the United States security.‖ 251 Additionally, in a secret memo to the American Embassy in
Copenhagen dated September 10, 1975 Kissinger emphasized, that it was a priority to keep and
develop a close relationship to the Danes.
―Denmark‘s strategic location requires a major Danish input to NATO monitoring and control
of the entrances to the Baltic on NATO‘s northern flank, Denmark is sovereign over
Greenland and the Faroe Islands which are vital to the defense of the North Atlantic and North
America.‖ 252
The strategic importance of Greenland meant that the United States, in the shape of the American
Embassy in Copenhagen‘s employees, worked diligently to create a positive picture of American
society and culture, to assure that the Danish population continued to be sympathetic to NATO and
250
John Gunther Dean, "Annual Policy Assessment,"
(http://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=84211&dt=2082&dl=1345. April 29, 1976). Downloaded November 10,
2010.
251
Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato
and The Cold War]. Page 123-124.
252
Henry Kissinger, "US Interests and Policy Objectives for Denmark 1975,"
(http://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=166342&dt=1822&dl=823. September 10, 1975.). September 10, 1975.
72

thereby support the politicians‘ continued participation in the alliance. 253 A confidential document
from the Department of State shows how officers of the U.S. Information and Education Program
(USIE) attempted to promote American interests in Denmark. On May 2 nd , 1950 Roll sent a draft of
the ―USIE Country Paper for Denmark‖ to the Department of State in which he wrote, that the
―priority aims and objectives of USIE program in Denmark‖ were,
―To state the foreign and domestic policies of the United States as persuasively as possible
(…) to encourage the Danish people to maintain their traditional friendship for the United
States (…) [and] to encourage a climate of opinion in Denmark which will enable the Danish
people to see possibilities of an expanding, dynamic Danish society through bolder
cooperation with other democracies.‖ 254
According to Roll, the key to ―creating a receptive climate of opinion‖ was to present a ―dignified,
full, factual picture of the United States,‖ as there was no need for ―obvious anti-Soviet, anti-
communist propaganda‖ in Northern Europe. USIE‘s plan was to target labor groups and
organizations as well as teachers and other intellectual leaders, because in order to ―create a
favorable climate of opinion,‖ it was ―highly important to reach those who are in a position to do
so.‖
As Roll‘s document clearly shows, the tension between Russia and the United States had
heightened significantly after the end of World War II and as a consequence influence in Europe
became an increasingly important priority for the world‘s two remaining superpowers. Making
Danes sympathetic to American ideas and ideals was therefore considered by Washington as a
means to the end of gaining the upper hand in the Cold War. 255
However, the asymmetrical power relationship existing between Denmark and the United States
also led to direct influence on Danish policy, according to the United States officials. Ambassador
Dean in 1976 stated that Danish positions on economic matters had been ―clearly influenced by US
253 Jensen, "En Krig På Værdier - Mål Og Midler I Det Amerikanske Kulturdiplomati [A War on Values: Means and
Ends in the American Cultural Diplomacy]." Page 10.
254 William G. Roll, "USIE Report for December, 1949," (National Archives. RG 59. Department of State. Decimal file.
1950-1954. From 511.59/12-650 to 511.59/12-2950. Box 2422. February 14, 1950). Confidential report by William G.
Roll from May 2, 1950 under the subject ―USIE COUNTRY PAPERS.‖ Hereafter Copenhagen.
255 Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans." Page 117.
73

consultations‖ and according to the American diplomat, there had also been tangible success in
other areas of the United States‘ relationship with Denmark; even extending to influence over
Norwegian policy.
―US views helped shape Danish attitudes on such political matters as the recognition of
Angola and UN consideration of the Korea question, in the latter case, the Danes were able to
exert some influence on the Norwegians.‖ 256
Moreover, Dean noted the importance of continually cultivating Danish politicians, teachers and
youth movements in order to obtain the policy objectives of the United States.
―While the Danes usually agree with us on international issues, we should not take them for
granted. Our continued consultations serve to fortify their own convictions and to persuade
them of the wisdom of our policies when they have doubts.‖ 257
Regardless of whether or not Dean‘s assessment of the situation was correct, Dean‘s policy
evaluation show, the American‘s were keenly aware of Danish strategic importance and therefore
deemed it extremely important not to automatically assume Danish support for American policies.
Yet, on the other hand in terms of international policy it was still the United States influencing
Denmark and not the other way around.
To reach the Danes, American officials sponsored a host of seminars with prominent academics
lecturing from the early 1970s and forward. Among the many different topics touched upon were
international security and strategy matters that, according to the American organizers, attracted
what they considered an impressive array of Danes when they were held.
Evaluating an international seminar on security and détente in 1976, Commission for Educational
Exchange between Denmark and the United States executive director John W. Berg, wrote,
256 Dean, "Annual Policy Assessment."
257 Ibid.
74

―The audience consisted of more than 100 participants from five countries (…) The audience
was composed of high-level foreign and defense ministry officials; top military planners,
including the four-star chief of all Danish armed forces and several generals from Sweden and
Denmark; key media experts; parliamentarians; academicians and leading authors in
international security field.‖ 258
Among the key media experts who attended the seminar were Niels Jørgen Haagerup, editor of
Berlingske Tidende, editors Lasse Budtz and Ole Sippel from what the Americans called the Danish
Broadcast Service (DR), editor-in-chief Herbert Pundik of Politiken and prominent representatives
from Aarhuus Stiftstidende, Aktuelt, and a host of Scandinavian news outlets.
In the following years seminars were held on the American experience in the 1960‘s, about women
in literature as well as ―U.S. – European economic relations,‖ and by 1980 the attention was once
again turned to international politics.
A ―Seminar on a Western Strategy for the 80‘s‖ was organized in Rungsted with the Harvard
Professor Samuel P. Huntington as the main speaker. The seminar was attended by several members
of parliament and many connected to Danish media. Among the present or former journalists and
editors were, Niels Jørgen Haagerup, who was now a member of the European Parliament, Lasse
Budtz from the Danish Broadcast Service as well as media representatives from Weekendavisen,
Aarhuus Stiftstidende, Morgunbladid in Reykjavik, along with the Swedish newspapers Göteborg-
Posten and Sydsvenska Dagbladet. 259
Though it is difficult to gauge the effect of these seminars on the members of the audience, from an
American perspective they did nonetheless constitute a success in trying to frame international
debate over foreign political issues as is apparent from Bergs evaluations.
258 John W. Berg, "Commission for Educational Exchange between Denmark and the United States of America,"
(Rigsarkivet. 10754. Danmark-Amerika Fondet og Fullb. K. 1956-1992. Seminarer. Seminar in American Studies 1971-
1978. Box 132. April 9, 1976). Ambassador Dean had opened the conference and Berg was impressed with both
presenters as well as the audience. ―The intellectual level of the presentations was extremely high, thoroughly matched
by the expert audience so that discussion never ceased in plenary sessions nor during meal times or evening social
occasions. Many participants, including the widely-known authorities in the field of the seminar subject, volunteered
high praise for the seminar.‖
259 ———, "Seminar on a Western Strategy for the 80s," (Rigsarkivet. 10754. Danmark-Amerika Fondet og Full. K.
1956-1992 Seminarer. Seminar in American Studies 1979-1994. Box 133., 1980).
75

Conclusion
This section has shown that the United States strategically regarded Denmark as being of great
importance to the NATO alliance. The Danish soveignty over Greenland and the Faroe Islands
carried with it a disproportionate large room to maneuver politically, the ―power of the weak,‖ as
the United States were forced not to take Danish support for granted. The United States did,
however, influence Danish policy to a greater extent than the other way around. Additionally, the
strategic and economic seminars sponsored by the American Embassy on several occastions
attracted the Danish journalistic, military and political elite working on foreign policy.
3.2 Americanization and Economy
―In global terms Denmark is not a major US trading partner, as it accounts for only about one-half
of one percent of US exports and imports,‖ wrote Ambassador John Gunther Dean in his secret
policy assessment from 1976. ―In absolute terms, however, trade is substantial.‖ 260
American economic aid played a significant part in Danish post-World War II reconstruction and
helped stave off the worst consequences from the war by providing resources for reconstruction.
Consequently the Danish literary critic Søren Schou, as noted in the theory chapter, later described
the Americans as, ―the bountiful relatives from abroad‖ who played a seminal role in modernizing
Western Europe. 261
As Schou alluded to, in the immediate post-war years America seemed surrounded by a ―halo of
luxury and wealth,‖ and combined with the American government‘s overt attempts to influence the
European continent towards a more favorable view of the United States, many Danes in the years
after World War II had a positive image of America. 262 Denmark and many other European states
were part of this coordinated effort by the American government to wield influence after the war. 263
Yet, as Schröter has pointed out, support for American policies after World War II was not a linear
ascendancy, but rather a development characterized by peaks and valleys. While the 1950‘s and
early 1960‘s was a highpoint for economic Americanization, the 1970‘s with the unpopular
260
Dean, "Annual Policy Assessment."
261
Schou, "Postwar Americanisation and the Revitalisation of European Culture."
262
Ibid. Page 146.
263
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 256. Petersen and
Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans."Page 117-122.
76

Vietnam War and domestic as well as global economic problems turned out to make the American
example less attractive.
―Americanization dwindled away because Europeans had caught up with, or even overtaken,
their former teachers. Contributing to the ebb were the oil-price shocks of the 1970s as well as
American economic and political difficulties connected with the war in Vietnam. European
eyes turned from the US to Japan (…).‖ 264
However, from the 1980‘s the United States experienced a resurgence in terms of economic
influence and as van Elteren notes, through leadsership in transnational organizations such as the
International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and WTO the United States created a system which was
―positively skewed toward U.S. interests‖ and promoted an economic system based on neoliberal
ideals advocating transferring power from the government to the ―free market.‖ 265
3.2.1 Neoliberal Influence
The ideology of a free market approach as opposed to state-run industries was pushed by the United
States since the end of World War II, and even for those countries that did not look favorably upon
the economic framework established by the United States it was difficult to find a useful alternative
for development.
―Formally, foreign countries are sovereign states, free to reject neoliberal programs for
economic developments. But this becomes a problem when they fall into debt, for they are
highly dependent on U.S.-dominated loan conditions and interest rates. In fact, the U.S.
Treasury controls the IMF and World Bank, and if they do not honor a loan request, all the
other international lending organization will refuse a loan.‖ 266
264
Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 206.
265
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 39 and 191-
198.
266 Ibid. Page 196.
77

The support the liberal economic policies by leading Europeans and Americans helped spur, a
―third wave‖ of Americanization on. A number of scholars, among these Hallin and Mancini, also
point to the importance of neoliberal ideology when explaining structural Americanization in the
media context.
―There is clear evidence of direct American influence, starting at least from the late nineteenth
century, when American forms of journalism were widely imitated (..), and [Americanization]
in some ways accelerated further still with the global shift to neoliberalism in the 1980s.‖ 267
The global shift towards neoliberalism policies, meaning focus on ―the individual, freedom of
choice, market security; laissez faire, and minimal government,‖ 268 in the 1980‘s coincided with
Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher‘s ascendancy to power in the United States and Great
Britain respectively, 269 and many European countries embellished the attractiveness of market-
liberal economic policies of privatization and deregulation associated with the American model of
capitalism.‖ 270
According to van Elteren, Western European ―businessmen, managers, groups of professionals and
academics, government officials and so forth who are proponents of neoliberalism and U.S.-style
capitalism and managerialism,‖ want to ―adopt a 'free-market' orientation in virtually all domains of
life through emulation of and adherence to American-style practices including the 'deregulation' (or
rather reregulation) deemed necessary for this.‖ 271
267 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 254-255. Hallin and
Mancini adds, ―We generally associate Americanization today with the conservative influence of neoliberalism, but as a
number of scholars have pointed out (e.g. Gundle 2000) leftist culture in Europe was also strongly affected by the
‗American Dream‘.‖
268 Wendy Larner, "Neo-Liberalism: Policy, Ideology, Governmentality," Studies in Political Economy 63 (2000). Page
7. Larner argues that the above definition is a ―policy‖ view of neo-liberalism, and that the concept can also be thought
of, and nuanced, but understanding it as an ―ideology‖ or through a ―governmentality‖ perspective.
269 Schröter, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European Economy,
1900-2005." Page 339.
270 ———, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 207.
271 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 39. See also
Ingeborg Philipsen, "Diplomacy with Ambiguity: The History of the Bilderberg Organisation 1952-1977," (University
of Copenhagen, 2009). Page 4, 68-69 and 130-136. According to Philipsen prominent Danish politicians, businessmen
and journalists have participated in the exclusive Bilderberg Conferences from 1952 and forward; meetings which were
78

Schröter, however, argues that despite the increased European deregulation of ―industrial plants,
railways, airlines, telecommunications, postal services, and a number of other utilities,‖ important
differences remain between the United States‘ organization of society and the European.
―The welfare-state principle of politics over economics still has considerable vitality in
Europe, but the third wave of Americanization has clearly removed many areas of European
life from the realm of social and political agreement and placed them under the mandate of the
market.‖ 272
While the Danish welfare state has served as a powerful counterforce to direct adaption of U.S. led
economic policy, there are also indicators that deregulation and capitalism has gained an important
foothold in the media industry as well as society at large. Most notably perhaps is the fact that the
Danish Broadcasting Service had their monopoly over television broken in 1988 and the Tele
Danmark-monopoly over telecommunications was disbanded in 1994 which led to a subsequent
purchase of the company by Anglo-American corporations. 273 This deregulation followed on the
heels of the American-inspired (and America-promoted) economic policies described by Schröter
and has also made itself felt within the transportation sector for example. Changing ownership
patterns in the media industry has also been apparent across Europe, where newspapers for example
increasingly have become publicly traded. 274
designed to bring national opinion leaders together to ―discuss problems or issues in transatlantic relationships‖ and one
idea which united the organizers was a belief in an ―open world trading system within a multilateral framework of
international organisation.‖ Danish editors like Terkel M. Terkelsen, Jørgen Schleimann and Tøger Seidenfaden have
taken part in the meetings over the years alongside powerful colleagues from the United States, Britain and other
western countries. See for instance, Rasmus Bang Petersen, "De Mægtiges Diskussionsklub [The Powerful's Debate
Society]," Information, July 25, 2007. Page 22-23.
272
Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 210.
273
Klaus Bruhn Jensen, ed. Dansk Mediehistorie 1960-1995 [Danish Media History 1960-1995], 4 vols., vol. 3, Dansk
Mediehistorie (København: Forlaget Samfundslitteratur,2001). Page 170-175. Bjørn Lambek and Peder Bjerge, "TDC
Til Salg: Fonde Sætter TDC Til Salg Igen Om Få År [TDC for Sale: Trusts Will Put TDC up for Sale Again in a Few
Years]," Politiken, December 1, 2005. Page 2.
274
Schröter, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European Economy,
1900-2005." Page 339. Also Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page
289-291. See also Allern and Blach-Ørsten, "The News Media as A Political Institution: A Scandinavian Perspective."
Page 1-3.
79

However, even in the years leading up to the 1980‘s, liberal trade policies were pursued by
American politicians. This is exemplified in a document from 1975 under the heading ―United
States interests.‖ 275
It was the United States‘ explicit goal to maintain ―traditional Danish adherence to liberal trade
policies within the EC [European Communities]‖ as well as ―US-Danish economic relations‖ since
they were ―closely tied to US relations with the community as a whole, and the Danes also provide
an important link between the EC and other Nordic Countries.‖ Lastly, Kissinger emphasized ―the
promotion of US economic and commercial interests in Denmark.‖ 276
Reagan‘s administration, did however take the liberal policies of the post-war years one step
further. 277 The focus that the United States under Reagan placed on neoliberal economic principles
had important ramifications in terms of structural Americanization during those years. To Kissinger
the political, military and economic goals of the United States had to be achieved by integrating
these objectives with a conscious effort to influence Danish cultural life. Kissinger‘s memo
outlining the United States‘ interests and policy objectives thereby serves as an important link
between structural and symbolic Americanization of Denmark.
3.2.2 Government Policy to Curb Commercialization
The competition on the free market even within Danish borders proved tough for domestic
newspapers in the 1970‘s and Danish politicians in 1970 for the first time institutionally recognized
the press as holding a distinctive position in society worthy of financial support by establishing the
Press‘ Finance Institute (DFI). 278 The creation of DFI sparked substantial debate, but at the core of
the discussion was the question of whether or not Danish newspapers should be considered along
the same lines as every other commodity or whether it should be awarded certain priviledges based
on the role it played in democracy. It was a debate between proponents of the free market and
275 Kissinger, "US Interests and Policy Objectives for Denmark 1975." Kissinger here linked the importance of the
military and the economy, when he stated that ―Denmark‘s recurring economic difficulties reinforce‖ the tendency to
doubt defense measures.
276 Ibid.
277 Johnson, Sleepwalking through History: America in The Reagan Years. Page 74. Johnson shows how Reagan from
the beginning of his political career surrounded himself with rich and prominent Californians who advocated free trade
and libetarian ideals.
278 Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 15. DFI is called ―Dagspressens Finansieringsinstitut‖ in Danish.
80

proponents of government regulation for society‘s common good. As it turned out the majority of
politicians agreed that Danish media played a democratizing role which should be protected from
rampant commercialization and a role that was therefore worthy of substantial subsidies. 279
The question of subsidies for the press was an important topic in the pages of the Danish Union of
Journalists‘ publication Journalisten. The first issue of Journalisten from 1972 was devoted to
parliamentary debate regarding the nature of direct and indirect support. In 1972 indirect subsidies
such as lower postal rates, public advertisements in a broad range of newspapers and exemption
from certain taxes had been established, but had not worked to the extent that the newspaper
business and some politicians hoped. The situation led the Social Democratic Member of
Parliament, and former journalist, Birte Weiss to ask the prime minister Jens Otto Krag what could
be done for the Danish press.
‖The press cannot be compared to the rest of the corporate sector, since it solves an important
task as mediator of a host of cultural activities financed by the public sector. Moreover, the
press is a great help to the public in creating local democracy, as it provides the
communication between authorities and citizen. Subsidies to the press will therefore not be
welfare benefits, but a fair compensation for the service the press provides the public
sector.‖ 280
With her comment, Weiss thereby distinguished the Danish press from other parts of the corporate
sectors and argued that because of its central role in upholding democratic functions it was worthy
of increased subsidies on top of the ones already afforded by the creation of DFI. The precedence of
direct subsidies established under DFI, indirect subsidies through government advertising in
279 Ibid. Page 15-19.
280 Folketingstidende, "Krisen Ind I Folketinget [The Crisis Moves into Parliament]," Journalisten, January 1972. Page
7. My translation. Original text reads, ―Når pressen ikke kan sammenlignes med det øvrige erhvervsliv, skyldes det
bl.a., at den udover at være en forretning løser en vigtig opgave som formidler af en lang række kulturelle aktiviteter,
som det offentlige finansierer. Desuden er dagbladene det offentlige en stor hjælp i bestræbelserne for at skabe
nærdemokrati, idet han sørger for kommunikationen mellem myndigheder og borger. Støtte til pressen vil således ikke
være socialhjælp, men en rimelig betaling for den service, pressen yder det offentlige.‖
81

magazines, favorable tax regulations and distribution subsidies continued from the 1970‘s into the
subsequent decades. 281
The Danish policy towards media subsidies was inspired by international examples, but it was not
(recent) examples from the United States that were seen as an example to follow. In an article from
1980 written on ―the threshold of the media commission,‖ journalist and media historian Erik Lund
compared foreign examples of media subsidy that Danish journalists could relate ―positively or
negatively to.‖ In his article Lund argued that media subsidies in Denmark were regarded as
necessary to sustain a ―differentiated press,‖ and then went on to compare Denmark with the United
States, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Taking the American 1947 Commission on the
Freedom of the Press as an example, Lund argued that a similar Danish commission should find its
mandate within the commissions‘ social responsibility theory, which advocated the press‘ moral
role within greater society. 282 However, the American media market had shifted significantly
between the late 1940‘s and the early 1980‘s. By the time of Lund‘s writings few, if any, Danish
media advisors saw the contemporary American media market as an example to follow. The
approach advocated by Lund based on the American commission was markedly different, and much
less commercially oriented, than the one espoused by FCC chairman Mark Fowler in 1981 and 1982
in which ―communications policy should be directed toward maximizing the services the public
desires.‖ In the United States, as we have seen in chapter 2, television was simply to be regarded as
―a toaster with pictures.‖ 283
The tension between government subsidies and commercial influence was also apparent in Danish
media debates in the 1980‘s where discussions raged regarding the Danish Broadcast Service‘s
monopoly over Danish television and the press‘ role in society. Generally, however, Danish
journalists and politicians agreed that the press held a unique position in society worthy of subsidy
and consequently looked more to Northern European models of media subsidies. 284 Because of this
schism between Northern European and American notions of media subsidies the commercial
281 Henrik Kaufholz, "Sådan Kan Nye Blade Hjælpes Økonomisk [New Newspapers Can Be Helped Like This],"
Journalisten, March 1980. Page 8. See also Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte
[A Report on the Future of State Media Subsidies]." Page 15-16.
282 Erik Lund, "Modeller, Metoder Og Resultater Fra Kommissioner Og Kommissorier [Models, Methods and Results
from Commissions and Mandates]," Journalisten, March 1980. Page 9.
283 Fowler and Brenner, "A Marketplace Approach to Broadcast Regulation." Page 209. See also Horwitz, The Irony of
Regulatory Reform: The Deregulation of American Telecommunications. Page 245.
284 Lund, "Modeller, Metoder Og Resultater Fra Kommissioner Og Kommissorier [Models, Methods and Results from
Commissions and Mandates]." Page 9. See also Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige
Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media Subsidies]." Page 104.
82

approach of United States in the 1980‘s and 1990‘s became more of an example to fear than an
example to follow judging from the pages of Journalisten. In September of 1982, former editor-in-
chief Torben Krogh wrote that Denmark could learn from Sweden and Norway, countries with a
longer tradition of media subsidies, 285 and the following month Journalisten‘s readers were warned
about the commercial influence of American television in an article about a recent Danish book
about TV in the United States and the conclusion was clear the Danish government had to do
something against the ―supra-national advertisement carrying satellite programs.‖
―Maintaining and expanding an independent Danish TV-culture requires, however, a certain
barrier, a clarification of the goal and the establishment of appropriate means.‖ 286
A few years later the American media scholar Neil Postman gave his assessment of what would
happen if the Danes did not adopt measures to curb commercialism. In Postman‘s view putting a
stop to the ―cultural imperialism,‖ was crucial since it would otherwise lead to a great focus on
sensational news, monopolization of newspapers in the cities and have great implications for the
national consciousness.
―In Denmark, like all across the world, the American movies are seen and the American rock
music heard. When you then begin to fill the Danish TV-screens with American TV-programs
you will gradually lose a little of your identity as a people.‖ 287
Postman‘s scenario was another example of the jeremiad over journalism, a call for swift reform
before ruins befalls the population. Yet when American influence was actually studied it turned out
285 Torben Krogh, "Erfaringer Og Inspiration I Udenlandske Støtteordninger [Experiences and Inspiration from Foreign
Subsidy Policies]," Journalisten, September 1982. Page 11. Krogh writes foreign inspiration about media subsidies,
―The most obvious – both geographically and culturally – is naturally to look at Sweden and Norway.‖ My translation.
Original text reads, ―Mest nærliggende – både geografisk og kulturelt – er det naturligvis at se på Sverige og Norge.‖
286 Bodil Rohde, "Handel Med Bevidstheder [Dealing in Consciousnesses]," Journalisten, October 1982. Page 29. My
translation. Original text reads, ―Fastholdelse og udvidelse af en selvstændig dansk TV-kultur kræver imidlertid en vis
afskærmning, en klargørelse af målet og etablering af passende midler.‖
287 Stig Nielsen, "Reklamer Gør Tv Til En Pengemaskine [Advertisments Turns TV into a Money-Making Machine],"
Journalisten, November 26 1986. Page 14. My translation. Original text reads, ―I Danmark ligesom over hele verden
ses de amerikanske film og høres den amerikanske rockmusik. Når I så begynder at fylde de danske TV-skærme med
amerikanske TV-programmer, vil I gradvis miste lidt af jeres identitet som folk.‖
83

that the media imperialism was not as frightening as one could fear. According to media researcher
Preben Sepstrup, Denmark in the 1980‘s was far from the cultural media imperialism feared by
observers. On the contrary there were far more Danish and European programs on television than
American. However, there was a very real demand for American cultural products especially among
the Danish youth.
―There is a lot of talk about American television‘s triumphal progress all over the world. With
regular intervals many feel that it is too much with the American programs in Danish TV.
(…) It is especially the small countries that are supposed to be suffering, perhaps even have
their culture and language threatened by the American ‗media imperialism‘.‖ 288
According to Sepstrup only nine percent of the programs broadcast on the Danish Broadcast service
in 1987 were produced in the United States, and the following year Sepstrup could report that the
American percentage was the same but that the American nine percent of the programs actually
accounted for 15 percent of the amount of time spent by Danes in front of the television. The
demand for American television programs was therefore, in Sepstrup‘s eyes, greater than the
supply, especially among the young, and he explained this demand simply by stating, ―viewers like
it.‖ 289
Nonetheless, the concern that the Danish media market was approximating American commercial
conditions persisted, and in a Journalisten-article on media concentration from 1992, yet another
warning against future American influence was published.
288 Preben Sepstrup, "Ingen Media-Imperialisme I DR [No Media Imperialism in the Danish Broadcasting Service],"
Journalisten, August 26, 1987. Page 14. My translation. Original text reads, ―Der tales meget om amerikansk fjernsyns
sejrsgang over hele verden. Med mellemrum synes mange, at det er for meget af det gode med amerikanske udsendelser
i dansk TV (…). Det er især de små lande, det skulle gå ud over, ja hvis kultur og sprog måske ligefrem trues af den
amerikanske ‘medieimperialisme‘.‖
289 ———, "Made in Denmark?," Journalisten, February 17, 1988. By 1991, however, the share of American television
approximated the demand as 15 percent of the programs on the Danish Broadcast Service were produced in the United
States, but 16 percent of the television programs consumed by Danes were American in origin. According to Sepstrup,
the addition of TV 2 to the Danish television marked had led to an increase in foreign produced content, but not to the
extent that there were too many American programs offered. It was rather the lack of Danish produced content that
Sepstrup perceived as potentially problematic. See ———, "Kun En Tredjedel Dansk Produceret [Only a Third
Produced in Denmark]," Journalisten, April 24 1991.
84

―TV-stations in Europe are fully transitioning and the market resembles the American more
and more. Government‘s are loosening the reins and opened up for private channels. So far
the multinational media companies only attract just under 10% of the European viewers, but
the percentage is expected to rise as more and more private stations are established.‖ 290
Yet, despite the increasing commercial competition for the two Danish national television stations
throughout the 1990‘s and the 2000‘s a report from 2009 on Danish media subsidies concluded that
the two national Danish television channels still gather 73 percent of the country‘s viewers and that
the programs devoted to news, debate and current issues increased three-fold between 1995 and
2006 in Danish television. 291
This finding is an important divergence from the similar studies in the United States, where research
have estimated that ―the time devoted to entertainment, disasters, and accidents more than doubled
in network television newscasts between 1990 and 1998 at the expense of public affairs
coverage.‖ 292 The situation for Danish newspapers was assessed to be slightly less positive, but due
to the direct and indirect media subsidies, the Danish government has succeeded in maintaining a
constant number of newspapers with a plurality of editorial perspectives and newspapers have also
increased their coverage of cultural issues. The authors of the report, Anker Brink Lund and Preben
Sepstrup, furthermore found indications of more space being afforded debate material and that
approximately 70 percent of the original news production originates with the Danish newspapers
mostly dependent on government subsidies. 293
Lund and Sepstrup note that the premise for the Danish governments system of media subsidies is
that a similar diversity and proliferation of ―debate, cultural dissemination and general education,‖
would not be possible in an unregulated, free market. In fact the mandate for the 2011 media
committee requests a report detailing how future Danish media subsidies can ensure democratic
290
Bente Bundgaard, "De Cool Moguler Har Taget over [The Cool Moguls Have Taken over]," Journalisten,
September 23 1992. My translation. Original text reads, ―TV-stationerne i Europa er i fuldt opbrud, og markedet
kommer mere og mere til at ligne det amerikanske. Regeringerne lønser deres tøjler, og der er blevet åbnet for private
kanaler. Indtil videre tiltrækker multinationale mediefirmaer kun lige under 10% af de europæiske TV-seere, men
procenten ventes at stige, efterhånden som der etablseres flere og flere private stationer.‖
291
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 44-48.
292
Toril Aalberg, Peter van Aalst, and James Curran, "Media Systems and the Political Information Environment: A
Cross-National Comparison," International Journal of Press/Politics 15, no. 3 (2010). Page 258.
293
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 61-64 and 94-95.
85

debate.
―The media subsidy should be able to contribute to a multifarious, versatile, high quality
supply, to all citizens in Denmark. of knowledge and culture dissemination along with
significant societal information and debate of importance for a democratic society.‖ 294
Consequently, the Danish state‘s media subsidies is seen as helping Danish media institutions
finance the production of original news stories which furthers general education in Denmark as well
as provide a structural framework for media content that is focused on the longer perspective for the
common good as opposed to catering to individual short-term tastes. 295
Judging from the increase in culture and debate material, it seems that the Danish governments
direct and indirect media subsidies have helped support a wide range of original news stories in
both print and electronic media. Though Lund and Sepstrup‘s report predict greater commercial
influence on the print media if the structure of the subsidies is not changed, Postman‘s gloomy
predictions concerning television and the subsequent influence on print media seem not to have
come true in terms of media diversity, news stories and culture. Yet the question remains whether or
not recent developments in Danish journalism has been accompanied by an increased focus on form
instead of substance in political reporting? This will be adressed in the content analysis conducted
in chapter 5.
Based Sepstrup and Lund‘s findings it must be concluded that the direct Danish media subsidies,
likely helped by increased professionalism of Danish journalists, have helped uphold normative
ideals about journalism‘s democratic function, as opposed to giving way to a ―monetarization of
decision-making and relationships‖ which according to Schröter characterizes commercialism.
294 Kulturministeriet, "Kommissorium for Udvalget Om Den Fremtidige Mediestøtte [Mandate for the Committee on
the Future Media Subsidy],"(2010), http://kum.dk/da/Nyheder-og-Presse/Pressemeddelelser/2010/November/Denfremtidige-offentlige-mediestotte-skal-undersoges/Kommissorium-for-Udvalget-om-den-fremtidige-offentligemediestotte/.
Accessed November 27, 2010. My translation. Original text reads, ―Mediestøtten skal kunne bidrage til at
sikre et mangfoldigt, alsidigt udbud af høj kvalitet til alle borgere i Danmark af formidling af viden og kultur samt
væsentlig samfundsinformation og debat af betydning for et demokratisk samfund.‖
295 Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 18-19.
86

Conclusion
This section has shown that the American economic model has held considerably sway over
European countries since the end of World War II. The economic aid accompanying the Marshall
Plan played a pivotal role in the 1950‘s and the economic incentives tied to deregulation and
privatization proved attractive during the 1980‘s. The late 1970‘s, however, were characterized by
the second crest of Americanization receding based domestic political and economic problems.
From the late 1980‘s a resurgence of Americanization and the commercialization accompanying
this process has, nonetheless, had important consequences for the Danish tele-communications
market which has been opened up to domestic and foreign competition as was also the case for the
Danish television industry. The Danish government, however, has since 1970 countered the effects
of commercialization with direct media subsidies to the press, radio and television. The result
according to available research is an increase in cultural and debate coverage along with an increase
in the amount of news stories when combining all news outlets. A decline in original news articles
produced by the press has, however, declined slightly between 1999 and 2008, but still 70 percent
of the original news stories produced in Denmark originate with the press. It therefore seems that
the consequences of commercialization, the monetarization of relationships, has been curtailed
somewhat by direct and indirect Danish media subsidies and the professionalism of Danish
journalists.
3.3 Americanization and Technology
―There is no doubt that the process of homogenization is also connected with technological
innovation,‖ writes Hallin and Mancini and adds, ―changes in television technology, for one thing,
clearly played an important role in disrupting the existing media structure by facilitation cross-
national broadcasting and the mulitiplication of channels.‖ 296
Along with diplomacy, strategy, economy and culture, the role of technology play an important part
in discussions about Americanization of Danish society in general, and journalism specifically,
from the late 1960‘s and forward. As van Elteren notes, "There are images and products,
technologies and practices, that have historically been (and sometimes still are) closely identified
296 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 260.
87

with America." 297 From the 1960‘s and forward computers and information technology was at the
forefront of what was associated with America among Danish journalists judging from the Danish
Union of Journalists‘ periodical Journalisten.
According to Schiller, Great Britain controlled global communication with its ownership of oceanic
cables before World War II, but after 1945, ―U.S. Companies, with huge government subsidies,
were the first to develop and then monopolize satellite communications.‖ The invention of satellite
communication was accompanied by a leading position in the fields of computers as well as
television , and ―assisted the push of the United States into the center of the world economy.‖ 298
In Schiller‘s view, this American communications technology which was allowed to spread
unchecked because of the American governments insistence on the free flow of information
undermined sovereignty in less powerful nations. Yet, eventhough Schiller acknowledged the allure
of technology ―to a large part of the international community,‖ he viewed American technology as
being detrimental to other nations and consequently downplayed the very real demand that in fact
existed. 299
For Danish journalists, the United States was the place to look to, if one needed to know which
future technological developments would leave important imprints on local journalism practices,
since important innovation was constantly going on across the Atlantic.
The Los Angeles Times had for example spearheaded technological innovation, and under the
direction of publisher Otis Chandler led the way both in terms of printing presses as well as
computers,
―In February 1961, Otis ordered sixteen new presses installed, bringing the Times total to
ninety-six black-and-white and fourteen color presses. (...) In L.A. the Times installed an IBM
1401, the first computer operated by a newspaper in the United States. Within fourteen
months, the Times would switch to an automatic typesetting system built around its IBM
computer, thereby moving inexorably toward a day when Linotype machines - a venerable
297 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 121.
298 Schiller, Communication and Cultural Domination. Page 28 and 38-39. Schiller also notes, ―along with these more
or less conventional media penetrations, a variety of additional informational activities accompanied the global surge of
private American capital. Foremost, perhaps, was the extension of the opinion poll and consumer survey, now
undertaken all over the world, often under the auspices of American-owned research companies.‖
299 Ibid. Page 50 and 61. Schiller argues that ―the technology of advanced capitalism is hardly likely to be appropriate
for developing countries‖ and sees ―central planning and strict control over economic life‖ as the way to impede the
American technological dominance.
88

part of the clickety-clack pressroom machinery of the Times since Harrison Otis's day - would
be silenced forever." 300
These American innovations subsequently made their way to Europe, either through American
export or European media employees going on study tours or conferences in the United States, as
well as in Europe. One example of a European who brought technological knowledge back from a
visit to the United States was the Swedish managing director of Dagens Nyheter, Carl-Adam
Nycop, who was invited to Denmark in 1969 to talk about what the future might hold for Danish
journalism. Nycop in his interview with Journalisten listed the latest inventions in Sweden based on
data technology and then, with a few qualifications, went on to predict future developments through
the use of satellites and electronic distribution of newspapers through video.
―The American technician who predicts the following [use of video], has never previously
been wrong: When that time comes, people will have watchband watch-radios, through which
they can contact the entire world and get information.‖ 301
Gaining inspiration from the United States through an intermediary like Nycop, is a phenomenon,
as noted in chapter 2, described by van Elteren as ―secondary appropriation.‖ Schröter warns
however that one should not take the concept of ―secondary appropriation‖ too far, but in the case
of Nycop, travelling to the United States and then shortly upon his return sharing his new-found
knowledge in a different country, the use of the concept seems warranted. 302
In the realm of technology, Sweden and Norway served as important reference points, and
important collaborators, for Danish media employees. Yet, as is apparent from Nycop‘s experience,
even when Swedish or Norwegian experts or Scandinavian-produced technology was brought to
300 Dennis McDougal, Priviledged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. Times Dynasty (Massachusetts:
Perseus Publishing, 2001). Page 231. As a slight aside, the transnational flow of knowledge between the United States
and Europe is underlined by the fact that it was a German immigrant Ottmar Mergenthaler who invented the Linotype
typesetting machine in America in the 1880s.
301 "Nycop Om Pressen Til År 2000, En Udvikling I Tre Trin Med Data, Satelitter Og Video [Nycop About the Press
Untill 2000, a Development in Three Steps with Data, Satellites and Video]," Journalisten, no. 7-8 (1969). Page 1-4.
My translation. Original text reads, ―I disse måneerobringstider må det være aktuelt også med fremtidsvisioner om
pressens vilkår indtil år 2000.‖ Also ‖Den amerikanske tekniker, som spår om følgende, har aldrig tidligere spået
forkert: Til den tid vil mennesker have armbåndsur-radioer, ad hvilke de kan kontakte hele verden og få information.‖
302 Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 4. ―If a principle is taken over and re-worked, I suggest calling the process modernization rather
than Americanization. Otherwise the concept of Americanization becomes quite useless, since nearly all American
principles—cultural and economic—can be derived in the end from Western or European civilization.‖
89

Denmark, it was primarily an offspring of developments within the Anglo-American media
environment. 303
The Danish fascination with American technology only increased after 1969. In May of 1974, the
Danish Union of Journalists organized a study trip to the United States with the explicit purpose of
―giving the participants an insight into the new technology.‖ With a slight sense of awe discernable,
the article‘s author described the plans to visit the Associated Press, an organization that had,
―completed an automation of its news- and information service,‖ but AP was also far along in
regards to other aspects of technology also.
―The news agency offers selective subscriptions of material and the selection is run by data-
machines. At its editorial office in New York AP has installed 40 monitors. The journalists
write directly onto the screens.‖ 304
The plan also took Danish journalists to Time Incorporated, where tele-typesetting would be
demonstrated, to the New York Typographical Union, which was described as ―strongly involved in
accords regarding implementation of technology,‖ as well as to the American Newspapers
Publishers Associations Research Institute (ANPA/RI) to get acquainted with ―future research and
production methods.‖ 305 In evaluating the trip six months later, Henrik Døcker, described the United
States as a place where,
―[S]peed is truly something required in modern news coverage. USA is known to be not only
one, but several steps ahead of Europe in terms of data processing, so it comes as no surprise
303 "Nycop Om Pressen Til År 2000, En Udvikling I Tre Trin Med Data, Satelitter Og Video [Nycop About the Press
Untill 2000, a Development in Three Steps with Data, Satellites and Video]." Page 5. The article draws on influence
from Sweden, the United States as well as Germany, and a fact box towards the end of the article let the reader know
that the Danish Dagbladet had dispensed with the American-invented telex, and instead acquired a British Muirfax to
transfer manuscripts, while Information‘s photo typesetters were fully run by computers. The Anglo-American
technological dominance in the 1960s and 1970s played a prominent part in articles about the United States in
Journalisten during these years.
304 Journalisten, "Studietur Til Usas Nye Presseteknik [Study Tour to the United States' New Press Technology],"
Journalisten, May 1974. My translation. Original text reads, ―Mandag den 14. oktober er der besøg på The Associated
Press, som har gennemført en automatisering af sin nyheds- og informationstjeneste. Bureauet tilbyder selektive
abonnementer af stof og udvælgelsen styres af datamaskiner. På sin redaktion i New York har AP installeret 40
billedskærms-terminaler. Journalisterne skriver direkte ind på skærmene.‖
305 Ibid.
90

that the United States is still the country that fosters most innovations to streamline the news
process from reporter to news desk and on to the reader.‖ 306
Døcker furthermore noted that vast differences between the Danish and American newspaper
marked complicated comparison, but admitted that ―it is from there that we obtain our new
electronic equipment, learn about the new methods and paths to modern newspaper production.‖
Døcker could report that the use of ―vdt (video display terminals)‖ with keyboards for journalists
were widespread in the United States, and thereby yielded ―fantastic advantages‖ in the editing
process. Additionally, a portable vdt which weighed nine kilograms had been developed by ANPA
and though that was heavy it could ―surely be enormously practical.‖
Døcker did, however, end his article by pointing to some places within the Danish newspaper world
where the use of technology was already beginning to crop up. According to Døcker, Politiken had
set up 24 monitors to use for administration, distribution and production, albeit not yet actual news
reporting, and Ekstra Bladet as well as BT were also highlighted in Døcker‘s article for their
entrepreneurial spirit in terms of technology,
―One should not think that everything American is fantastic and that we in Europe are
bunglers and bumpkins who only very slowly absorb anything of what is invented by big
brother on the other side of the Atlantic. BT and Ekstra Bladet, for instance, transfer the daily
newspaper every night through data-transmission to Kolding so that their Jutland edition is
printed on the mainland. The technology seems to resemble the one used by ‗Detroit
News‘.‖ 307
As is apparent from Døcker‘s text, the United States was the reference point for Danish journalists
in terms of technology and even when Danish technological advances were brought up they were
perpetually compared to American products or news outlets. A Nordic journalistic study trip to
306 Henrik Døcker, "Rejsen Til USA's Nye Teknik [The Trip to the United States' New Technology]," Journalisten,
November 1974. Page 20. My translation. Original text reads, ―fart er I sandhed noget der fordres i moderne
nyhedsformidling. USA er kendt for at ligge ikke bare ét, men adskillige hestehoveder foran Europa inden for dagabehandling,
så det kan ikke undre at USA fremdeles er det land, der fostrer flest innovationer til strømlining af
nyhedernes gang fra reporter til hovedredaktion og videre ud til læserne.‖
307 Ibid. Page 20. My translation. Original text reads, ―Nu skal man ikke tro, at alt amerikansk er fantastisk, og vi i
Europa er nogle klampehuggere eller bondedrenge, som først meget langsomt annammer noget som helst af det,
storebroder på den anden side af Atlanten har udfundet. BT og Ekstra Bladet overfører således hver nat ved datatransmission
deres daglige avis til Kolding, således, at deres Jyllands-oplag trykkes i hovedlandet. Teknikken synes i
flere henseender at minde om den, ‘Detroit News‘ har taget i brug.‖
91

Japan was, however, also advertised in Journalisten in 1974, but the regularity of articles
connecting technology, future developments, and the United States‘ newspaper industry leave little
doubt that America was considered leading the way in media-related technology. 308
3.3.1 A Glimpse of the Future
Examples of American technological prowess, like the one described by Døcker, occur regularly in
Journalisten through the 1970‘s and 1980‘s where American progress, often presented at
technology conferences, was put in a Danish context. Among the many technology conferences
were the Danish (DANGRAF), the Scandinavian conferences (NATS), the European conferences
(IFRA) and the American/global conferences (ANPA/RI) all dedicated to the dissemination of
technology know-how. 309
In describing the problems with making up the newspaper pages on the computers, 310 an article in
Journalisten describe a group of eight newspapers called NSDG, among them Washington Post,
that was considered furthest ahead in the research to solve the technological lay out predicament.
―While editing on monitors in Denmark is right around the corner (…) American newspapers have
had years for trial and error,‖ wrote Knud Søndergaard in 1977. Moreover, Søndergaard disclosed
that The Danish School of Journalism was ―at the moment having a pretty simple monitor system
installed,‖ while the American journalism schools had been teaching writing and editing on VDT
for years. 311
The following year, Søndergaard could describe the experiments by Jyske Tidende with new
technology, ―the monitors are American of the model Digital, so-called intelligent monitors (type
308
Journalisten, "Nordisk Studierejse Til Japans Nye Presseteknik [Nordic Study Tour to Japan's New Press
Technology]," Journalisten, November 1974.
309
———, "Kom Til Århus Og Se Teknik [Come to Århus and See Technology]," Journalisten, January 1976. Page
18-22. DANGRAF is described as a graphic design exhibition where ―all significant news within the newspaper
industry will be displayed.‖ NATS stands for the Nordic newspaper-technical publishing house; ―Det nordiske Avis-
Tekniske Samlaget,‖ IFRA stands for The International Research Association for Newspaper Technology,‖ and
ANPA/RI stands for The American Newspaper Publishers Association/Research Institute.
310
Making up newspaper pages is a technical term related to the newspaper page‘s eventual lay out dependent on the
size of the newspaper page. The term in Danish is ―ombrydning.‖
311
Knud Søndergaard, "Både Langsomt Og Besværligt Med Skærmredigering [Both Slow and Cumbersome with
Monitor Editing]," Journalisten, August, 1977. Page 17. In November 1977, Søndergaard reported, that European
newspapers were going to buy 250 million dollars worth of equipment over the next five years and described the
Scandinavian interest in new computers and electronic systems as ―significant.‖
92

VT71 with 24K) with cable-connected keyboard.‖ 312 The overall system used by Jyske Tidende was
designed by Comtec and the Norwegian company is regularly mentioned by Journalisten in
connection with Scandinavian adaption and development of monitors and data systems for
newspapers.
In a summary from the 1979 IFRA-congress, Søndergaard noted that a monitor ―which in full-text-
format can be used to everything from lay-out to the finished product,‖ was the very best that could
be had. According to Søndergaard, ―The American company Raytheons newest development,
Raycomp 1000, is an example of this‖ and it was also remarked that Comtec had developed
programs which could help transfer data from the monitor to the making up of full-text pages. 313
Also in terms of television development, Danish journalists travelled across the Atlantic to gather
inspiration. Karl Jack, Aarhuus Stiftstidende‘s representative at the international policy seminars
described in the Americanization of strategy-section, took a study tour to the United States, and
described his impressions of the two-way communication system Qube in Journalisten‘s December
1979-issue.
―We do not have a ‘Qube‘ yet in Denmark, but with the expansion of cable television and the
Postal- and Telegraph Service experiments, the trend goes in the same direction.‖ 314
The examples from the United States continued to crop up habitually in the pages of Journalisten.
In the 1970‘s Danish journalists primarily discussed the development of computers and monitors, in
the 1980‘s the advantages and drawbacks of commercial cable television and in the 1990‘s the use
of databases, the development of CNN as well as implementation of personal computers. In the
2000‘s e-mail, the world wide web and social media have played a significant role in the way that
312 ———, "Bedre Produktionsforhold Trods Lang Tid Ved Skærmterminalen [Better Production-Conditions Despite
Long Time at the Monitor]," Journalisten, January, 1978.
313 ———, "Ny Udvikling I Helsides-Skærme [New Development in Full-Text Monitors]," Journalisten, November,
1979. Page 13. My translation. Original text reads, ―Det bedste, der kan fås I dag, er en skærm, der i helsides-format
kan bruges til alt fra lay-out til færdigt produkt, inklusive alle muligheder for at ændre formater og flytte rundt på stoffet
undervejs. Det amerikanske firma Raytheons nyeste udvikling, Raycomp 100, er et eksempel på det. (…) Det ligger i
sagens natur, at skærme med denne kapacitet nemt kan overføres til redaktionelt helsides-ombrydning. Der er da også
flere eksempler, f.eks. fra det norske Comtec, på at der er udviklet programmer til det formål.‖
314 Karl Jack, "Demokrati Og Dagspresse Udfordres Af to-Vejs-TV [Democracy and Press Challenged by Two-Way-
TV]," Journalisten, December, 1979. Page 25. My translation. Original text reads, ―Vi har endnu ikke noget 'Qube' i
Denmark. Men med udbygningen af kabel-fjernsynet og Post- og Telegrafvæsenets eksperimenter, går udviklingen den
samme vej.‖
93

journalism is carried out and thus also appeared prominently in the pages of Journalisten. 315
Throughout the decades Danish journalists continually sought technological inspiration from the
United States. In 1986, for example, Berlingske‘s head of development Otto Spang was described in
Journalisten as having ―been in the United States to study the latest development [my emphasis] in
visualization and electronic photo editing at the newspapers,‖ 316 and in 1991 Troels Vinding and
Dag Holmsted complained that ―Denmark is still a third-world country,‖ in terms of the use of
databases. In the authors‘ mind, Danish journalists had to look to United States to change their
every day reporting practices, since the media across the Atlantic were ―further ahead in
technological development‖ and the number of American newspapers, where journalists were using
databases as a research tool, ―had grown more than 100 percent since 1984.‖ 317
As a result Danish journalists, in Vinding and Holmsted‘s opinion, needed to adapt to the
development taking place in the American newspaper world. In terms of technology the United
States was the place to go to if one wanted to be on the cutting-edge of structural media
development.
Conclusion
Danish journalists, editors and heads of development all looked to the United States for
technological inspiration. National, Scandinavian, European and global conferences, introducing the
latest technological know-how, were attended by employees in Danish journalistic institutions and
at times inspiration was also gathered from the United States through ―secondary appropriation.‖
From the 1970‘s onward, the United States was seen by Danish journalists as the place to study the
technological future.
Danish journalists were however also very aware of technological developments in the rest of
Europe, and even organized a study tour to Japan in 1974, but the issues of Journalisten leave no
doubt, that the United States was the place to go for Danish journalists looking for the latest
technological developments.
315 See for example recent examples like Lasse Højsgaard, "5 Bud På Fremtidens Netavis [5 Estimates on the Future's
Online Newspaper]," Journalisten, November 7, 2007. As well as Signe Højgaard Nielsen, "Blog-Mødommen Er
Taget [The Blog-Virginity Has Been Deflowered]," Journalisten, April 25, 2007.
316 Kvist, "Aviserne Vil Også Have Paint-Boxe [Newspapers Also Want Paint-Boxes]," Journalisten, August 27, 1986.
317 Troels Vinding and Dag Holmstad, "Den Elektroniske Spade [The Electronic Shovel]," Journalisten, February 6,
1991. Page 14.
94

4. Symbolic Americanization
Addressing the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1950, President Harry S. Truman made
perfectly clear that the Cold War was not only about military strategy and economic ideology. On
the contrary, the fight against the Soviet Union was more than anything a struggle ―for the minds of
men.‖ 318
Truman‘s depiction of the Cold War addresses the core of symbolic Americanization, and the
interplay between structural strategic and economic objectives with the importance of gaining a
cultural upper hand in the ideological fight against communism. In this cultural struggle, journalists
were thought to play a key role. Hence, when Kissinger in 1975 wrote about the importance of
combining strategic military considerations with liberal economic policies as well as cultural
initiatives, he was following a precedent established in World War II‘s immediate aftermath.
Symbolic Americanization, or Americanization within the cultural realm, is understood through the
prism of asymmetrical cultural encounter theories. As noted in Chapter 2, Americanization cannot
solely be seen as a unilateral force overwhelming defenseless foreign cultures. On the contrary,
there is a ―power of the weak,‖ as demonstrated in Chapter 3. Keeping van Elteren‘s framework in
mind, looking at both the transmission, transnationalization and appropriation is of vital
importance. Through an analysis of primary sources, 319 such as formerly classified documents,
archival records from the Fulbright and Denmark-America Foundation as well as articles from
Journalisten and relevant secondary literature, this chapter will present the following arguments.
1. The transmission, or ―sender,‖ section will argue that the United States government, through
the United States Information Agency‘s branch in Denmark, very consciously tried to
influence Danish news coverage to make it more sympathetic towards American viewpoints.
Among the methods used were direct and indirect press-releases, personal visits with
318 Pells, Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture since World War II.
Page 65. Pells writes, ―[a]t the moment, Truman, warned, the Communists were winning the battle for those minds by
subjecting the United States to a ‗constant stream of slander and vilification.‘ But the American people would
eventually prevail if they made themselves ‗heard round the world in a great campaign of truth‘.‖
319 In line with recent historical scholarship, the present study recognizes that primary sources are defined based on the
research question and not through any ―innate‖ characteristics. What are considered primary sources in one study may
well be secondary in another depending on the type of inquiry conducted. See Charlotte Wien, "Defining Objectivity
within Journalism. An Overview.," Nordicom Review 26, no. 2 (2005). Page 6-8. Also Knut Kjeldstadli, Fortiden Er
Ikke Hvad Den Har Været - En Indføring I Historiefaget [The Past Is Not What It Used to Be: An Introduction to the
Field of History], trans. Claus Bryld (København: Roskilde Universitetsforlag, 2001).
95

editors, sponsorship of journalists‘ travel to the United States, and publication of material
with a favorable perspective on United States policies. These efforts were combined with,
what The New York Times, has referred to as ―black‖ propaganda from the Central
Intelligence Agency, meaning the spread of information where it is not possible to attribute
the sender of the message to any organization or individual. According to secondary
sources, the CIA also actively tried to recruit journalists in Scandinavia and reportedly had
at least one agent inside the Danish news agency Ritzaus Bureau. USIA and CIA thereby
actively tried to create or shape the Danish news coverage after World War II, and
influence the coverage towards stories viewed as desirable from a U.S. government
perspective in terms of the pursuit of ―Atlantic unity ― as well as the defense of ―western
civilization.‖ 320
2. The transnationalization, or ―knowledge exchange,‖ section will argue that Danish
journalists, scholars and teachers were carefully selected for travel to the United States, as
educational exchange, from an American standpoint, was thought to be a very effective way
of influencing (future) Danish leaders. From an American perspective, these educational
exchanges served to influence leading Danes‘ opinion about the United States. From the
Danish students‘ viewpoint, the exchanges for some helped shape their view of journalism
practice, helped create a favorable and more nuanced view of the United States among
opinion makers in Denmark after World War II, and opened the Danish students‘ eyes to a
different media environment to be inspired, but also repulsed, by while creating a valuable
international network for future use.
3. Lastly, the appropriation, or ―receiver,‖ section will argue that Danish journalists looked
more to the United States than to any other country to get a glimpse of the profession‘s
methodological future. The United States was seen as a source of inspiration, even if this
inspiration was not uncritically transferred to Danish news desks. The section argues that in
terms of research and writing, the United States was the country that Danish journalists
looked towards. Additionally, this section offers two concrete examples of Americanization
through transmission, transnationalization, and appropriation in the cases of New Journalism
and investigative reporting.
320 John M. Crewdson and Joseph B. Treaster, "The CIA's 3-Decade Effort to Mold the World's Views," The New York
Times, December 25, 1977. Page 12. Ingeborg Philipsen, "Selskabet for Frihed Og Kultur - Congress for Cultural
Freedom I Danmark 1953-1960 [Society for Freedom and Culture - Congress for Cultural Freedom in Denmark 1953-
1960]," Kritik 158 (2002). Page 40.
96

4.1 Transmission
―Danes,‖ wrote Public Affairs Officer William G. Roll in a confidential report from 1950 ―resent
any attempt to be propagandized. Having been bombarded by Nazi and later Soviet propaganda, it
has reached the state where for the Danes there is no such thing as subtle propaganda.‖ 321
This realization, offered in Roll‘s outline of American objectives in Denmark, challenged the U.S.
Information and Education Program (USIE) operating out of the American Embassy in
Copenhagen, the official misson of which was, ―to state the foreign and domestic policies of the
United States as persuasively as possible.‖ According to Roll, stating American policies should be
done by ―creating a receptive climate of opinion primarily through the presentation of a dignified,
full, factual picture of the United States.‖ The media were not explicitly mentioned among Roll‘s
primary target groups, which included labor groups, teachers, intellectual leaders, young university
students, and government officials, but Roll placed great emphasis on influencing the Danish press
and radio. To achieve the stated country goals, Roll considered the Danish media indispensable. 322
Radio in 1950 played an important part and, according to Roll, normally gave ―fairly full American
news and cultural coverage,‖ 323 but the relations with the ―local press‖ were seemingly more fruitful
since they had been carefully cultivated ―by the USIE Press Section and the PAO for several
years.‖ 324 Roll could therefore confidently report back to the Department of State that,
―More than 300 copies of the daily Wireless Bulletin are at present being distributed to press
and parliamentary leaders. Close liaison exists between the Press Section and Danish
journalists, a situation which results in good current coverage on all aspects of American life
and the appearance of an increasing amount of material throughout Denmark in Danish
magazines and newspapers, all of which reflects a better understanding of American motives
321
William G. Roll, "USIE Country Papers," (Department of State. Decimal file. 1950-1954. From 511.59/12-650 to
511.59/12-2950. Box 2422. May 2, 1950). Page 3.
322
Ibid. Page 3. See also Jensen, "En Krig På Værdier - Mål Og Midler I Det Amerikanske Kulturdiplomati [A War on
Values: Means and Ends in the American Cultural Diplomacy]." Page 9-13.
323
Roll, "USIE Country Papers." Page 3.
324
———, "USIE Report for December, 1949." Page 1.
97

and viewpoints. Close cooperation and collaboration is maintained with the ECA press officer
and USIE channels are utilized for the dissemination of the mass media.‖ 325
The main conscious effort to Americanize the Danes on the symbolic level was thus organized from
the American Embassy where a Public Affairs Officer (PAO), Cultural Affairs Officer (CAO) and
Information Officer [IO] directed the efforts. 326 Apart from their daily news bulletins, the American
delegation in Copenhagen also published periodicals and booklets, such as Why Vietnam, The
Negro in the USA, and American Music Life, opened a library, and ran a film section to create a
―favorable climate of opinion.‖ Furthermore, the Embassy invited Danes to the United States and
overtly as well as covertly ―tried to influence Danish State Radio and the Danish press.‖ 327
An example of influence on Danish press is provided by Roll in his ―USIE Report For December,
1949.‖ Under the sub-section ―Press and Publications,‖ Roll details how the Danish press covered
the arrival of the first female Ambassador Eugenie Anderson on December 20, which ―brought the
largest turn-out of representatives of press, radio and film seen in Denmark in recent years.‖ During
the same time Roll arranged a press conference for the Danish press and found time to detail the
results of a content analysis, which had been made ―to check on some ten Copenhagen newspapers‘
display of USIE material, with the gratifying result that it was ascertained that in these papers alone,
approximately 350 column inches of print stemming from USIE sources had been published.‖ 328
Not only did Roll find the big Copenhagen newspapers reproducing press material from the USIE to
a very satisfactory extent, he also found indicators that the tendency was even greater in newspapers
outside the Danish capital and listed several examples of USIE articles which had been published in
―both Copenhagen and provincial papers.‖
―The limited staff conditions preclude an attempt being made to check Danish provincial
papers in the same systematic way, but random checks made indicate that even more of USIE
material is utilized by the provincial press than in the capital, and this is also borne out by the
325 ———, "USIE Country Papers." Page 4.
326 Jensen, "En Krig På Værdier - Mål Og Midler I Det Amerikanske Kulturdiplomati [A War on Values: Means and
Ends in the American Cultural Diplomacy]." Page 16-17.
327 Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans." Page 118-119. Also Roll, "USIE Report
for December, 1949."
328 Roll, "USIE Report for December, 1949."
98

statements which have been received from editors and journalists employed by the provincial
papers.‖ 329
Roll‘s comment clearly shows that the USIE were regularly in touch with editors and journalists
regularly, which fit well into the policy objectives given the American Embassy‘s employees in
Denmark. In fact, Roll considered personal contact with the Danish media vital to achieving the
United States‘ objectives in Denmark.
―Conversations were held with editors of 13 newspapers with a combined daily circulation of
ca[.] 117,000 copies (..) An intangible, but rather important result of the visits was the fact
that the good will of the editors was engaged and personal relations established.‖ 330
The close relationship which Roll and his colleagues had developed with the Danish press and
Danish politicians paid very direct dividends in the early 1950s. If the reports from the American
Embassy in Copenhagen are to be taken at face value, then the press material released by USIE had
an important impact around the Danish media landscape in terms of shaping editors‘ views on
foreign policy issues.
―USIE Daily News Bulletins [DNB] have been invaluable in putting both such categories of
statements [lack of constancy in foreign policy and doubts concerning American social
responsibility] into proper perspective, and the foreign editors of nearly every important
newspaper in Denmark have told Embassy staff members voluntarily and casually without any
prompting that they consider the comprehensive, textual DNB a basic reference document
which they study daily and file for future use.‖ 331
329 Ibid. ―USIE Report for December, 1949.‖
330 William G. Roll, "Visit by Information Officer to Provincial Editors in Zealand," (National Archives. RG 59.
Department of State. Decimal file. 1950-1954. From 511.59/12-650 to 511.59/12-2950. Box 2422. June 22,, 1950).
Page 1-2.
331 Roll, "Effectiveness of USIE Program in Denmark." Page 1-2. The surrounding paragraphs of the quote reads,
―Danish reservations about American leadership within this [Western] community stem from two causes. First,
statements lifted from their contexts, as e.g. President Truman‘s statement about the use of the atomic bomb (… ) are
99

In another example of the value of close interaction between the American Embassy and the Danish
press, Berlingske Tidende in 1951 published a series of articles based on an anti-communist
pamphlet produced by the American Federation of Labor. During the summer USIE also succeeded
in getting the Social Democratic member of parliament, and chairman of The Danish Youth Council
(DUF), Per Hækkerup, to support a press release crafted by USIE, sent out on DUF letterhead,
concerning the communist character of a festival in Berlin which was distributed to 130 Danish
newspapers. Two days later articles based on the DUF-material appeared in four out of six
Copenhagen newspapers. 332
4.1.1. America as Glorified Replica
The ease of getting favorable reports about the United States into the Danish press was helped by
the fact that, after the end of World War II, the USIE in the first years worked in an international
climate generally very susceptible to influence from the United States. The U.S. Department of
State worked very hard on multiple levels in order to influence different groupings in society
deemed important to their overall struggle against communism. 333
sometimes taken by Danish opinion-leaders as evidence of lack of constancy in American foreign policy. USIE Daily
News Bulletins have been invaluable (…) a basic reference document which they study daily and file for future use.
The second cause for Danish reservations about American leadership arises from doubts as to American cultural and
social responsibility. These doubts have been fed in the past by sensational press agency stories which have emphasized
aspects of our culture which were brutal, cheap and gaudy (…) The provision of USIE of a steady stream of press
features about more representative aspects of American society, the solid educational impact of the American Library
(Information Center) and American group information programs, and the mass appeal of USIE documentary films have
gone far to counteract such Danish fears as to American ‗barbarism‘.‖
332 Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato
and The Cold War]. Page 779. Villaume notes, based on archival studies, that Berlingske Tidende published the articles
―after much hesitancy‖ however.
333 Roll, "USIE Country Papers." Page 3. According to Roll, there were differences in Danish society that also partly
determined the success of the American effort to influence. ―One must recognize that two different Danish groups exist
so far as receptivity to American culture is concerned. The youth generally, the working classes, and the lower middle
classes like American popular culture, i.e. jazz, Hollywood, automobiles, speed, informality, gadgets, best-seller novels,
detective stories, and slick magazines. The older people in the more privileged classes, the communist intelligentsia,
and many intellectuals reject American popular culture, but are receptive to good American esthetic and academic
accomplishments.‖ To reach the latter group, the USIE therefore opened a library at the American Embassy and
organized a host of lectures which were hoped to create a climate more favorable to American interests.
100

As a part of Washington‘s conscious strategy to influence European society, the interdisciplinary
field of American Studies became, ―an essential component of Washington cultural diplomacy.‖ 334
Some of the most gifted early scholars within the field had personally served in the Second World
War and believed strongly in the ideals upon which the United States was founded, which in turn
led to a ―consensus‖ view of American society in their scholarly work. 335 Through the writings and
visiting lectures of scholars like F.O. Matthiesen, Henry Nash Smith, and Leo Marx, Europeans
were told the story of ―an essentially holistic, affirmative, nationalistic project primarily aimed at
identifying and documenting the distinctive features of the culture and society chiefly created by
white European settlers in the territory now comprising the US.‖ 336
To the Danes who grew up in the 1940s and 1950s, the United States was therefore mainly depicted
as a homogeneous society, partly because of the glorified pictures presented by the cinema, radio
and newspapers, but also because the American government actively supported this notion through
a wide variety of channels, including academia. One future academic whose views were shaped
largely by the American influence in the 1950‘s and 1960‘s was Jan Gretlund, who is currently an
authority on American literature in the South.
―To a large extent Danes born in the forties, as I was, were produced by the imported culture.
Our cartoons were Donald Duck, Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, and Superman (…) Later
our hero was John F. Kennedy. And suddenly, our food was Kentucky Fried chicken, burgers,
fries, and Cokes, and our clothes were T-shirts, sweatshirts and jeans. Things American
dominated our childhood and youth and as adults we remain in the ambicultural state where
most of the concepts in our consciousness are American imports.‖ 337
334
Pells, Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture since World War II.
Page 95.
335
Leo Marx, "On Recovering The "Ur" Theory of American Studies," American Literary History 17, no. 1 (2005).
Page 119-121. See also Günther Bischoff, "Two Sides of the Coin: The Americanization of Austria and Austrian Anti-
Americanism," in The Americanization of Europe, ed. Alexander Stephan (New York: Berghan Books, 2006). Page
159-161.
336
Marx, "On Recovering The "Ur" Theory of American Studies." Page 119-121.
337
Jan Gretlund, "The American Within: Danes and American Literature," in As Others Read Us: International
Perspectives on American Literature, ed. Huck Gutman (Amherst: The University of Massachussets Press, 1991). Page
66.
101

Gretlund‘s words were echoed by the popular Danish author Dan Turéll in an opinion article
published in Politiken on January 5, 1975. Here the 29-year-old Turéll stated,
―I am American-Danish. And a very great part of my generation and most of my friends are
American-Danish (…) We read Henry Miller, watched James Dean, we listened to Charlie
Parker. We did not meet Marguerite Viby at Cassiopeia, we met Elvis Presley at Heartbreak
Hotel. It was not us and Magge-duddi, it was us and Tutti-Frutti (…) Not Great Love, but
True Love, True Love.‖ 338
As Gretlund and Turéll‘s experiences show, the modern, cultural and consumerist impulses flowing
from the United States in the immediate post-war years played a role for years to come. To many
Danes in 1950‘s and early 1960‘s, the United States represented an affluence and modernity that
was lacking in Denmark during this period.
4.1.2 From consensus to conflict
Yet, in the second half of the 1960s the international climate soured somewhat towards United
States foreign and domestic policy due to the country‘s involvement in the Vietnam War and the
intense struggle over African Americans‘ civil rights, which seemed at odds with the ideal of
equality set forth in the American Charters of Freedom. 339 Consequently, during the 1960s the focus
on popular culture within academia shifted somewhat from the earlier glossed over consensus-view
338 Jensen, ed. Dansk Mediehistorie 1880-1920 Og 1920-1960 [Danish Media History 1880-1920 and 1920-1960]. Page
324. My translation. Original text reads, ―Jeg er amerikaner-dansker. Og en meget stor del af min generation og de
fleste af mine venner er amerikaner-danskere (…) Vi læste Henry Miller, vi så James Dean, vi hørte Charlie Parker. Vi
mødte ikke Marguerite Viby på Cassiopeia, vi mødte Elvis Presley på Heartbreak Hotel. Det var ikke os og
Maggeduddi, det var os og Tutti-Frutti. Ingen pølser, men hot dogs. Ingen sportsvand, men milk shakes. Ingen Stor
Kærlighed, men True Love, True Love.‖
339 Morone, Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History. Page 424-426. See also Sørensen, "Er Vi Blevet
Ameridanere? Om Amerikaniseringsprocesser Gennem 200 År [Have We Become Ameri-Danes? On Americanization
Processes through 200 Years]." Page 22.
102

of the United States to attention directed at conflict within the United States. According to a
Department of State Airgram from Ambassador Guilford Dudley, Jr., on January 9, 1970, the
gradual shift in perceptions of the United States had become very tangible at the American Embassy
in the days leading up to Christmas.
―An American professor at the University of Copenhagen, Johnathan Matthew SCHWARTZ,
has announced his intention to open an ‗Embassy‘ or ‗Information Center‘ for the ‗other
America,‘ (…) Two articles have appeared in sensational type Copenhagen newspapers,
Aktuelt and Ekstra Bladet, explaining that the proposed ‗Embassy‘ or ‗Information Center‘
would particularly strive to reach ‗ethnic and social minority groups: Puerto Ricans, Negroes,
poor whites and students‘.‖ 340
Without a prior appointment Schwartz with two Danish photographers had walked into the
American Embassy and staged a ―sit down‖ strike, where he refused to leave until he could discuss
political and social developments in the United States with Ambassador Dudley. Yet, according to
his own description, the Ambassador was able to defuse the situation.
―At closing time, 5:30 p.m. the delegation was still in the lobby adamant about leaving.
Although we could have had them bodily thrown out of the Embassy by the Danish police, I
decided that this was playing into their hands and the best thing for me to do was to go down
and calmly ask them to leave in return for a promise to see the leader on my return. This was
done and within two minutes they walked out of the Embassy peacefully.‖ 341
As the above example shows, discontent with American domestic and foreign policy also had
tangible ramifications in Denmark. Yet, even as anti-American sentiments were being voiced, and
340 Jr Guilford Dudley, "American Professor Activist in Copenhagen," (RG 59. General Records of the Department of
State. Subject Numeric Files 1970-1973. Culture and Information. PPB 9 - Chinat 1/1/70 thru PPB 9 - EGY 2/1/72. Box
427. January 9, , 1970).
341 Ibid.
103

displeasure with American involvement in Vietnam demonstrated, in Denmark, the so-called
American counter-culture, comprised of young people ―angry at the political direction of
America‖ 342 also served as an important inspiration for Danish protest-movements. 343
Few venues served as a better location for anti-American protest that the annual Rebild Festival on
the American Independence Day. Year after year prominent Americans arrived in the area around
Aalborg and gave their latest take on Danish-American relations. Richard M. Nixon came in 1962;
Hubert H. Humphrey, Nixon‘s main rival in the 1968 presidential race, was there in 1969, the
influential Michigan politician, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, George Romney
visited in 1970; and Ronald Reagan, the governor of California, spoke in 1972.
Many of the Rebild Festivals in the late 1960s and early 1970s attracted anti-American protests. 344
As Sørensen has shown the theatre group ―Solvognen‖ received a lot of publicity during the bi-
centennial of the United States in 1976, when they staged an illegal happening dressed as Native
Americans. The police clashed with the demonstrators and the images were broadcast on national
television in Denmark and even the United States. 345
To improve understanding of the United States, the American embassy continually sponsored
seminars aimed primarily at teachers but also, as we have seen in the previous chapter, politicians,
journalists, and academics. These seminars were described by Public Affairs Officer Brooks
McClure in 1970 as just what the Americans needed to create a more positive image of the United
States in Denmark.
342
Chafe, "The Unfinished Journey: America since World War II." Page 326. Chafe writes, ―[t]o those who felt angry at
the political direction of America and frustrated by middle-class respectability and the conformity of their elders, it
became important to fashion ways of expressing alternative values and attitudes through the rituals of daily life (…) if
individualism, competition, and careerism characterized the dominant culture, the young would embrace communalism,
sharing, and harmony. If wearing a three-piece Brooks Brothers suit and living in suburbia were badges of membership
in corporate America, wearing faded blue jeans, endorsing free love, and living on a commune would serve equally well
as symbols for those estranged from corporate America.‖
343
Sørensen, "Er Vi Blevet Ameridanere? Om Amerikaniseringsprocesser Gennem 200 År [Have We Become Ameri-
Danes? On Americanization Processes through 200 Years]." Page 22.
344
Jr Guilford Dudley, "July 4 Celebration in Denmark an Unquestionable Succes," (National Archives. RG 59. General
Records of the Deparment of State. Subject Numeric Files 1970-1973. Culture and Information. CUL - CHILE. Box
369. July 12, 1972). Dudley in his report noted that, ―for the first time in five years, there were no anti-Vietnam
demonstrations.‖
345
Nils Arne Sørensen, "Fyrre Indianere På Smukke Hesterygge [Forty Indians on Beautiful Horsebacks]," 2009, no.
June (2009),
http://www.sdu.dk/~/media/Files/Om_SDU/Institutter/Ihks/Projekter/Amerikansk%20paa%20dansk/m_ARTIKEL/Fyrr
e_indianere.ashx. Page 1. Accessed December 28, 2010.
104

―Short of a trip to the United States, the type of seminar offered provided the most effective
means available to promote a better understanding of the U.S. with this priority group.‖ 346
In the 1970‘s parts of Danish youth inspired by the American counter-culture were highly critical
the United States, and the American Embassy officials therefore viewed teachers as the best way to
assuage these ―radical elements.‖ 347 Education was seen as a food chain where the aim was to
maximize influence at the top in the hope that it would flow down to the students. Several seminars
and educational exchange tours were therefore organized for the Danish teachers. Yet, according to
Ambassador Dean, the Americans had to educate the ―teachers of teachers‖ also since the teachers
themselves were viewed by Dean as ―widely radicalized.‖ American Embassy officials therefore
aimed to increase visits and informal contacts with ―teacher training institutions,‖ while continuing
to target ―USIS activities on youth and education,‖ and also sought more grants for teachers to visit
the United States. Only this way did the Ambassador Dean estimate, that the Danish youth could
―turn around‖ their anti-American views. 348
4.1.3 The Balance Battle
A trip to the United States was actually afforded to a great number of Danish teachers, journalists,
politicians, union members and scholars who were believed to be important opinion leaders or
agenda setters. Select Danes, who were deemed important by the employees at the American
Embassy in Copenhagen, like Information‘s Frank Osvald were among these opinion-leaders whose
visit was facilitated by USIE in Copenhagen. Osvald was selected for a ―European Journalists
Tour,‖ to the United States in 1969 and subsequently published two (critical) articles on American
346 Brooks McClure, "American Studies Seminar for Teachers of English at Teacher-Training Colleges in Middelfart,
May 10-12, 1970," (RG 59. General Records of the Department of State. Subject Numeric Files. Culture and
Information. EDU. 10-3. DEN. June 41970). ―American Studies Seminar for Teachers of English at Teacher-Training
Colleges in Middelfart, May 10-12, 1970.‖ Through the writings of Political Action Officer McClure these seminars
come across as a great cultural victory for the USIS. ―Teacher response to the seminar was enthusiastic,‖ wrote
McClure on June 4, 1970. ―Response was overwhelmingly favorable,‖ was the assessment on November 25, 1970.
―Teacher response was enthusiastic,‖ on December 8, 1971 and ―response highly favorable,‖ in the May 16, 1972
report.
347 Dean, "Annual Policy Assessment."
348 Ibid.
105

society which caused Public Affairs Officer Ernest E. Goodman to describe the selection of Osvald
for the tour as ―a calculated risk.‖ 349
In his confidential report for the United States Information Agency in Washington, Goodman added
that he and the Information Officer had a ―lengthy discussion with Osvald upon his return to
Denmark,‖ and based on the meeting Goodman deemed Osvald ―a highly intelligent, though
idealistic, journalist,‖ and elaborated on the differences between his and Osvald‘s understanding of
balanced journalism.
―In the course of a detailed examination of his experiences and analysis of his two published
stories, Osvald became irritated and offended. He conceded that his writing was not
‗balanced‘ from our point of view and acknowledged that sensational and dramatic events
were emphasized (‗all revolutions are started by small minorities‘). He then accepted the point
of view that U.S. officials were naturally concerned about a ‗balanced‘ view which showed
that the national society was not about to fly apart, and, indeed, was achieving some
extraordinary if non-violent results. The meeting ended cordially, with another arranged.‖ 350
In his conclusion Goodman again alluded to a different definition of journalism‘s goal than the one
he assessed was held by Osvald and his colleagues at Information. The document also shows how
deliberately the USIS employees in Copenhagen tried to influence Danish journalism by cultivating
contacts. Goodman and his colleagues used several approaches to instill an American (government)
sense of balance and objectivity into the selected journalists. First, the American Embassy helped
facilitate free trips to the United States for journalists. Second, the Embassy officials worked to
cultivate personal relationships with the journalists through one-on-one or two-on-one meetings and
lastly they provided help with setting up interviews for the Danish journalists that were already in
the United States. All these measures led to hopes and expectations from an American perspective
349 Ernest E. Goodman, "Danish Journalist's Impressions as Result of Inter-Agency Journalists Tour," (National
Archives. RG 59. General Records of the Department of State. Central Foreign Policy Files, 1967-1969. Culture and
Information . PPB CZECH to PPB FIN. Box 384. May 16, 1969). The abbreviation USIS (United States Information
Service) was used by Americans Abroad while USIA (United States Information Agency) was used in the United States
to avoid confusion with other abbreviated agencies.
350 Ibid.
106

that Danish journalists would appreciate the assistance and write in a balanced manner about the
United States as evidenced by Goodman‘s evaluation below.
―Although Information has leftist leaning, Osvald to date has been one of its more objective
[my emphasis] writers. The PAO [Public Affairs Officer] and IO [Information Officer] plan to
continue their discussions with Osvald in a attempt to have him write more objectively [my
emphasis] about America. It is felt that although Osvald is critical of the U.S. at this time, he
may reflect upon his experiences there as time goes on, and eventually view the country in a
different light.‖ 351
Clearly trips to the United States were seen as a way to change Danish journalists‘ perception of
America. The exchange between Goodman and Osvald, as described by Goodman, reveals an
interesting difference in opinion on balance and objectivity. The most obvious interpretation is that
Goodman simply wanted Osvald to write more positively about the United States, but there may
also have been a real difference in perception of what constituted objectivity and balance in
journalism between Osvald and Goodman.
As has been shown in Chapter 2, the United States in the 1920‘s had developed an stylistic
―objective‖ norm in journalism espousing description and detachment over interpretation and
emotion, while Danish newspapers in the late 1960‘s were still closely tied to political parties and
therefore wrote about the world around them through the prism of party politics. 352 These national
media differences based on political, social, and cultural differences may well have led to
differences in the perception of balance or objectivity as well. 353
Yet despite these differences, American officials by no means stopped trying to influence the view
that Danish readers, listeners, and viewers got of the United States through the media. The attempts
to influence were expressed in different ways however. When Danish journalists reported unfairly
351 Ibid.
352 Stig Hjarvard, "Den Politiske Presse - En Analyse Af Danske Avisers Politiske Orientering [The Political Press: An
Analysis of Political Parallelism in Danish Newspapers]," Journalistica, no. 5 (2007). Page 32 and 51.
353 Karl Jack, "Skærpet Konkurrence Kræver Flere Journalister [Enhanced Competition Requires More Journalists],"
Journalisten, December, 1979. Page 22-25. Based on a study tour to the United States, Jack noted that ―there are great
differences in the media situation between the United States and Denmark – in terms of geography, competition, labor
union politics and economy.‖ See Also Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and
Politics. Page 46.
107

on the United States, in the eyes of Americans, then the response from the Department of State
could be to make Danish media feel the consequences of their unbalanced coverage by cutting off
their assistance in setting up interviews with prominent Americans. For example, when the Danish
Broadcast Service aired a three-hour show called ―Whither America,‖ about America‘s problems in
terms of economy, race, crime and national politics, it caused several telegrams to be sent back and
forth between the Department of State and the American Embassy in Copenhagen. In the end, the
Department of State explicitly encouraged Ambassador Dudley to take the matter up with high-
ranking Danish politicians and journalists and make clear that such journalistic output would have
consequences for future cooperation.
―We support your conclusion not to make formal protest to Danish government or TV. We
believe such action would only serve to give program additional publicity and further the
purpose of our critics. However at your discretion as occasion may arise you might express to
government leaders, top Danish TV officials, and other influential Danes our surprise and
unhappiness over one-sidedness of program and its detrimental effect on Danish-American
relations. You might emphasize that Danish TV had considerable assistance for program in
U.S. with participation of prominent Americans who had every reason to believe program
would not be unbalanced [my emphasis]. Unfortunately, this incident cannot but have an
influence on future cooperation with Danish government TV and radio.‖ 354
It is not possible to tell from the archival records whether the American ambassador to Denmark
actually brought up the matter with ―top Danish TV officials,‖ but the telegram does serve as a
testament to American attempts, and explicit willingness, to influence Danish journalism in the
direction of more balanced coverage; at least on matters important to the United States.
Osvald and ―Whither America‖ were not the only indicators of American officials‘ disappointment
in Danish coverage of their country. During the late 1960‘s and early 1970‘s when the United States
was going through a tumultuous time both domestically and overseas, there were regular examples
of negative stories published in Danish media. However, based on the reports sent home, what
seems to have concerned American officials like Goodman most were the negative stories coming
354 E. W. Fleisher, "Danish TV Program on U.S.," (National Archives. RG 59. General Records of the Department of
State. Subject Numeric Files 1970-1973. Economic. TEL CHILE - TEL 8-2 Ecuador-US. Box 1579. December
141970).
108

from Danish journalists who had actually been to the United States and still could not, or would not,
portray the United States in a ―balanced‖ manner.
In 1971, the American Embassy had recommended Politiken‘s Kaare Toftkær Jensen as a
participant in an ―Inter-Agency journalist‘s tour‖ to the United States. The objective was to give the
journalists first-hand experience with American society, and the embassy in Copenhagen provided
research material before the trip. The embassy officials therefore hoped that Jensen would use this
information to write ―balanced‖ stories, but were disappointed by the final result.
―Toftkaer Jensen was chosen for the Inter-Agency tour, as indicated at the time of nomination,
despite his paper's chronically critical attitude toward the United States. It was hoped that T-J
-- who has in the past been an independent and serious (though often caustic) journalist --
would introduce some balance [my emphasis] in his reporting. The result, at least the initial
reaction, has been disappointing.‖ 355
Public Affairs Officer Brooks McClure did not pin the blame solely on Jensen‘s shoulders. In
McClure‘s assessment Jensen‘s articles merely reflected Politiken‘s ―critical approach to the United
States,‖ and thereby ascribed the journalistic institution within which Jensen worked the
responsibility for what was published. According to McClure, Politiken could not be counted on to
deliver what he perceived as quality, balanced journalism, and McClure thus concluded,
―For some reason, T-J has not gone into any depth analysis on issues which actually are vital
for educated Danes to understand. In any case, Politiken, while a serious newspaper, does not
approach the quality level of such papers as Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or the
Guardian. It tends more toward a popular readable style rather than professional analysis,
particularly designed to attract more of the left-oriented young intellectual readership.‖ 356
355 Brooks McClure, "Inter-Agency Journalists Tour," (RG 59. General Records of the Department of State. Subject
Numeric Files 1970-1973. Culture and Information. PPB 9 - Chinat 1/1/70 thru PPB 9 - EGY 2/1/72. Box 427. August
24, 1971).
356 Ibid.
109

Keeping in mind that these observations are all made from an American perspective, McClure and
Jensen‘s exchange still yield interesting clues to the differences between Danish and American
views of journalism. Quality journalism, understood by McClure as ―depth analysis‖ on vital issues,
could be found in France, Germany and England but seemingly not in Denmark‘s ―second most
influential paper,‖ in 1971. 357 Moreover, in McClure‘s view, Politiken did not approach the level of
professional analysis expected in other European countries and in addition even one of its
―independent and serious‖ journalists did not introduce ―balance‖ into his reporting. 358
Throughout the 1970‘s and 1980‘s the USIA continued its work to create a favorable view of the
United States in the Danish press and in 1988 the activities even made it to the front page of the
Danish Union of Journalist‘s magazine Journalisten. While the front page read ―Online to Five
Danish Newsdesks,‖ the editorial ―US Out!‖ and the article ―From Reagan to City Hall Square,‖
detailed the USIA‘s succesful attempt to have a printer for American ―Express Files‖ or press
releases installed directly in the newsrooms of Politiken, Berlingske Tidende, Ritzaus Bureau,
Jyllands-Posten and Det Fri Aktuelt. According to Journalisten, the ―Express File‖ printer was set
up in 33 different news rooms from Great Britain, over Italy, Holland, Belgium and Turkey to
Denmark. The ―Express File‖ was seen by Journalisten‘s editor, Frede Jakobsen, as a high point
―of the propaganda which has been going on since Reagan took over in 1981.‖ 359
To Jakobsen there were at least two reasons why the direct newsfeed from the United States should
be returned. First of all, the Reagan administration with the new initiative had a line of direct
communication to the newsrooms which the Danish government under Prime Minister Poul
357 Perhaps surprisingly this view was also shared by the Danish Prime Minister Paul Hartling, who a few years later
said, ―in a way the newspapers have become better in the half century that I have read them because they have become
funnier and more entertaining – if that is better. With regard to heavy professionalism they have become poorer,
because they – and I am not holding it against them – must rely on getting sold. Here in Denmark we miss, in my
opinion a newspaper of the really heavy serious kind like a Le Monde or Neue Zürcher Zeitung.‖ My translation.
Original text reads, ―på en måde er aviserne blevet bedre i det halve århundrede, jeg har læst dem, for de er blevet
morsommere og mere underholdende – hvis det altså er at blive bedre. Med hensyn til sådan rigtig tung saglighed er de
blevet ringere, fordi de – og det bebrejder jeg dem ikke – må lægge an på at blive solgt. Her i Danmark savner vi, synes
jeg, en avis af den virkelig tunge seriøse art, altså en Le Monde eller Neue Zürcher Zeitung.‖ Carl Otto Brix,
"'Avisnarkoman' Gennem Et Halvt Århundrede Som Pressens Minister [Newspaper Addict through Half a Century as
the Press' Minister]," Journalisten, no. 1 (1974). Page 18.
358 McClure, "Inter-Agency Journalists Tour."
359 Frede Jakobsen, "Fra Reagan Til Rådhuspladsen [From Reagan to City Hall Square]," Journalisten, April 20, 1988.
Page 5.
110

Schlüter, ― could as of yet only dream of.‖ Second of all, the information that USIA sent out in
Europe was illegal to distribute in the United States. 360
However, bitter complaints over Jakobsen‘s article, and discussion over USIA‘s role in Denmark,
was published in the four subsequent issues of Journalisten. Danish journalists‘ letters-to-the-editor
argued that direct information feeds from the United States was no different than what was received
in the form of other press releases, and that Danish journalists could critically sift through the
information presented to them. 361
A few year later, and in a different context, freelance journalist Birthe Lauritsen, nevertheless made
a distinction between information from private corporations and foreign powers. In an article
discussing Danish journalists‘ alleged public relations work for Israel and Oman, Lauritsen argued,
―I think it is disturbing enough that journalists do paid PR-work for companies they also cover
in their media outlets, because even if they can differentiate between one thing and the other,
it can leave a different impression among the readers/listeners/viewers that the journalistic
credibility is at the level of politicians. Ugh. It is, however, totally mistaken when we run
errands for foreign powers.‖ 362
To journalists like Jakobsen and Lauritsen the information provided by USIA thereby raised three
potential problems. For one the American government with the USIA-printers got more direct
access to Danish newsrooms than the Danish government. Second, the information providede by
USIA was illegal within American borders but distributed freely in Denmark. Third, for some a
distinction should potentially be made between information flowing from private companies and
information flowing from foreign powers. 363
360 Ibid. Page 5. See also John M. Crewdson and Joseph B. Treaster, "Worldwide Propaganda Network Built by the
C.I.A.," The New York Times, December 26, 1977. Page 1.
361 See for example Otto Jensen, "No One Out!," Journalisten, May 4, 1988. Page 24.
362 Birthe Lauritsen, "For Fremmede Magter [for Foreign Powers]," Journalisten, March 24 1993. Back page.
363 The relationship between journalists and intelligence officers was also problematized in the American press where it
was argued that it was acceptable for journalists to seek information for intelligence officers, but that the journalists
should draw the line if the intelligence officer attempted to solicit information as well. Terence Smith, "C.I.A. Contacts
with Reporters: Officials and Newsmen Call Method Legitimate," The New York Times, December 25, 1977. Page 13.
111

4.1.4 The Central Intelligence Agency
While USIE‘s activities relied primarily on ―white‖ propaganda, where the receivers could see the
origin of the message being conveyed, the Central Intelligence Agency, which operated around the
globe, specialized in ―black‖ propaganda, or ―unattributed‖ information. Black propaganda included
among other things planting ―bogus news stories,‖ as well as paying off journalists to work for the
agency. While there are examples of the CIA being active in Denmark, at least up until the 1970‘s it
is still difficult to gauge the extent that Danish news organizations were influenced or even
infiltrated.
Nevertheless, according to former CIA officials quoted based on investigative reporting in The New
York Times the agency had ―assets‖ all across the world ―throughout the 1950‘s and 1960‘s, when
the agency‘s propaganda network was at peak strength.‖ During these years an estimated 800
―propaganda assets,‖ 364 consisting of mostly foreign journalists were used by the CIA.
―We 'had' at least one newspaper in every foreign capital at any given time, one C.I.A. man
said, and those that the agency did not own outright or subsidize heavily it infiltrated with
paid agents or staff officers who could have stories printed that were useful to the agency and
not print those it found detrimental." 365
According to The New York Times investigation, Danish newsrooms were not free of American
influence either, as the CIA, ―reportedly had agents within a number of foreign news services,
including LATIN, a Latin American agency operated by the British news agency Reuters, and the
Ritzhaus [sic] organization in Scandinavia." 366
Ritzaus Bureau has since the 19 th century played a central part in the Danish news environment by
delivering news agency stories to subscribing Danish newspapers and if it was in fact infiltrated by
CIA or USIE operatives, which Villaume considers likely, then this circumstance obviously
364 Crewdson and Treaster, "The CIA's 3-Decade Effort to Mold the World's Views." Page 1 and 12.
365 ———, "Worldwide Propaganda Network Built by the C.I.A.." Page 12.
366 Ibid. Page 37.
112

enhanced the opportunity to get official American viewpoints across in Danish media. 367 Joseph
Treaster, who was part of The New York Times‘ team of investigative reporters in 1977, does not
doubt the validity of the information that the article‘s authors uncovered.
―Everything we put in the articles we were confident of. The articles are based on numerous
interviews (…) We took, as we always do, great care with the information that was in the
articles. Everything was thoroughly checked. The use of the word reportedly, does not mean
that we were not sure of the information. It means that someone else had researched the
information. That we did not have it first-hand.‖ 368
The interview with Professor Treaster conducted 33 years after the article-series about CIA‘s
worldwide activities does not prove that Ritzaus Bureau was infiltrated, it does, however, render it
somewhat more plausible. Moreover, as we shall see the CIA played an active role in other parts of
Danish society after World War II.
A different strategy employed by CIA was establishing the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) in
1950, a Paris-based organization with local branches throughout Europe. The Danish branch,
Selskabet for Frihed og Kultur (SFK), an almost direct translation of the CCF, was started by
journalist and former member of the Danish resistance movement Arne Sejr, with the aim of
launching ―information campaigns‖ against domestic communists. 369 SFK initially stayed
financially independent of the CCF but from 1955 Sejr and SFK moved closer to CCF and also
expanded its appeal in Danish society by working with influential journalists like Emil Frederiksen,
Tage Taaning and Hans Edvard Teglers as well as Henning Fonsmark and Jørgen Schleimann. 370
367
Villaume, Allieret Med Forbehold: Danmark, Nato Og Den Kolde Krig [Allied with Reservations: Denmark, Nato
and The Cold War]. Page 792.
368
Joseph B. Treaster, "Phone Interview between Professor Treaster and Author," December 22, 2010. During the
phone interview Professor Treaster also noted the methodology used by him and John M. Crewdson could be likened to
that of journalists writing about the current WikiLeaks documents, ―When you get cables from diplomats, you can only
report what the content of the cables say but not be 100 percent sure of what actually happened. Then the reporter
qualifies that information.‖
369
Philipsen, "Selskabet for Frihed Og Kultur - Congress for Cultural Freedom I Danmark 1953-1960 [Society for
Freedom and Culture - Congress for Cultural Freedom in Denmark 1953-1960]." Page 42.
370
Ibid. Page 44-45.
113

The Congress for Cultural Freedom was used by the CIA to channel funds and financially support a
number of publications. 371 Among the several cultural journals sponsored or indirectly supported by
the CIA in Europe were the British Encounter, Preuves in France and the Danish Perspektiv.
Perspektiv was edited by Henning Fonsmark and later Jørgen Schleimann. 372 From 1956 the journal
formally started cooperating with SFK in an agreement which was mutually beneficial. SFK
reached a larger segment of Danish society while Perspektiv received financial support from SFK
and got access to international articles from other CCF-supported journals.
From 1957 SFK‘s ideal of financial independence started to deteriorate and the Danish CCF-
inspired branch accepted subsidies from CCF to arrange ―cultural nights,‖ as well as invite
international guest speakers. When Schleiman, moreover, returned to Denmark in 1957 after an
educational exchange stay in Paris, he came back as a representative of the international CCF-
organization with the aim to reform CCF‘s work in Denmark. Slowly but surely the CIA-led CCF
gained influence in Denmark and eventually took over this part of the CIA‘s cultural fight in
Denmark.
Through Schleimann‘s leadership a host of Danish journalist‘s received material created by CCF
and its news agency Forum Service, which was described by CCF‘s secretariat as ―a hit‖ in
Denmark. According to Philipsen, ―both Information and Berlingske Aftenavis were frequent users
of articles from Forum Service.‖ 373 This observation is supported by J.B. Holmgård, who worked as
foreign editor for Information between 1959 and 1969 and later won the Danish equivalent of the
Pulitzer Prize for his work at Politiken.
‖Schleimann made sure that Information‘s foreign policy news desk, which never had enough
money, got free subscriptions on all journals that the Congress for Cultural Freedom
published. It was excellent journals like Encounter in London, Preuves in Paris and Der Monat
in Berlin, Soviet Survey and The China Quarterly. On top of this came a free news service
371 Crewdson and Treaster, "Worldwide Propaganda Network Built by the C.I.A.." Page 37.
372 J. B. Holmgård, Sket I Livet [Occurences in Life] (Gyldendal, 1990). Page 148.
373 Philipsen, "Selskabet for Frihed Og Kultur - Congress for Cultural Freedom I Danmark 1953-1960 [Society for
Freedom and Culture - Congress for Cultural Freedom in Denmark 1953-1960]." Page 47.
114

Forum Service with splendid articles by famous journalists about foreign politics, of which we
published a good deal in Information.‖ 374
Not only did Danish newspapers like Information receive information which could help them fill
their newspaper pages, Schleimann also introduced journalists like Holmgård to an international
network that they might otherwise not have been connected to.
―The list of all the brilliant and highly intelligent people from all over the globe that I thanks
to Schleimann got in touch with during these years is long. To label these people or
Schleimann as CIA-agents would be too cheap. That the Congress was financed by American
foundations was no secret, but that CIA funneled money to them through 17 years, I believe
only very few people in the Congress can have known.‖ 375
What is notable about the history of SFK, Perspektiv and CCF in Denmark is the extent to which
former or future journalists played prominent roles in the organization. Sejr had worked for
Kristeligt Dagblad before establishing SFK, Perspektiv‘s editor Fonsmark became one of the
Danish press‘ most well-known conservative journalists and CCF‘s Schleimann, after a long
journalistic career, helped create the television station which broke Danish Broadcasting Service‘s
monopoly in 1988. What all these prominent Danish opinion leaders had in common in the 1950s
were direct or indirect ties to organizations subsidized by the CIA. 376 However, as Holmgård
pointed out, the organizations‘ ties to the CIA were only discovered later.
374 Holmgård, Sket I Livet [Occurences in Life]. Page 147-148. My translation. Original text reads, ―Schleimann
sørgede for, at Informations udenrigsredaktion, der aldrig havde penge nok, fik friabonnementer på alle de blade,
Kongressen for Kulturel Frihed udgav. Det var fremragende tidsskrifter som Encounter i London, Preuves i Paris og
Der Monat i Berlin, Soviet Survey og The China Quarterly. Hertil kom en gratis artikeltjeneste Forum Service med
glimenrende artikler af kendte journalister om udenrigspolitik, hvoraf vi bragte en del i Information..‖
375 Ibid. Page 149. My translation. Original text reads, ―Listen over alle de brillante [sic] og højt begavede mennesker
fra hele kloden, jeg takket være Schleimann kom i forbindelse med i disse år, er lang. At stemple disse mennesker eller
Schleimann som CIA-agenter ville være for billigt. At Kongressen blev finansieret af amerikanske fonde var ikke nogen
hemmelighed, men at CIA slusesde penge ind i dem igennem sytten år, tror jeg kun meget få personer i Kongressen kan
have vidst.‖
376 Philipsen, "Selskabet for Frihed Og Kultur - Congress for Cultural Freedom I Danmark 1953-1960 [Society for
Freedom and Culture - Congress for Cultural Freedom in Denmark 1953-1960]." Page 42-46. On the board of SFK
were also Danish Broadcasting Corporation‘s Hans Sølvhøj and radio journalist Karl Bjarnhof. Philipsen notes,
115

―That the Congress‘ activities and journals, as it was disclosed much later – in 1968 – to a
great extent were financed by the American intelligence service CIA, came as just as great a
shock to us at Information, as to the rest of the world.‖ 377
But the CIA did not only fund cultural and journalistic projects in Scandinavia. According to an
account in a Swedish bi-weekly magazine, the CIA actively tried to recruit a freelance journalist,
Arthur Opot, at the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation‘s foreign news desk in 1975, under the
assumption that a journalistic cover was the most effective for agents in the field.
Opot‘s Kenyan roots made him a perfect asset, from a CIA perspective, for gathering information
about conditions on the African continent, as he could blend in and ask questions without raising
undue suspicion. By offering Opot money and the release of his cousin, who was allegedly being
held captive and tortured in East Africa, the CIA thought they had succeeded in recruiting him.
However, being a journalist, the 27 year-old Kenyan also saw an important story. While feeding the
CIA misleading information he concurrently gathered information for an article in Sweden about
the CIA‘s methods, and eventually broke the story making the case that the CIA had conducted
espionage in Sweden with the implicit approval from the Swedish Security Service. 378
Though no evidence has been found in the declassified American archival material concerning
Danish journalists recruited directly by the CIA, there is at least one example of a Danish
journalist‘s information being deemed highly important by United States officials in terms of
assessing the political situation in another country.
In a 1971 confidential telegram from a United States intelligence official in Sanaa to the Secretary
of State in Washington D.C., an American employee described a conversation with the Danish
journalist Jens Nauntofte concerning the Yemeni ex-prime minister Mohsin Al-Ayni. According to
the documents, Nauntofte had contacted the Americans to ―learn ‗other side‘ of US-Ethiopia story.‖
however, that Sølvhøjs participation in SFK was seemingly limited, but that he and Bjarnhof served as an important link
to the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.
377 Holmgård, Sket I Livet [Occurences in Life]. Page 148. My translation. Original text reads, ―At Kongressens
virksomhed og blade, som det blev afsløret langt senere - i 1968 - i vid udstrækning var finansieret af den amerikanske
efterretningstjeneste CIA, kom som et lige så stort chok for os på Information, som for resten af verden.‖
378 Jan Guillou and Roger Wallis, "CIA I Sverige [CIA in Sweden]," Folket i Bild: Kulturfront, March 4-17, 1976.
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―Had far ranging talk with Jens Nauntofte (protect), foreign news editor Copenhagen daily
‗Information‘ and Middle East correspondent for Danish Broadcasting Service. Par[aragraph]
2 summarizes remarkably incisive interview he just concluded with ex-pri[me] min[inster] Al
Ayni few hours earlier. (…) USINT comments: Believe Nauntofte caught Al Ayni in
extraordinarily candid moment.‖ 379
Nauntofte‘s interview with Al Ayni, according to the telegram, led the Department of State to
reevaluate its policy in Yemen, as they concluded that the National Front, based on Nauntofte‘s
account, was perhaps not as weak, as ex-patriots would have the Americans believe. 380 The value of
Nauntofte‘s contacts in the region was also apparent in connection to the Danish journalist‘s
research on the Eritrean Liberation Front where American officials in the Eritrean and Ethiopian
capital were encouraged to engage Nauntofte in conversation.
―Dep[ar]t[ment] interested any additional comments Asmara or Addis can discreetly glean
from Nauntofte concerning ELF organization, particularly names of ELF faction leaders.‖ 381
Yet, despite the United States‘ intelligence community‘s worldwide effort to create a more positive
view of America after 1945, there was also resentment over the ―black‖ methods employed by the
CIA. In Scandinavia and the United States the years between 1975 and 1977 proved to be years
where previously unknown negative stories about the CIA broke in the media..
379 McClintock, "Al Ayni Interview with Danish Journalist," (RG 59. General Records of the Department of State.
Subject Numeric Files 1970-1973. Culture and Information. PPB 9 - Chinat 1/1/70 thru PPB 9 - EGY 2/1/72. Box 427.
April 13, 1971).
380 Jens Nauntofte knowingly or unknowingly thereby seems to have offered more information to the American
intelligence officers than The New York Times‘ Terence Smith recommended six years later. See Smith, "C.I.A.
Contacts with Reporters: Officials and Newsmen Call Method Legitimate." Page 13. Smith here writes, ―Another, more
delicate problem arises when an intelligence officer turns the tables and attempts to question a correspondent on
interviews he may have had or places he may have visited. Such situations occur frequently, and there is honest debate
among journalists today about what information, if any, can be legitimately passed along. The general rule, accepted by
many correspondents, is that a reporter may discuss anything he would - or, ideally, already has - put into print. But the
temptation for a trade-off of information is always there, and many reporters have no doubt succumbed.‖
381 D. H. Shinn, "Visit of Danish Journalist to Ethiopia," (RG 59. General Records of the Department of State. Subject
Numeric Files 1970-1973. Culture and Information. PPB 9 - Chinat 1/1/70 thru PPB 9 - EGY 2/1/72. Box 427. April 13
1971).
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In Denmark, Information in 1975 published several articles about CIA and their agents in
Denmark. 382 The following year, the story of Arthur Opot broke in Sweden, and in late 1977 The
New York Times‘ in depth article series on the CIA‘s worldwide propaganda efforts was published.
In Denmark, the Swedish revelation of the CIA‘s attempt to recruit Opot also caught the Danish
Union of Journalists‘ attention as an article was published in Journalisten under the headline
―Scandinavian Journalists Targeted by CIA.‖ The article in Journalisten did not mention the
Information-article or refer to any Danish examples, but did conclude,
Conclusion
―That the recruitment of Opot as a CIA-agent was also aimed at him collecting information
about potential colleagues in Stockholm‘s journalistic environment is beyond any doubt. His
information to FIB/Kulturfront has not been contested [by the Americans]‖ 383
This section on Americanization from a transmission perspective has shown that American officials
working out of the American embassy in Copenhagen tried consciously to create a more favorable
image of the United States, and in their own estimation, often succeeded especially in the 1950‘s.
Through white propaganda, as exemplified by the Daily News Bulletin or press releases, the USIS
in the 1950s were able to get their message across in Danish newspapers. Through grey propaganda
the United States government was able to get their message conveyed through proxies such as Per
Hækkerup or Berlingske Tidende. And through black propaganda the CIA, according to former
NewYork Times reporter Joseph Treaster, likely infiltrated the Danish news agency Ritzaus Bureau.
Additionally, the employees at the American embassy worked diligently to cultivate personal
relationships with media employees, sponsored visits to the United States, and subsequently
discussed questions of ―balance‖ and ―objectivity‖ with Danish journalists to try and make them
382 See for example Jørgen Dragsdahl, "CIA under Anklage [CIA Face Charges]," Information, July 13-14, 1975. Page
2. Also Jørgen Dragsdahl and Poul E. Svejstrup, "Overraskende Stor CIA-Repræsentation I Denmark [Surprisingly
Large CIA-Representation in Denmark]," Information, July 13-14, 1975. Page 1.
383 Poul Smidt, "Skandinaviske Journalister Et Mål for CIA [Scandinavian Journalists Targeted by CIA]," Journalisten,
March 1976. Page 5. My translation. Original text reads, ‖At hvervningen af Opot som CIA-agent også tog sigte på, at
han i det stockholmske journalistmiljø skulle indsamle oplysninger om kolleger-emner, er hævet over enhver tvivl.
Hans oplysninger til FIB/Kulturfront er ikke blevet anfægtet.‖
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eport more positively on the United States. In the Americans‘ own estimation, their different
initiatives to influence the Danish press from the end of World War II until 1975 were successful
even if the United States was not always covered in as ―balanced‖ a way as the American officials
would have liked. Installing a USIA-printer in the newsroom of five leading Danish papers was an
American attempt to remedy the ―unbalanced‖ coverage and caused the editor of Journalisten to
raise the issue as the top story in the periodical‘s 1988 April issue. 384
The above section has also shown, that journalists played a central role in SFK and CCF, which
later turned out to be sponsored by the CIA. Additionally, the CIA actively tried to recruit at least
one Scandinavian journalist,Arthur Opot, to work for them.
4.2 Transnationalization
―In the long run the exchange of persons would be our most effective approach to the Danes,‖ wrote
Public Affairs Officer Roll in a confidential report to the Department of State on May 2, 1950. Roll
added that unfortunately there was no Fulbright Program in Denmark, and the money available
under PL 402, the US Information and Exchange Act of 1948, only permitted the ―exchange of 10
persons.‖ Working closely together with private organizations such as ―The American-
Scandinavian Foundation, The Danish-American Society, and the Danish International Student
Committee,‖ the American Embassy in Copenhagen had nevertheless succeeded in assisting ―some
500 Danish students in going to the United States during 1949.‖ 385
Since these educational exchange programs developed in the greater context of the Cold War, and
therefore in competition with the Soviet Union‘s programs, the American Embassy kept a an eye on
number of Danish students that every year visited countries east of the iron curtain. Early on it
became clear, however, that exchange to the United States held greater appeal than an exchange to a
communist country. While the United States exchanged approximately 500 students a year with
Denmark before the Fulbright exchange program was established in 1951 or before Danish
journalists could apply for a World Press Institute Fellowship, the picture was somewhat different
with the countries from the Eastern bloc in the 1960‘s.
384 Documents revealing USIS‘ own evaluation of propaganda efforts in Denmark have only been declassified up until
1975 and the Department of State has not yet responded to a Freedom of Information Act request covering the years
from 1976 to 2010.
385 Roll, "USIE Country Papers." Page 5-7.
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―Overall educational and cultural exchanges between Denmark and the countries of Eastern
Europe increased during 1969. By late winter they equaled or exceeded the level prior to the
invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. According to statistics compiled by the Embassy from
various sources, total exchanges listed in the attached table rose to 176 for the period January
1 - November 15, 1969, compared with 158 and 127 respectively for calendar years 1967 and
1968.‖ 386
Though the number of cultural exchanges to Eastern Europe was on the rise, there was little to fear
in terms of absolute numbers for the Americans in the fight over the Danish hearts and minds. 387 To
Schröter, the lack of interest in Russian culture, economy and politics, serves as a testament to the
necessary voluntary aspect of transnational processes, and thereby a rejection of the cultural
imperialism theory.
―After 1945 both the United States and the Soviet Union tried to export their institutions, first
to their European allies and satellites and later to Third World countries. While
Americanization showed lasting effects everywhere, Sovietization diminished very quickly
and virtually vanished once the direct, political influence of the USSR was removed.
Americanization became deeply rooted, while Sovietization resulted in no more than an
organizational cover in the respective economy.‖ 388
Schröter‘s observations about the Soviet Union was supported by delegates from the Danish Union
of Journalists who travelled east in 1981 and came home with the feeling that they had been fed all
the conventional clichés about Russian press freedom, but in reality there was little to learn. 389
386 Brooks McClure, "Estimated Impact of Communist Countries' Cultrual and Educational Exchange Programs,"
(National Archives. RG 59. General Records of the Department of State. Central Foreign Policy Files, 1967-1967.
Political and Defense. POL DEN to POL 12 DEN. Box 2043. December 5, 1969).
387 Jensen, "En Krig På Værdier - Mål Og Midler I Det Amerikanske Kulturdiplomati [A War on Values: Means and
Ends in the American Cultural Diplomacy]." Page 30-32. Kryhl Jensen concludes that Soviet propaganda was too crude
to be effective in Denmark whereas the American propaganda was more ―nuanced,‖ and thus had broader appeal.
388 Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 6. Sørensen and Petersen also touch upon the greater interest in the cultural, technological and
educational impulses coming from the United States and note that the Soviet Union simply did not have the means to
compete for Danish hearts and minds.Petersen and Sørensen, "Kommunister, Jan-Bøger Og Drømmekøkkener
[Communists, Jan-Books and Dream Kitchens]." Page 23.
389 Tove Hygum Jakobsen, "Sovjet-Forbundet Er Ensbetydende Med Partilinjen [The Soviet Journalist's Union Equals
the Party Line]," Journalisten, August 1981. Page 26. Upon her return Jakobsen noted, ―[t]he press division had the
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The impressions gathered from travels to the United States turned out to be quite different. There
was often a healthy skepticism towards things American, but also recognition that there was much
to be inspired by. Because of the vast differences between the United States and Denmark, ―the
ideas from the States cannot therefore be mindlessly transferred to our own world. Nevertheless I
will maintain that there are things we can learn,‖ wrote Karl Jack, for example, after his study tour
in 1979. 390
4.2.1 The origins of exchange
Public Law 402, also known as the Smith-Mundt Act, from 1948 enabled the American Embassy in
Copenhagen to start an ―exchange of persons program,‖ and Roll along with Danish allies,
according to his own description, went to work with great diligence to facilitate these exchanges as
soon as possible.
―[N]umerous conferences and interviews were held with Danish authorities in the various
fields covered by the categories of the grants. Positive results were obtained in the case of the
student grants and the applications of two Danish students were forwarded with the Embassy's
recommendations, together with three alternates, after careful screening by a committee
composed of officers of the Danish International Students Committee and of Danmarks
Amerikanske Selskab, the Rector of the University, and the PAO and Information Officer.
Applications and recommendations were likewise submitted by the Embassy after carefully
screening of the applicants, in the case of leaders in the fields of labor, journalism and youth
work." 391
clichés ready. Soviet journalism is both critical and investigative. Good journalists can always find and publish what
they deem important. Western journalists chase news and sensation.‖My translation. Original text reads,
―Presseafdelingen var klar med klicheerne. – Sovjetisk journalistik er både kritisk og opsøgende. Gode journalister kan
altid finde og få publiceret, hvad de finder vigtigt. – Vestlig journalistik er nyheds- og sensationsjagende.‖ See also
Hans Lind, "Avisen Uden Skrivemaskiner [The Newspaper without Typewriters]," Journalisten, September 26, 1984.
390 Jack, "Skærpet Konkurrence Kræver Flere Journalister [Enhanced Competition Requires More Journalists]." Page
22-23. My translation. Original text reads, ―Ideerne fra staterne kan derfor ikke bevidstløst overføres til vor egen
verden. Alligevel vil jeg påstå, at der er ting vi kan lære.‖
391 William G. Roll, "USIE Report for January and February, 1950," (National Archives. RG 59. Department of State.
Decimal file. 1950-1954. From 511.59/12-650 to 511.59/12-2950. Box 2422. April 5, 1950). Page 2.
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It is notable that out of the first three Danish leaders recommended to go on exchange to the United
States, one worked within the field of journalism. The same focus on journalism was seen within
other organizations working with inter-cultural exchange as well.
In 1949 Politikens editor-in-chief Niels Hasager was a member of ―Danmark-America Fondet‘s‖
board and in the following decades Politiken‘s Arne Ejbye-Ernst, Berlingske‘s Svend Aage Lund,
DR‘s Knud Heinesen and Terkel M. Terkelsen editor for Berlingske Tidende and editor-in-chief of
Danish Newspaper Publisher’s Association (DDF) were also all part of DAF‘s board working to
send talented young Danes to the United States. 392 Moreover, Terkelsen was also closely connected
to another transnational organization with strong ties to the United States, namely the Bilderberg
Organisation, where powerful Europeans and Americans met regularly to find common ground 393
and Hasager in the late 1940‘s became part of the International Federation of Newspapers
Publishers (FIEJ), what would later become the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). 394 As
the examples show, leading Danish journalists were actively involved in transnational organizations
facilitating knowledge exchange; especially with the United States.
In the years after 1949, conditions for educational exchange between the United States and
Denmark only improved. The Denmark-America Foundation had been established in 1914 to
―further endeavors for practical and cultural co-operation between Denmark and the United States,
hereunder especially support Danish citizens‘ educational exchange in the United States,‖ 395 and
after World War II many more exchange organizations followed.
392 Danmark-Amerika Fondets årsberetning 1994.
393 Philipsen, "Diplomacy with Ambiguity: The History of the Bilderberg Organisation 1952-1977." Page 130-133.
According to Philipsen, Terkelsen played a prominent part in the organization from its very first meeting in 1954 and
used the influence achieved there to further his newspaper‘s position among Americans. Moreover, Terkelsen, used the
network he built at the conferences, and met with participants who were extremely valuable to him, ―and allowed him –
in a Danish context - extraordinary access to several high level individuals in the American administration and contacts
with important colleagues in the newspaper business. According to Terkelsen, a reference to the Bilderberg Conferences
‗opens many doors in America‘.‖ Philipsen also notes, ―It is remarkable that two out of the three members of the Press
who attended the first conference in 1954 were Scandinavian journalists: Terkel M. Terkelsen, editor of the Danish
conservative newspaper Berlingske Tidende, and Herbert Tingsten, the Swedish editor of the Liberal newspaper Dagens
Nyheter. Terkelsen became a long-term SC member, and someone the Bilderberg Secretariat relied on to answer
questions concerning the press during the next two decades.‖
394 Brixtofte, "F.I.E.J., Den Internationale Bladudgiver-Organisation Oprettet [F.I.E.J., the International Publisher
Organization Founded]." Page 5. The 12 founding nations consisted of France, England, U.S.A., Holland, Belgium,
Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, Denmark, Norway and Sweden with the aim to exchange ideas and information
world-wide.
395 Danmark-Amerika Fondet, "Danmark-Amerika Fondet Årsberetning 1994 [The Denmark-America Foundation
Annual Report 1994]," (Copenhagen1994). Page 5. My translation. Original text reads, ―At fremme bestræbelserne for
122

Roll was happy to report in July 1951, that there was an increase in ―privately and government-
sponsored exchange activities between the two nations,‖ and added that for the first time in its
history, ―The Tuborg Foundation has made funds available for study trips to the United States.‖ 396
A few months later another avenue for cultural exchange opened up to the delight of both
Americans and Danes. In August 1951 Denmark and the United States reached an agreement to
establish a Fulbright Program in Denmark and the news was very well received in the Danish press.
Even Information which, according to American officials, often took a critical stance to initiatives
from the United States wrote a positive editorial on the prospect of increased inter-cultural
exchange.
―Of all the agreements which have been reached recently between Denmark and the United
States yesterday‘s agreement on the establishment of a foundation to further cultural ties is
probably, more than any other, elevated beyond discussion, dissociation, and suspicion. (…)
The significance is obvious both for academic requirements and for the international
understanding (…) Cultural cooperation with America is more significant presently than ever
before since American plays such an overwhelming role in the world.‖ 397
These positive feelings towards educational exchange were shared by both both private and public
organizations across the Atlantic. While the United States government initiated both PL 402 and the
Fulbright Program, private businesses like the Ford Motor Company Fund, IBM, Standard Oil and
Readers Digest helped sponsor the World Press Institute which was established in 1961. Over the
years WPI awarded scholarships to more than 500 international journalists, among these several
Danes, in the hope, from WPI‘s perspective, that such an exchange could ensure that,
praktisk og kulturelt samvirke mellem Danmark og USA, herunder særligt at støtte danske statsborgeres
uddannelsesmæssige ophold i USA.‖
396 William G. Roll, "Semi-Annual Evaluation Report for USIE - Covering Period From December 1, 1950, to May 31,
1951.," (National Archives. RG 59. Department of State. Decimal file. 1950-1954. From 511.59/12-650 to 511.59/12-
2950. Box 2422. July 17, 1951).
397 n., "Dansk-Amerikansk [Danish-American]," Information, August 24, 1951. Page 2. My translation. Original text
reads, "Af alle overenskomster, der i den senere tid er blevet truffet mellem Danmark og De forenede Stater er
gaarsdagens overenskomst om oprettelse af et fond til fremme af de kulturelle forbindelser formentlig mere end nogen
anden hævet over diskussion, afstandtagen og mistænkeliggørelse. (...) Betydningen er indlysende, baade for faglige
behov og for den mellemfolkelige forstaaelse. (…) Kulturelt samarbejde med Amerika er mere betydningsfuldt end
nogensinde i dag, hvor America spiller en så overvældende rolle i verden."
123

―[I]nternational opinion about the United States is shaped by journalists writing from a
comprehensive personal background of experience in America. The Institute seeks to achieve
this by providing young foreign journalists with an open and unfettered view of American
society at every level so that they may return home with new-found ability to report and
interpret U.S. affairs more accurately and with deeper understanding.‖ 398
The above mission statement was found in a pamphlet published in 1971 which accompanied a
letter from Assistant Director Mark Peacock to Secretary of State William P. Rogers in the hope of
setting up an interview for the foreign WPI journalists on exchange. In the letter Peacock stated the
goals of the WPI even more succinctly, as he wrote,
―The professional international journalists of the World Press Institute will be in Washington
February 14 through March 6, 1972. During our visit, our interviews will strive to further the
World Press Institute goals of improving the accuracy and fairness of the foreign press
reporting about the United States.‖ 399
Again exchange initiatives from the United States were deliberately established to promote a
positive view of the country through the foreign journalists invited. These educational exchanges,
whether established by the the Fulbright Program, The Denmark-America Foundation, The
American-Scandinavian Foundation, Thanks To Scandinavia or the World Press Institute, which
was backed by private corporations, proved very successful in the eyes of both sponsors and
recipients. What they all had in common was a view that journalists played an important part in the
educational exchange, and subsequent proliferation of cultural information, between the United
States and Europe following the end of World War II.
398 "World Press Institute Fellows 1971-1972," ed. World Press Institute (RG 59. General Records of the Department of
State. Subject Numeric Files, 1970-73. Administration. PR International Commerce 1/1/70 - PR 11/3 5/20/73. Box 273.,
1971).
399 Mark Peacock, "World Press Institute," (RG 59. General Records of the Department of State. Subject Numeric Files,
1970-73. Administration. PR International Commerce 1/1/70 - PR 11/3 5/20/73. Box 273. December 20, 1971).
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4.2.2 The exchanged journalists
The Danish journalist Kurt Boelsgaard in 1969 spent a year at Columbia University in their
Advanced International Reporting Program, as the first Scandinavian ever, and received a ―grant
from Thanks to Scandinavia,‖ before he ―set course towards Columbia in New York, whose
Graduate School of Journalism, is world famous, and where several Danish students have given us a
good reputation.‖ 400 Boelsgaard described himself as a ―kid in a chocolate store,‖ when he saw the
course catalog at Columbia, and took advantage of everything a year of educational exchange had to
offer academically.
―How much did I get done? Three lecture series per semester (and there are two in an
academic year) plus some seminars and courses that I listened in on. It does not tell the full
story. Additional education cannot be measured or weighed. One is simply ‗ignorant at a
higher level.‘ With a slightly greater knowledge, better grasp of language and more
experience. And then one has been recharged for returning to the daily routine.‖ 401
Clearly, Boelsgaard thought of his year on educational exchange to the United States as a success,
and his views were shared by almost all other Danes who also enjoyed an exchange experience,
regardless of their field of study. Professor Isi Foighel, who conducted research during a stay at
Harvard Law School and subsequently attended several seminars on American politics in Denmark,
wrote about his experience,
―It is beyond any doubt that my opinion of American life has changed during my visit. It
makes a great difference to live in a country for six months to get some idea of the size of the
country and of the problems which are debated in the American society. I could not say that
400 Kurt Boelsgaard, "Sabbatår Med Ekstra Slid [Sabbatical with Extra Work]," Journalisten, no. 9 (1970). Page 11.
401 Ibid. Page 11. My translation. Original text reads, "Pengene blev skaffet fra flere steder. For det første fik jeg et legat
fra Thanks to Scandinavia (...) Jeg stilede imod Columbia i New York, hvis Graduate School of Journalism har verdensry,
og hvor flere danske studerende har givet os et godt renomme. (...) Når man først får stukket det digre program fra
School of International Affairs i hånden, føler man sig som et barn, der slippes løs i en chokoladeforretning. (...)
Videreuddannelse kan ikke måles og vejes. Man er 'ignorant på et højere plan' med en lidt større konkret viden, bedre
sprogkundskaber og flere erfaringer. Og så er der ladet op til at se friskere på den daglige rutine, jeg nu er tilbage i."
125

the information I until my stay in the US had received was inaccurate but it is of course a
quite different thing to read about a country and to live in it.‖ 402
Physician Tage Rosendal pointed out that once you got to the United States, you got a ―more
differentiated picture,‖ of the otherwise generalized depiction of racial and political problems that
he had received from television and the press before he left and Associate Professor Jytte Strøm
from Odense University also thought that the ―positive things in the country have been more
overwhelming to us that the negative things.‖ 403 With evaluations like these flowing in from all over
the United States, the American Embassy‘s hunch, that exchange was the most effective approach
to the Danes was quickly validated. There was a great potential for swaying Danes towards a more
favorable impression of America.The positive view of educational exchange presented by doctors
and academics were shared by journalists like Boelsgaard who subsequently noted that there was
much to learn from the United States in terms of higher learning.
―For my part it was the wish and the plan to study my journalistic specialty, foreign policy, a
year in the United States. The American‘s are significantly further along with journalistic
education than we are in Europe.‖ 404
The individual experiences among the journalists varied to an extent, but some things also stayed
the same. Without exception the written evaluations available from journalists sponsored by the
Denmark-America Foundation or the Fulbrigh Program mention the unique aspect of their
402 Isi Foighel, "Report of Visiting Scholar," (Rigsarkivet. 10754. Danmark-Amerika Fondet og Fullb. K. 1956-1981
DK Legatmodtagere, Rapporter/Evalueringer 1970-1981. Box 77. October 20, 1969).
403 Jytte Strøm, "Report of Visiting Scholar," (Rigsarkivet. 10754. Danmark-Amerika Fondet og Fullb. K. 1956-1981
DK Legatmodtagere, Rapporter/Evalueringer 1970-1981. Box 77. July 10, 1970). Erling B. Andersen, who studied
mathematical statistics at the University of California, Berkeley wrote, ―First of all I was impressed by the high quality
of American researchers. I found that the average American professor works very hard and maintains a high
productivity of scientific papers through most of his active years. I was also very impressed by the level on which
American PhD-students work. These observations are based mainly on University of California, Berkeley and Stanford
University, but from talks with university professors from other universities in the United States I got the impression
that the observations have some generality. (…) We feel that we have learned a lot not only on the academic level but
also about the United States and the Americans, a knowledge I find very essential for a better understanding of the
world today.‖ Erling B. Andersen, "Future Plans Report," (Rigsarkivet. 10754. Danmark-Amerika Fondet og Fullb. k.
1956-1981 DK Legatmodtagere. Rapporter/Evalueringer. Reports Danish Students 1967/68. September 30, 1967).
404 Boelsgaard, "Sabbatår Med Ekstra Slid [Sabbatical with Extra Work]." Page 11. My translation. Original text reads,
―[f]or mit eget vedkommende var det ønsket og planen at komme til at studere mit journalistiske speciale,
udenrigspolitik, et år i USA. Amerikanerne er væsentlig længere fremme med journalistuddannelse end vi er i Europa.‖
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experience and their greater understanding of American society. Even Danish journalists like Karl
Jack or Henrik Døcker who stayed only a short time had a positive experience and came back with a
strong sense of having seen the future of journalism for better and worse.
In some instances, it is also possible to discern that the year abroad led to a change in journalistic
practices, and greater technological understanding. But perhaps just as importantly, the many of the
journalists who have been on educational exchange mention their vastly expanded international
network. When Samuel Rachlin in 1985 wrote about his experience at Harvard as a recipient of the
Nieman-Fellowship he noted, that the year had ―exceeded all expectations regarding an intense and
stimulating stay in an American university environment‖ and added,
―Many of the famous top people in the American media environment are Nieman-Fellows – a
title that you do not just have the one year at Harvard it is explained. Once a Nieman-Fellow –
always a Nieman-Fellow – you become a member of a great family and can always count on
help (…) the year at Harvard opened my eyes to America and the Americans and I discovered
and understood more of the country and the people than before both good and bad.‖ 405
405 Samuel Rachlin, "Om at Opdage Harvard [Discovering Harvard]," ed. Danmark-Amerika Fondet (Copenhagen:
Danmark-Amerika Fondet Annual Report, 1985). Page 12-13. My translation. Original text reads, ―Det blev et år, der
overgik alle forventninger om et intenst og stimulerende ophold i et amerikansk universitetsmiljø. (…) Mange af de
kendte topnavne i den amerikanske medieverden er Nieman-Fellows – en titel, man ikke kun har i det ene år på
Harvard, får man forklaret. En gang Nieman-Fellow – altid Nieman-Fellow – man bliver medlem af en stor familie og
kan altid regne med hjælp (..) Året på Harvard åbnede også mine øjne for Amerika og amerikanerne, og jeg opdagede
og forstod mere af landet og folket end før på godt og ondt.‖ Rachlin had previously been a graduate student, as well as
a Fulbright recipient, at Columbia School of Journalism in 1977.
Rachlin‘s experience was echoed in 2003 by Louise Stigsgaard Nissen who also won a Nieman-Fellowship at Harvard.
―My stay as Nieman Fellow at Harvard University has been incredibly fruitful both professionally and personally. (…)
My professional focus has been on international relations (…) Personally, I also had great benefit from my exchange.
The Nieman Foundation did an incredible job in creating surroundings where we fellows got to know each other and
established dialogue and friendships across cultures, status, age and gender.‖ My translation. Original text reads, ―Mit
ophold som Nieman Fellow ved harvard University har været utroligt udbytterigt både fagligt og personligt. (…) Min
faglige koncentration har været internationale forhold. (…) Jeg fik også stort personligt udbytte af mit ophold. Nieman
Fondationen [sic] var fantastisk til at skabe rammer for, at vi fellows lærte hinanden godt at kende og kunne skabe
dialogue og venskaber på tværs af kulturer, status, alder og køn.‖ Louise Stigsgaard Nissen, "Rapport Om Studieophold
Ved Harvard University Som Nieman Fellow 2002-2003 [Report on Stay Abroad at Harvard University as Nieman
Fellow 2002-2003]," (Landsarkivet Sjælland. Evalueringsrapporter Fulbright/DAF. 2002-2004. Box 10.1. September
26, 2003). During her stay at Harvard, Nissen followed classes in such diverse fields as international politics, human
rights, globalization, the Middle East, American foreign policy and intervention policy, leadership skills, creative
writing and American as well as British literature and described her year in the United States as ―intense and inspiring.‖
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A similar experience was expressed by Ulrik Haagerup in 1991 after a year at Stanford University
as a John S. Knight Fellow. ―Most of my time was spent at Stanford‘s Graduate School of Business,
whose MBA-program is the United States‘ most coveted,‖ wrote Haagerup and added that apart
from his leadership and business training, he was in addition taking steps to improving his skills as
a reporter.
―This spring I am also participating in a seminar on press ethics and responsibility, which
hopefully will make me a better journalist when I return to Jyllands-Posten.‖ 406
It was not the courses at Stanford which struck Haagerup as the most important though, like Rachlin
he emphasized the importance of creating an international journalistic network during his year in
the United States.
―The most fruitful part of the exchange has, however, been the daily relations with some of
the world‘s best reporters. Among the colleagues at the Knight-Fellowship are the TV-
company ABCs correspondent in South Africa, a double Pulitzer Prize winner from the
newspaper Miami Herald (Pulitzer is the most prestigious prize in American media), editors
from National Public Radio, Brazil‘s biggest paper O‘Globo and a producer from the British
TV-company BBC.‖ 407
The hectic pace of a university stay in the United States, the greater knowledge of American society
and the development of a tight-knit network is also apparent in Anders Krab-Johansen‘s evaluation
of his year at Columbia School of Journalism in 1994. Calling his nine months in New York ―the
most intense I have yet experienced,‖ Johansen described a school year, where he broke down
personal barriers, learned research, writing techniques, TV-production and computer-assisted
statistics which culminated with being awarded ―the prize for best international journalism of the
406 Ulrik Haagerup, "Frit Valg På Stanfords Hylder [A Kid in Stanford's Candy Store]," ed. Danmark-Amerika Fondet
(Copenhagen: Danmark-Amerika Fondet Annual Report, 1991).
407 Ibid.
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year.‖ Throughout the year, Krab-Johansen noted, he had been guided in his studies by an advisor
who was a ―former journalist from The New York Times.‖ 408
The experiences expressed by Rachlin, Haagerup and Krab-Johansen were echoed by Danish
journalists in the subsequent years. In 1997, Stine Carsten Nielsen finished a year at The American
University in Washington D.C. while also spending two days every week as an intern with TV 2‘s
USA correspondent Ulla Pors Nielsen, 409 Lars Terje-Lysemose spent six months as an intern at
Computer User in Minnesota, 410 and Iben De Neergaards experience at Columbia vastly improved
her journalistic toolkit, and added much ―new inspiration and knowledge – not only about
journalism, but also foreign policy, human rights and society.‖
―The lecturers at Columbia are in a class of their own. I was taught by the foreign editor of
The New York Times, former vice-president Al Gore (…) and have given an insight into the
408 Anders Krab-Johansen, "Stress Og Jag Fra Første Dag [Hustle and Bustle from Day One]," ed. Danmark-Amerika
Fondet (Copenhagen: Danmark-Amerika Fondet Annual Report, 1994). Page 16-18.
409 Stine Carsten Nielsen, "The Washington Semester Program," ed. Danmark-Amerika Fondet (Danmark-Amerika
Fondet Annual Report, 1997). Page 26. Nielsen like many other Danish journalists described her experience in the
United States as unique. ―The combination of an election year, a fantastic internship, where I had the opportunity to
participate in ‗real‘ journalistic work, meeting insiders in the political system and participating in the production of
news stories, editorials, commentaries and features about current events for my Professors critical gaze, has given an
experience I could not have had anywhere else.‖My translation. Original text reads, ‖Kombinationen af valgår, et
fantastisk praktiksted, hvor jeg fik mulighed for at deltage i ‘ægte‘ journalistisk arbejde, have møder med insidere i det
politiske system og deltage i løbende produktion af nyhedshistorier, ledere, kommentarer og features om aktuelle
begivenheder, har givet mig en oplevelse jeg ikke kunne få andre steder.‖
410 Lars-Terje Lysemose, "Trainee/Journalistpraktikant På Computeruser I Minneapolis [Trainee/Journalism Intern at
Computeruser in Minneapolis]," in Danmark-Amerika Fondet (Danmark-Amerika Fondet Annual Report, 1998). Page
19-21. Lysemose‘s evaluation of his six month stay at ComputerUser in Minnesota succinctly alludes to some cultural
differences between Danish and American newsrooms also noted by journalists like Døcker and Jack. ―My internship in
Minneapolis has not only sharpened my interest for the development of the technology- and information society‘s
development, but also for the social and cultural differences, which still reign at Uncle Sam‘s place. (…) The
experiences of having worked in the United States and now with a group of journalism students from USA, South
Africa and Eastern and Western Europe under the ‗Europe in the World Program‘ has taught me that the perception of
what is good journalism is basically the same all over, but the way journalism is practiced – the routines, the way one
quotes sources and the way one has to be aware of censorship or lawsuits is quite different.‖ My translation. Original
text reads, ―Mit praktikophold I Minneapolis har således ikke bare skærpet min interesse for teknologiens og
informationssamfundets udvikling, men også for de sociale og kulturelle forskelle der fortsat hersker ovre hos Uncle
Sam. (…) Erfaringerne fra at have arbejdet i USA og nu sammen med en gruppe journaliststuderende fra USA,
Sydafrika, og Øst- og Vesteuropa under ‘Europe in the World-programmet‘ har lært mig, at opfattelsen af hvad er er
god journalistik, dybest set er den samme overalt, men måden journalistik udøves på – rutinerne, måden man citerer
kilder på og måden man skal være opmærksom på risikoen for censur og sagsanlæg – er en ganske anden.‖
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working conditions and development in the American media through educational connection
to CNN‘s news desk in New York.‖ 411
There are many more examples from the Danish journalists‘ exchange experience but the overall
message is the same. Six months to a year at an American university was an intense experience with
great opportunities to network with fellow journalists; it was extremely fruitful in terms of a deeper
understanding of international relations and in most instances, especially for younger reporters,
journalistic practices and methodologies were also impacted. 412
Though it is difficult to gauge whether the newfound knowledge was implemented in every-day
journalistic practice, a recent example from Journalisten does indicate that it was. After his
exchange at Columbia School of Journalism, Krab-Johansen worked in both print and television
journalism before he became Politiken‘s political editor in 2008. According to the article in
Journalisten Krab-Johansen had adopted the American philosophy of writing politically neutral
news stories.
―Anders Krab-Johansen‘s mission through his year and a half at Politiken was to create a
newspaper after an American example. The first section should be filed with pure, current
news purged of commenting cartoons or text based on [political] positions. The news director
took the separation of news and views so literally, that he, in the beginning, went through the
articles in the first section, line by line, and marked those things that he thought were too
opinionated.‖ 413
411 Iben de Neergaard, "Indtryk from Legatmodtagere [Impressions from Grant Recipients]," ed. Danmark-Amerika
Fondet (Danmark-Amerika Fondet Annual Report, 2002). Page 20. My translation. Original text reads, ―Jeg føler klart
at mine 10 måneder på Columbia har forbedret mine journalistiske arbejdsredskaber og givet en masse ny inspiration og
viden – ikke alene om journalistik, men også om udenrigspolitiske forhold, menneskerettigheder og samfundsforhold.
Undervisningskræfterne på Columbia er helt i særklasse. Jeg er blevet undervist af udenrigsredaktøren på New York
Times, tidligere vicepræsident Al Gore (…) og har fået et indblik i arbejdsforhold og udviklingen i de amerikanske
medier via undervisningsmæssig tilknytning til CNNs redaktion i New York.‖
412 Sarah Holm Johansen, "Indtryk Fra Legatmodtagere [Impressions from Grant Recepients]," ed. Danmark-Amerika
Fondet (Danmark-Amerika Fondet Annual Report, 2007). Page 21. My translation. Original text reads, ―På 60 Minutes
fik jeg lov til at arbejde indenfor de fleste områder af TV-produktion – alt fra ide-pitching til research, tilrettelæggelse
af shoots, interviews og alverdens andre forudsete og uforudsete små og store opgaver.‖
413 Signe Højgaard Nielsen and Mathias Bencke Fremmen, "Da Mr. News Fik Nok Af Views [When Mr. News Became
Fed up with Views]," Journalisten, March 24, 2010. Page 9.
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Moreover, Krab-Johansen‘s own evaluation of the educational exchange 16 years later sheds
important light on the formative nature of a stay at one of the elite American journalism schools.
―There is no doubt that my year at Columbia School of Journalism has meant everything to
the way I approach journalism. (…) [It was] inspiring to be taught by professors who had
worked at The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and other world-renowned
media and be coached by journalists who had won a Pulitzer Prize. The standards for quality
grew to be fairly high and my respect for the profession undoubtedly increased.‖ 414
The above examples indicate that the American Embassy, DAF and the Fulbright Commission
worked very consciously to select talented men and women who were thought to play a prominent
part in Danish society now or later. 415 As part of the Fulbright Program and the cultivation of the
future leaders, the American Embassy each year gave out ―leader grants‖ to promising young
Danes. 416 This conscious selection of candidates took place across Europe, and as Günther Bischoff
has shown in the case of Austria, American officials were extremely adept at picking the right
candidates, meaning future opinion-makers, for exchange. 417
The American officials responsible for the Danish exchange programs also seem to have been very
successful, in picking candidates who would later play a prominent part within their professional
field, and this is especially true of the field of journalism. In 1986 the American Embassy compiled
a list of ―Prominent Fulbrighters‖ which abounded with journalists. Niels Jørgen Haagerup, a
―research scholar in International relations at Tufts University in 1952, is mentioned in the
document along with Bent Mohn from Politiken, who studied American literature at the University
of California, Berkeley in 1955 and Samuel Rachlin at Columbia in 1977 as well as Michael
414 Anders Krab-Johansen, E-mail to author regarding stay at Columbia University, December 15, 2010. My translation.
Original text reads, ―Der er ingen tvivl om, at mit år på Columbias journalistskole har betydet alt for den måde, jeg er
gået til journalistikken på. (…) Det var også inspirerende at blive undervist at professorer, som havde arbejdet på New
York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS News og andre verdenskendte medier, og blive coachet af af journalister, som
har vundet en Pulitzer-pris. Kravene til kvaliteten blev rimeligt høje, og min respekt for faget blev utvivlsomt øget.‖
415 Jensen, "En Krig På Værdier - Mål Og Midler I Det Amerikanske Kulturdiplomati [A War on Values: Means and
Ends in the American Cultural Diplomacy]." Page 19.
416 Ibid. Page 13. See also Dean, "Annual Policy Assessment." Dean here notes, ―USIS has conducted a number of
programs with teachers of English. Appropriately, half of this years‘ eight leader grantees were under 35.‖
417 Bischoff, "Two Sides of the Coin: The Americanization of Austria and Austrian Anti-Americanism." Page 155-158.
See also Sørensen, "Kulturmøder, Selvkolonisering Og Imperialisme Om USAmerikaniseringen Af Europa [Cultural
Encounters, Selfcolonialization and Imperialism About USAmericanization of Europe." Page 187.
131

Meyerheim at American University in Washington D.C. in 1982. 418 Of the 21 names appearing on
Public Affair Officer Kallan‘s list, among these Professor Isi Foighel, Attorney General Per
Lindegaard and Member of Parliament Ole Espersen, seven worked, at least part time, as journalists
and an eighth, Bo Green Jensen, listed as ―poet‖ ended up working for the weekly newspaper
Weekendavisen. No other profession had more than two names represented on the list unless
academics from such diverse fields as English and Physics are counted as one group. 419
The reason that the list is filled with names of Danish journalists is perhaps that journalists have a
relatively greater public profile than architects or Professors of chemistry, but in the eyes of Kallas
it is obvious that quite a number of journalists had become ―prominent,‖ after their Fulbright
exchange to the United States. From the more recent Fulbright and DAF grant recipients, Ulrik
Haagerup and Anders Krab-Johansen both hold leadership positions with national Danish media
outlets. 420
The opportunities for exchange continued to increase for Danish journalists after the end of World
War II. In connection with the American bi-centennial in 1976, a stipend was established for Danish
students to do six-month internships with the Danish immigrant newspapers in Chicago and Los
Angeles respectively while finishing off their internship by spending a semester at an American
418 G. J. Kallas, "Prominent Fulbrighters," (Rigsarkivet. 10754. Danmark-Amerika Fondet og Fullb. K. 1946-1988.
Korrespondance. 1972-1988. Box 153. March 18, 1986). ―Below follows a list of prominent Danish Fulbright grantees
from the inception of the program in 1952 until the present: (…) Haagerup, Niels Jorgen. Journalist. Former Member of
the European Paliament. Research Scholar in Intenational Relations, Tufts University, Mass., 1952. (…) Mohn, Bent.
Editor of Film, literature, and theater, Politiken daily newspaper. Graduate student in American literature, University of
California/Berkeley, 1955. (…) Borum, Poul. Poet. Lietrary Critic, Ekstra Bladet daily newspaper. Visiting Lecturer in
Poetry, University of Iowa, 1971. (…) Bredsdorff, Thomas. Professor of Nordic Philology, Univeristy of Copenhagen.
Cultural Correspondent Politiken daily newspaper. Graduate student in German Languages and literatures, Harvard
University, 1972. Rachlin, Samuel. Editor, nyhedsmagasinet Borsen weekly newspaper. Former corespondent [sic] for
the Danish State Radio in Moscow. Graduate Student in Journalism, Columbia, 1976. Mariager, Ann. Journalist,
Nyhedsmagasinet Borsen weekly newspaper. Graduate student in Journalism, Columbia University, 1978. (…)
Meyerheim, Michael. Foreign corrspondent [sic] to Politiken daily newspaper, Washington DC. Graduate student in
journalism, American University, Washington, DC, 1982.‖
419 Ibid.
420 Many editors also experienced American journalism before or during their promotion to get a feel for the latest
tendencies in the media environment. Herbert Pundik was sent to Washington Post before he took over at Politiken,
Karl Jack was in the United States before he became the foreign editor of Aarhuus Stiftstidende, and Per Westergaard
attended a seminar on reader habits and lay out in the United States while serving as chief sub-editor of Børsen. Gitte
Tækker, "Kør Den Lige Til Stregen [Taking It to the Line]," Journalisten, November 21, 1990. Page 6-7. See also
Herbert Pundik, Du Kan Hvis Du Tør [You Can If You Dare] (Skive: Gyldendal, 2007). Page 42. Also Jack, "Skærpet
Konkurrence Kræver Flere Journalister [Enhanced Competition Requires More Journalists]." Page 22-25.
132

university. This stipend, supported by ―The Danish Newspaper Fund‘s Group‖ was awarded until
1985 and sent 19 Danes to work with the Danish-language press. 421
Additionally, in 1996 a special scholarship for Danish journalists was even established by The
Denmark-America Foundation with the help of the American Embassy to further understanding of
American journalistic practices by setting up an exchange program between The Danish School of
Journalism and journalism schools in the United States.
‖In 1996 DAF for the first time ever handed out a grant to 1 young danish journalism student
from Danmarks Journalisthøjskole [Danish School of Journalism], who have selected to place
his or her obligatory internship the United States. (…) This grant came about due to a
suggestion from the American Embassy, and we work closely together with the Danish School
of Journalism on this.‖ 422
As is apparent from the above examples of educational exchange, a host of Danish journalists, at all
different levels of their careers, was afforded and accepted a study tour or educational exchange in
the United States. In terms of the stipends given out by the Fulbright Commission, the American
Embassy played a significant role in the selection of candidates and also evaluated the exchange
regularly.
Conclusion
The above section has shown, that Danish journalists from the late 1940‘s and forward played
prominent roles in transnational exchange organizations. These educational exchanges were deemed
of great importance in the Danish press due to the United States‘ ―overwhelming role in the world‖
and even though Danish journalists maintained a certain scepticism towards impulses from the
United States after their exchange experience, it is also apparent that the stay abroad had proved
significant for the journalists upon their return.
421 Aage Deleuran et al., "Status Medio Juni," (Landsarkivet Sjælland. Bladfondet. Box 8.26. Medio Juni, , 1985). ‖Den
danske bladfondgruppe,‖ consisted of Berlingske Tidende‘s editor-in-chief Aage Deleuran, Politiken‘s former editor-inchief
Bent Thorndahl as well as government official Bent Skou and the principal of the Danish School of Journalism
Hans Veirup.
422 DAF årsberetning 1996. Side 10 og 26. During this time Danmarks Journalisthøjskoles principal Kim Minke was
part of the board of DAF.
133

A few weeks, six months, or a year in the United States provided food for thought for the scholars,
journalists, union leaders, doctors and teenagers selected for a study abroad stay with a more
nuanced picture of the United States. Rosendal described gaining a more ―differentiated‖
perspective on the United States and the Danish journalists similarly described gaining increased
knowledge of American society.
Moreover, the overall picture gleaned from the Danish journalists‘ evaluations is one of a very
fruitful year in terms of knowledge acquisition, changed impression of the United States,
networking and greater understanding of the different media environments. USIE was disappointed
with the results of the shorter trips made by Osvald and Jensen during a low-point in international
opinion on the United States, but for those who came after them, and spent a longer period of time
in the United States, the experience was almost uniformly positive. Exactly how that carried over
into daily journalism routines is difficult to ascertain, but the example of Krab-Johansen shows that
an educational exchange at an elite American journalism school could have lasting effects on
journalistic practice.
The following section will provide two concrete examples of the Americanization process through
transmission, transnationalization and appropriation using New Journalism and investigative
journalism as cases.
4.3 Appropriation
―The Americans have drawn up a constitution for modern journalists,‖ wrote Ole Cavling in 1928
and echoed his father‘s travelogue enthusiasm for the United States written 30 years earlier. Based
on his American experiences Cavling turned this new-found knowledge into the first Danish
journalistic text book and evocatively called it, ―Brief Guide to Modern Journalism.‖ 423
What was modern was the Anglo-Saxon way of writing journalism. This had been the experience of
Ole Cavling, it was the experience of his father Henrik Cavling, and it was the experience of
countless Danish journalists in the subsequent generations. If Danish journalists took one thing and
423 Cavling, Journalistik - Kortfattet Vejledning I Moderne Journalistik [Brief Guide to Modern Journalism]. Page 170.
134

one thing only, from their interaction with the United States, it was a sense that America was the
place to look for the future. 424
According to Danish media scholar John Chr. Jørgensen, Henrik and Ole Cavling‘s experiences in
the United States had tangible consequences for Danish news reporting. Henrik Cavling in 1905
reorganized Politiken ―after an Anglo-Saxon model,‖ and Ole Cavling‘s impressions led to his text
book espousing article leads answering the questions ―when, where, how, why and who,‖ an
approach later known as the inverted news-triangle. 425 Though Jørgensen notes, that there have
been no empirical studies of the Cavling-family‘s American-inspired influence on Danish
journalism, he nevertheless finds it a plausible hypothesis that the ―factual, functionalistic, Anglo-
Saxon influenced press style,‖ described by Cavling in his book, ―has set the standard in Denmark
from the inter-war years,‖ and forward. 426 Both Henrik and Ole Cavling‘s experiences in the United
States thereby serve as a model for transmission, transnationalization and appropriation of the
interview and the objectivity ideal respectively.
While Cavling‘s text book and the Anglo-Saxon news style likely impacted Danish journalists
before World War II, it is also apparent that important changes took place in the aftermath of the
Second World War.
Through the exchange programs described in the previous section, Danish journalists were able to
educate themselves in the United States until journalism education was formalized in Denmark
during the 1960‘s. Moreover, the establishment of an independent Danish school of journalism in
1971 coincided with Danish newspapers asserting their editorial independence from political parties
and the establishment of The Press‘ Finance Institute (DFI) which, as noted in chapter 3, was the
first institutional recognition by Danish politicians that the press was worth subsidizing directly. 427
424
———, Fra Amerika [From America]. Page 89-90. Cavling was impressed with what he saw in the United States in
the late 19 th Century and let his admiration shine through in his travel accounts from 1987, ―The interview is the ideal of
journalism, as it leads the hero of the day down to the ordinary ranks and let himself heard in his own matters.‖ My
translation. Original text reads, ―Interviewet er den ideelle Journalistik, fordi det fører selve Dagens Helt ned til
lamperækken og lader ham faa Ordet i sin egen Sag.‖
425
Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 12.
426
Ibid. Page 10-12. My translation. Original text reads, ―Henrik Cavling, som i 1905 påbegyndte omlægningerne af
avisen efter angelsaksisk mønster (…) Hypotesen indebærer, at den nye, saglige, funktionalistiske angelsaksisk
influerede pressestil har været normsættende i Danmark fra mellemkrigstiden.‖
427
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 15.
135

Consequently, the late 1960‘s serves as a useful starting point for studying Danish journalists‘
perception of their own profession with a specific eye to how they adopted and adapted influence
from the United States. In terms of research, reporting and education, Danish journalist‘s debated
perceived positive and negative influences from the United States, as these were presented to them
through their union‘s periodical Journalisten. In the following sections, two concrete examples of
how American methodology was transmitted, transnationalized and appropriated will be studied.
4.3.1 Old New Journalism
As seen in the previous section on educational exchange, Børsen‘s political editor Kurt Boelsgaard
left no doubt. The United States was far ahead of Denmark in 1970, and the place to go if one
wanted to study journalism at a high level. Yet, the impression of America being cutting-edge was
not limited to journalism education, but also apparent in Danish reporters‘ view on journalistic
methodology.
Danish educational institutions played a part in transnational knowledge exchange when they were
formally established in the 1970‘s 428 and thereby helped incorporate American reporting styles into
Danish journalism but initially it was the ―objective‖ style of the inverted news triangle which was
taught and not more creative journalistic styles. 429
The stylistic rigor of the inverted news triangle was challenged in the United States right around the
time when Danish teachers were espousing the so-called hard news approach. In 1960, Norman
Mailer published ―Superman comes to the Supermarket,‖ 430 about John F. Kennedy‘s political
campaign, and two years later Gay Talese wrote ―Joe Louis: The King as a Middle-Aged Man,‖ 431
which Tom Wolfe in 1973-book The New Journalism described as the beginning of this novel
approach.
428 The Danish School of Journalism was established in 1962 but journalists only spent between three and six months
there as part of their training. Only in 1970 was the current model of at least two years education established. Anker
Brink Lund and Jørn Henrik Petersen, "Ny Journalistuddannelse I Danmark," Nordicom-Information 21, no. 3 (1999).
Page 87-88.
429 Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 14. Helge Jensen described by Jørgensen as one Denmark‘s first journalism teachers
published his book Journalistik, Talent og Håndværk [Journalism, Talent and Craft] in 1963. Jensen in accordance with
the objectivity ideal advocated leading an article with the most important material first.
430 Norman Mailer, "Superman Comes to the Supermarket," Esquire, November 1960.
431 Gay Talese, "Joe Louis: The King as a Middle-Aged Man," Esquire, June 1962.
136

Talese‘s style in his 1962 article about Joe Louis was subsequently taken up and further developed
by Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Jimmy Breslin among others. These journalists read and
inspired each other without developing a rigid journalistic paradigm. 432 Tom Wolfe‘s book on New
Journalism, however, served as an important example of transmission since it was the first coherent
description of this experimenting field. 433
The methodology behind New Journalism had inspired individual Danish journalists before Wolfe‘s
The New Journalism, most notably Mogens Berendt of Weekendavisen. 434 Berendt had spent time
at The New York Times, and thereby knew about the latest innovations in American journalism. In
1970, Berendt translated Wolfe‘s The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby & The
Pump House Gang and in the subsequent years he played a seminal role in introducing Danish
journalist, for example Morten Sabroe in 1972 to New Journalism, while implementing the methods
in his own writing. 435
Consequently, when Berendt in 1974 used Wolfe‘s book to introduce New Journalism to the all the
members of the Danish Union of Journalists through an article in Journalisten it was a significant
first move towards appropriation of the method in Denmark.
In the article, Berendt described the development of New Journalism and ended with a discussion of
whether or not New Journalism actually was new. Berendt came to the conclusion that in the United
States New Journalism was new since the genre of the inverted news triangle had dominated news
rooms since the 1920‘s. Yet in Europe, Berendt argued there had historically been different
traditions which made New Journalism less novel here than it was in the United States. Yet, he also
complained that the old Danish journalists who did write more emotionally also did not write as
excitedly as New Journalist‘s did. On the contrary, in Berendt‘s view, these older journalists were
therefore basically just ―literary gentlemen‖ sitting on the sideline.
432
Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 26.
433
Ibid. Page 28. According to Jørgensen, New Journalism in important respects drew from old literary methods, most
notably 19 th century realism, but it was novel in the United States because it was so markedly different from the
descriptive style of the inverted news triangle. In New Journalism the journalist‘s voice and his or her interpretations of
observed events were an integral part of the new technique.
434
Ibid. Page 41.
435
Morten Sabroe, "Den Litterære Journalistik [The Literary Journalism]," Update,
http://www.update.dk/cfje/VidBase.nsf/ID/VB00139974. 2000. Article accessed November 6, 2010. ‖. Sabroe, who had
been inspired by Berendt‘s writings, did not consider himself a journalist of the ―New Journalism‖ school however, but
described his style as ―literary journalism.‖
137

―French journalism, for instance, has a quite different tradition, and our own Danish tradition
luckily never quite let the old behemoths‘ penchant for lyrical journalism slip away.
Unfortunately we probably have more of the old, new journalists, than of the all new – we too
have tried to become Anglo-Saxon in our feature after all.‖ 436
To Berendt there was more experimentation going on in traditional Danish journalism than in
traditional American journalism, but when it came to the stylistic technique of American new
journalism, Danish journalists had still not embraced the possibilities. What was new was the
literary approach to journalism. Before New Journalism novelists primarily wrote literature, and
journalists primarily journalism, but Gay Talese and subsequent journalists succesfully blended the
genres and inspired journalists outside the United States‘ borders.
Berendt along with authors and journalists like Lasse Ellegaard, Poul Martinsen, Jørgen Leth, Erik
Thygesen, Per Høyer Hansen, Kurt Thyboe, Ebbe Kløvedal Reich and Dan Turéll experimented
with New Journalism as a supplement to the more traditional Anglo-Saxon descriptive news
writing taught at the Danish School of Journalism in the 1970‘s and early 1980‘s. 437 What tied them
together was either their personal experience with transnational exchange to the United States, or a
specific interest in American culture, as was the case with Martinsen and Thygesen.
―The central individuals behind the import from the United States was the TV-reporter Poul
Martinsen (born 1934), who had studied journalism at Columbia University in the 1960‘s, and
author Erik Thygesen (1941-99), who had translated American beat-poems to Danish.‖ 438
436
Mogens Berendt, "Den Ny Journalistik [The New Journalism]," Journalisten, February, 1974. Page 22-23. My
translation. The original text reads, ―Fransk journalistisk, f.eks., har en ganske anden tradition, og vor egen danske slap
gudskelov aldrig helt de gamle kæmpers trang til lyrisk journalistik. Desværre har vi nok flere af de gamle, Ny
Journalister, end af de helt nye – også vi har jo forsøgt at blive angelsaxiske i reportagen – men vi har sandelig i dag
flere eksempler på litterære gentlemen fra den dyre langside.‖
437
Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 17-18 and 24-30.
438
Ibid. Page 32. My translation. Original text reads, ―De central personer bag importen fra USA var tv-manden Poul
Martinsen (f. 1934), som havde studeret journalistik på Columbia University midt i tresserne, og forfatteren Erik
Thygesen (1941-99), som havde oversat amerikanske beat-digte til dansk.‖
138

Despite the uncertainty of what actually constituted New Journalism, the approach sparked debate
and held an obvious appeal among a certain (elite) group of Danish journalists in the 1970‘s and
1980‘s. In 1979 Danish journalists negotiated the right to take courses to further educate themselves
one week every year and to this end an institution called The Journalistic Further Education (DJE)
was established and offered its first courses in 1980.The very first course offered in the DJE‘s initial
catalogue was named ―What will the Eighties Journalism Be Like?‖ and was inspired by trends
outside Danish borders.
―Both Europe and the United States are experimenting these years with the principles behind
reporting, reportage and feature-articles. A final answer has probably not been found but
during a stay at The Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, New York, Gert
Smistrup has looked at both the newest tendencies within [article] construction and the newest
development within ‗New Journalism‘.‖ 439
Smistrup, partly based on his transnational experience at Columbia, continued to offer courses on
tendencies and development in language in the following years often incorporating the techniques
of New Journalism and the approach continued to spark debate in the pages of Journalisten during
the early 1980s. 440
Additionally, in 1982, Hunter S. Thompson‘s book ―The Great Shark Hunt,‖ was advertised by
Københavns Bogforlag in Journalisten with the description a ―journalistic one-man show,‖
followed by brief quotes of enthusiastic Danish journalists. 441 And a few months later an item
439 Gert Smistrup and Knud Søndergaard, "Hvordan Bliver 80'ernes Journalistik? [What Will the Eighties Journalism Be
Like?]," Journalisten Særnummer, August 1980. Page 2. My translation. Original text reads, ―Både i Europa og i USA
eksperimenteres der i disse år med principperne for at konsturere udrednings, reportage og featureartikler. Nogen
endelig opskrift er næppe blevet fundet. Men Gert Smistrup har under et ophold på The Graduate School of Journalism,
Columbia University, New York, set bade på de nyeste tendencer inden for konstruktionsprincipperne og på den nyeste
udvikling inden for ‘New Journalism‘ (...).‖
440 It is interesting to note the international trends in DJE‘s course catalogue. Before 1989 there is a significant interest
discernable in learning about Russia and parts of Eastern Europe, but international inspiration for journalistic style,
coaching, technology and other matters related to journalist practice is almost without exception inspired by the United
States especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
441 Københavns Bogforlag, "Han Sprængte Journalistikkens Rammer [He Ruptured Journalism's Boundaries],"
Journalisten, June 1982. Page 13. ―Lasse Ellegaard in the foreword wrote ―Hunter S. Thompson is in many ways
himself a typical example of the American dream, that he is the most talented vehement and witty castigater of,‖ and
Steffen Larsen in an excerpt of a review wrote ―Hunter S. Thompson is the inventor of a whole new form of
journalism‖ while Jesper Klit noted that Thompson was ―a verbal volcanic eruption. The worlds‘ most impertinent
139

discussed the journalistic role in articles and news segments. The question was to which extent the
reporter should be part of the story he or she was reporting. Up until the 1960‘s Danish journalists
more often than not did not have a personalized byline when they wrote their articles, but the
introduction of TV, according to a writer in Journalisten, started a trend towards the personalized,
as journalists could not hide when they were in front of the camera. The developments in TV also
had repercussions in the world of print journalism, according to journalist Morten Haslund.
―By the end of the sixties there were journalists who rebelled like young people did (…) The
American Cronkite and the Englishman Frost were presented as ideals for a new TV-
journalism with a punch. And when the American magazine-writers dropped the pseudo-
objectivity and introduced New Journalism, the idea was consumed wholeheartedly here at
home.‖ 442
The article was meant as a foundation for a debate about credibility in journalism and Smistrup,
introduced as ―one of those who have introduced ‗New Journalism in Denmark,‖ was used as an
expert source on the issue and argued that ―the development has pushed the boundaries of the
objectivity myth.‖
A concrete expression of New Journalism‘s appropriation into the journalistic profession in
Denmark was described in the pages of Journalisten in 1983. During this year Jesper Klit published
the first book in Danish about New Journalism, which according to Jørgensen was modeled on
Wolfe‘s American description of New Journalism. 443 Journalisten printed a review of it where
political commentator.‖.‖My translation. Original text reads, ―Københavns Bogforlag præsenterer det journalistiske one
man show Hunter S. Thompson for et dansk publikum med bogen ‘Reporter i en malstrøm‘ (…) Steffen Larsen,
Aktuelt: ‘Hunter S. Thompson er opfinder af en helt ny form for journalistik (…) Jesper Klit, Den ny Demokraten:
‘Hunter S. Thompson er et sprogligt vulkanudbrud.‘ (…) Lasse Ellegaard (i bogens forord): ‘Hunter S. Thompson er på
amnge måder selv et typisk eksempel på den amerikansek drøm han er den mest talentfuldt indædte og vittigste
hudfletter af.‖
442 Morten Haslund, "Den Anonyme Journalistik Fortrængt Af Sanselighed [The Anonymous Journalism Displaced by
Sensousness]," Journalisten, October 1982. Page 12-14. My translation. Original text reads, ―I slutningen af tresserne
var der journalister, der gjorde oprør, ligesom ungdommen gjorde det (…) Amerikaneren Cronkite og englænderen
Frost blev fremholdt som idealer for en ny TV-journalistik med punch i. Og da amerikanske bladskrivere kastede
pseudoobjektiviteten af sig og introducerede New Journalism, blev ideen ædt med hud og hår herhjemme.‖
443 Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative].
140

Knud Buchardt returned to theme of New Journalism not being new in a Danish context, but praised
New Journalism for forcing reporters to do actual reporting. 444
Less than one year later after Klit‘s book, the Gonzo Publishing house named after Hunter S.
Thompsons, self-proclaimed style of New Journalism, was established and soon put out a book
called Reporter Astray which was a compilation of 13 young journalists‘ experimentation with New
Journalism. Among the authors was Lasse Ellgaard who is described by Jørgensen, as ―one of the
central figures,‖ in Danish New Journalism, and also served as the main character of Klit‘s book
about the genre.
Additionally, by 1984 a course called ―The Art of Telling a Good Journalistic Story,‖ was
introduced at the Danish School of Journalism. According to the Danish journalist and author
Mikkel Hvid this feature writing course utilized many of the literary tropes known from New
Journalism and for the first time incorporated the journalistic trailblazing that had occurred in the
United States in the 1960‘s into a Danish curriculum. 445 Consequently, by 1984 literary approaches
to journalism writing reached a broader audience and were so well-known that Berendt that year
declared New Journalism ―dead.‖
―There is no longer a need for New Journalism as an independent form. Like fertilizer that is
slowly integrated into the biological system, the elements of New Journalism have slipped
into mainstream journalism.‖ 446
Berendt thereby agreed that New Journalism had been appropriated by Danish journalistic
mainstream by 1984. In the late 1960‘s, access to learning about New Journalism had first been
―restricted‖ to those Danish journalists who had been in the United States or knew someone that had
that they could learn from, as exemplified by Sabroe‘s experience. In 1980 DJE introduced courses
where New Journalism was part of a bigger whole, but not all Danish journalists were able to attend
444
Knud Buchardt, "Journalistik Er at Rejse Ind I En Fremmed by [Journalism Is to Travel into a Unfamiliar City],"
Journalisten, March 1983. Page 14-15.
445
Mikkel Hvid, Fascinerende Fortælling [Fascinating Storytelling] (Århus: Ajour, 2002). Page 7.
446
Peter Andersen, "New Journalism Er Død... [New Journalism Is Dead...]," Journalisten, November 1984. My
translation. Original text reads, ―Der er ikke længere behov for New Journalism som selvstændig form. Som gødning,
der langsomt integreres i det biologiske kredsløb, er elementerne fra New Journalism gledet ind i den daglige
journalistik.‖ Page 20.
141

classes at DJE because of limited availability. The introduction of a Danish-language book in 1983
was therefore an important final step in making New Journalism available to all Danes. Table 3
shows how the process of Americanization occurred in Denmark in the case of New Journalism.
1973 - TRANSMISSION:
Book on methodology by
American authors (reviewed by
Danes)
Table 3 – The process of Americanization in the case of New Journalism
Despite Ellegaard and Sabroe‘s assertions, that they were inspired by Danish literature before they
ever heard of New Journalism, Jørgensen found that the Danish writer‘s rhetoric belied their actual
journalistic products. 447 According to Jørgensen, ―one sees many examples of new journalism,‖ in
the Danish journalists‘ actual practice. 448
1980- TRANSNATIONALIZATION
Teaching of new methodology
at educational institutions
based on transnationalization
Even though Ellegaard and Berendt‘s in 1984 declared New Journalism ―dead,‖ it continued to play
a role in Danish journalism. For instance, when Gert Smistrup announced his semi-annual DJE-
447 Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 33. See also Sabroe, "Den Litterære Journalistik [The Literary Journalism]." The two texts
provide examples of the Danish writers trying to distance themselves from New Journalism. Ellegaard, for example,
referred to his literary inspiration in 2004, while Sabroe in 1990 called Hunter S. Thompson a ―dinosaur,‖ and described
gonzo as ―prehistoric.‖
448 Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 28-33. Jørgensen for example points to Tom Wolfe‘s ―scene-by-scene‖ method as well as the
use of ―dialogue in full.‖
142
1983 - APPROPRIATION:
Book on methodology by
Danish authors - New
Journalism integrated into
mainstream

course in early 1985 he incorporated New Journalism with the explicit goal to answer the question
―to which degree can we use this phenomenon so it fits Danish journalists and Danish readers?‖ 449
Jørgensen‘s book from 2007 argues that New Journalism to this day inspires Danish journalists and
that the Danes are in a state of dependence in regards to the American writers. However, instead of
wholeheartedly adopting New Journalism, the Danish writers have adapted the approach to fit their
own needs. Jørgensen in an example argues that Morten Sabroe‘s journalism is, ―a subjective and
literary refined Danish variant of new journalism.‖ 450
Conclusion
Danish journalists were clearly inspired by New Journalism in the 1970‘s and 1980‘s even if they
did not want to be directly associated with this American inspiration. Berendt, Martinsen, Ellegaard
and Smistrup all had direct experience with the United States and later introduced their experiences
with New Journalism to Danish journalists. Moreover, as Jørgensen points out, and as a golden rule
for historical inquiry prescribes, one must place greater emphasis on the journalists‘ actual writing
and actions than their statements. The transnationally inspired courses on New Journalism at DJE,
the course on literary-inspired feature writing taught at DJH, and the first Danish language book on
New Journalism inspired by Tom Wolfe serve as evidence that New Journalism over time was
appropriated by Danish journalists.
Interestingly, as we shall see in the following section, the appropriation of investigative reporting
followed much of the same pattern and time-line of implementation in Denmark as was the case
with New Journalism.
4.3.2 “Something to the effect of in-depth journalism”
When The Washington Post from 1972 to 1974 helped reveal the Watergate-scandal which caused
President Richard Nixon‘s eventual resignation, the newspaper also sparked an interest far beyond
449 Gert Smistrup, "At Skrive Godt [to Write Well]," Journalisten, January 1985. Page 3. My translation. Original text
reads, ―Og ‗New Journalism‘ – i hvilken udstrækning kan vi bruge det fænomen, så det passer til danske journalister og
danske læsere?‖
450 Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 50. My translation. Original text reads, ―en subjektivt og litterært videreudviklet dansk variant
af new journalism.‖
143

American borders for investigative reporting. According to the British journalist, John Pilger, the
newspaper helped craft a wholly new journalistic concept.
―The term, investigative journalism, did not exist when I began my career; it became
fashionable in the 1960‘s and 1970‘s and especially when Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
exposed the Watergate scandal.‖ 451
The same lack of knowledge was displayed by the Danish journalist Knud Søndergaard, when he
wrote about an American murder-case in 1978 and pointed out, ―investigative reporting is a concept
in the United States. We would probably translate it to something to the effect of in-depth,
analytical journalism.‖ 452
Clearly, investigative journalism had not become mainstream in Denmark by 1978 since
Søndergaard needed to explain the concept to his journalistic colleagues but within the subsequent
decade, investigative journalism became appropriated by Danish journalists and have since played a
increasingly important role in Danish journalists‘ self-image.
Though there are subtle differences, the similarities of the Danish journalists‘ appropriation of New
journalism and investigative journalism respectively are striking. As we saw in the previous section,
Tom Wolfe‘s book formalizing practices was published in 1973, in 1974 it was described in
Journalisten by Berendt, in 1980 Smistrup taught New Journalism at the newly established DJE
based on his experiences at Columbia School of Journalism, and in 1982 the first Danish language
book on New Journalism was published.
In the summer of 1974 Woodward and Bernstein published All The President’s Men based on their
work on the Watergate-story and later that year the book was reviewed very positively in the pages
of Journalisten, by 1978 American journalists were coming to DJH to teach investigative
journalism, and by 1983 the first Danish book on ―research journalism,‖ was published. There are
451 John Pilger, ed. Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism That Changed the World (New York: Thunder's Mouth
Press,2005). Introduction xiv. The investigative journalism that had existed before the the 1960‘s was called
―muckracking,‖ and had its zenith in the early 20 th century with exposure of fraudulent meat-packing practices and
unethical business dealings in the oil industry. Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and
Beyond. Page 232-233.
452 Knud Søndergaard, "Journalistik Eller Hævntørst? [Journalism or Revengefulness?]," Journalisten, May, 1978. Page
12-16.
144

important examples of transmission, transnationalization and appropriation before, after and in
between the years noted here, but the similarities between these key events described above are
notable.
In the following pages the transnational inspiration from the United States will be described while
acknowledgning that a variant of investigative journalism existed in Denmark before the Woodward
and Bernstein, and also noting that Danish undercover journalism has been inspired by the German
journalist Günter Wallraff.
The process of Americanization in the case of investigative journalism is depicted in Table 4 below
and describes three key events.
1974 - TRANSMISSION:
Book on methodology by
American authors
1978 - TRANSNATIONALIZATION:
Guest lectures at Danish School of
Journalism by Americans
Table 4 The process of Americanization in Investigative Journalism
A model depicting some of the important intermediary and subsequent events in the appropriation
of investigative journalism would include the description of American journalists‘ establishment of
―Investigative reporters and editors Inc.,‖ as well as the Danish organization directly modeled on
the American example. Such a model is illustrated in Table 5.
145
1983 - APPROPRIATION:
Book on methodology by
Danish authors

1974
TRANSMISSION:
Book on
methodology by
American authors
Table 5 The process of Americanization in Investigative Journalism
Danish journalists who got their inspiration from Journalisten first heard about ―investigative
reporting,‖ in October of 1974 when an enthusiastic review of ―All The President‘s Men,‖ was
printed in the periodical.
1978
Description of
"Investigative
reporters and
editors Inc."
1978
TRANSNATIONALIZ
ATION:
Guest lectures at
DJH by Americans
―The advanced journalistic cookbooks for the Danish market are few and far between (…)
‗All the President‘s Men‘ is available in Norwegian for 62 kroner, and it is much more than an
exciting crime story about the ripples on the surface of the puddle of mud which was called
the Nixon Administration. It is a brilliant introduction to a journalistic genre that English and
American journalists have practiced and cultivated in recent years, investigative reporting.‖ 453
453 Ole Schierbeck, "Rapport Fra En Mudderpøl [Dispatch from a Puddle of Mud]," Journalisten, October 1974. Page
12. My translation. Original text reads, ―Der er langt mellem kogebøger i avanceret journalistik på det danske marked,
og så meget mere glædeligt er det, at Gyldendal og J.W. Cappelens Forlag i Oslo har slået sig sammen om at udgive de
to Washington Post-journalister Carl Bernstein og Bob Wodwaards egen beretning om trængslerne med Watergatesagen.
‘Alle presidentens mann‘ foreligger på norsk til 62 kroner, og det er meget mere end en spændende
kriminalroman om krusningerne på overfladen af den mudderpøl der hed Nixon-administrationen. Det er en
fremragende indføring i en journalistisk genre, som engelske og amerikanske journalister har dyrket og rendyrket i de
senere år, investigative reporting.‖
146
1983
APPROPRIATION:
Book on
methodology by
Danish authors
1989
Establishment of
The Danish
Association of
Investigative
Journalism

To Schierbeck the book describing Woodward and Bernstein‘s journalistic experience during
Watergate was as exciting as anything a journalist could get his or her hands on. The British Sunday
Times was mentioned as a forerunner in investigative reporting along with the American magazine
Newsday. At Columbia University the School of Journalism had begun offering classes in
investigative journalism, ―and now we have a document in Denmark which is well-written and
meticulously depicts how one goes about toppling a president.‖ Any reference to Danish
counterparts was lacking in Schierbeck‘s review, and thereby indicate that investigative reporting
was not yet associated with any Danish news- or educational institution. 454
Passionately Schierbeck described the methods behind investigative reporting as ―protracted
research,‖ leaving no stone unturned, no statement unchecked and accounted for the detail-oriented
approach utilized by Woodward and Bernstein. With a certain sense of admiration, Schierbeck
wrote that the story would not have been possible without support of publisher Katharine Graham,
who ―believed firmly,‖ in her two journalists, ―even when the Post‘s shares fell 50 percent at the
stock market,‖ and with the trust exhibited by ―editor Braddle [sic] that brave American man,‖ at a
time when the foundation of the Watergate-story was shaking. 455 With an eye to the differences in
scale between Denmark and the United States, Schierbeck concludes that ―All The President‘s
Men,‖ is a ―text book that any journalist should read. Its principles can be used anywhere – also in
Denmark. Read it before your mayor.‖ 456
Despite Schierbeck‘s great review of ―All The President‘s Men,‖ and the methodology behind it,
only a few Danish newspaper picked up on the possibilities of investigative journalism during the
1970‘s and when Journalisten broached the topic again in 1978 it was to describe a guest lecture by
an American journalist and an academic. The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, Clark
Mollenhoff, visited the Danish School of Journalism to talk about investigative reporting together
454 Ibid. Page 12. Incidentally, 1974 was also the year that Berendt introduced Journalisten‘s readers to New
Journalism, and Henrik Døcker wrote excitedly about new American technology after the Danish Union of Journalists
study tour to the United States.
455 Schierbeck‘s statements are an early example of the enthusiasm among journalists which Watergate created. In
scholarly circles, it has subsequently been remarked that Woodward and Bernstein did not single-handedly topple
President Nixon, and that Katharine Graham did express doubts as to why the newspaper‘s coverage was not picked up
by other outlets. Schudson, Watergate in American Memory: How We Remember, Forget, and Reconstruct the Past.
Page 104-105.
456 Schierbeck, "Rapport Fra En Mudderpøl [Dispatch from a Puddle of Mud]." Page 12.
147

with Professor Melvin Mencher. Mollenhoff and Mencher‘s lecture spurred an article in
Journalisten giving seven precepts for conducting investigative reporting. 457
In the same issue an article in Journalisten depicted a case where an American journalist had been
killed, and the association of ―Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc.‖ decided to get to the bottom
of the crime. In an article called ―Journalism or revengefulness?‖ Knud Søndergaard, as we have
noted, revealed that the concept of investigative journalism had not yet been adapted into everyday
use in Denmark. Søndergaard added, that the precondition for investigative reporting was, ―the
criminalized public life, its best example is the Watergate-detection which created a wave of
investigative reporting all across the country.‖ 458
At least two things are notable about this May issue of Journalisten from 1978. First, the articles
show that the Danish School of Journalism, four years after Columbia School of Journalism, started
to show an interest in Investigative reporting and brought in American teachers to introduce the
students to this new journalistic method.
Second, the articles also reveal that investigative reporting in the United States had been organized
around ―Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc.‖ This organization demonstrated a certain
cohesiveness of the investigative journalism-approach, just as Tom Wolfe‘s book prescribed the
methodology of New Journalism. Investigative reporters in the United States thus had procedures
and routines which tied them together and separated them from other approaches to journalism.
Additionally, Søndergaard seemingly did not regard investigative reporting as something practiced
in Denmark, and judging from the statement about the ―criminalized public life,‖ he seems not to
have considered Denmark the prime location for this kind of reporting.
Clearly, however, the transmission of investigative journalism from the United States had begun
and the transnationalization exemplified by the two American investigative journalism guest
lecturers at the Danish School of Journalism is also an indicator that interest in investigative
457
Journalisten, "Syv Regler for Investigative Reportere [Seven Rules for Investigative Reporters]," Journalisten, May,
1978. Page 16.
458
Søndergaard, "Journalistik Eller Hævntørst? [Journalism or Revengefulness?]." Page 12-16. My translation. Original
text reads, ―Investigative Reporting er et begreb i USA. Vi ville nok oversætte det med noget i retning af dybdeborende,
analyserende journalistik. Dens forudsætning er det kriminaliserede offentlige liv, dens bedste eksempel er Watergateopklaringen
der skabte en bølge af investigative reporting over hele landet.‖
148

journalism was taking shape within the field of education. 459 Despite the interest detectable in
investigative journalism at the educational level, practicing Danish journalists were seemingly only
beginning to embrace the concept of this novel approach. Denmark did not have an association of
investigative reporters as the United States did in 1978, but in the subsequent years, the theme of
investigative journalism regularly founds its way into the pages of Journalisten.
In february to april of 1982 Journalisten, for instance, again brought attention to the theme of
investigative journalism when they published articles about the lack of in-depth journalism in
Scandinavia in three successive editions. Weekendavisen under editor-in-chief Frank Esmann
Jensen was highlighted as presiding over one of the very few Danish news outlets that did practice
investigative journalism. Jyllands-Posten, Ekstra Bladet, The Danish Broadcast Service,
Information and Aarhuus Stiftstidende were mentioned as the others. Apart from these outlets, the
articles concluded that the great emphasis of day-to-day news undermined the potential for
investigative journalism. 460 In June of 1982 Journalisten ran a story about the first Danish book
concerning ―research journalism,‖ which the authors, Kim Minke and Mogens Meilby deemed ―the
most professional journalistic form‖ supported by the fact that half of the Denmark‘s Cavling Prizes
were awarded to journalists taking a research approach to their profession. The book was based on
23 Danish journalists, who according to Journalisten‘s article, ―from time to time,‖ practiced
research journalism or investigative reporting and the book‘s prescriptions would be used to teach a
class at the Danish School of Journalism starting by 1983 the same year as the book was
published. 461
Among the 23 journalists featured in the book was Ole Schiebeck, who had been a part of the
American Press Institute at Columbia University in 1972 and the authors in the introduction
459 Smistrup and Søndergaard, "Hvordan Bliver 80'ernes Journalistik? [What Will the Eighties Journalism Be Like?]."
Page 1. As an example of the interest in a variant of investigative reporting within education, the first course offered at
DJE in 1980 by Smistrup and Knud Søndergaard promised, in addition to an introduction to New Journalism, that, ―The
traditional feature and its relationship to what is called ‗analytical/in-depth‘ journalism is part of the [course] content
with detours around documentary, Wallraff-methods and alternative sources.‖ Notably, Smistrup and Søndergaard did
not refer to the concept of investigative journalism, but focused instead on a detour around the German journalist
Günter Wallraff‘s undercover approach to reporting.
460 Stig Petersen, "Kun Få Medier Åbne for Den Dybdeborende Journalistik [Only a Few Media Outlets Open to The in-
Depth Journalism]," Journalisten, February, 1982. Page 23.
461 ———, "Dybdeborende Journalistik Efter Gør-Det-Selv-Princippet [in-Depth Journalism Based on the Do-It-
Yourself-Principle]," Journalisten, June 1982. Meilby and Minke‘s book is based interviews with Danish journalists
like Jakob Andersen, Jens Franck, Lasse Ellegaard, Frank Esmann, Jørgen Flindt Petersen og Erik Stephensen, Grete
Lise Holm, Alex Frank Larsen and Ole Schierbeck among others.
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acknowledged their inspiration from the United States in developing their Danish variant of
investigative journalism. 462
―During the preparation for this project we have studied what has been written in other
countries about the topic and have found that the United States – especially after Watergate –
has attained a quite rich literature about ‗investigative reporting,‘ which to a large extend
corresponds to what many Danish journalists seem to understand by ‗in-depth journalism.‘ In
Europe, however, there has not been much attention paid to the research problems of
journalists.‖ 463
As Meilby and Minke‘s quote indicates, the United States was in the case of investigative
journalism once again seen as a pioneer country in terms of innovation. The transnational influence
referred to by the authors is apparent in the book‘s bibliography as well. Out of 27 literature
references, 15 are Anglo-American with Woodward and Bernstein‘s book from 1974 being the
earliest reference to investigative journalism. The six Scandinavian, meaning Swedish and
Norwegian, references to the same topic were published between 1977 and 1981. 464
Meilby and Minke‘s book from 1983 on research journalism can be seen as a first example of
Danish appropriation, while the definitive embrace of American-inspired investigative journalism
came in 1989. Early in 1990 Journalisten published three articles about the establishment of ―The
Danish Association for Investigative Journalism‖ during a seminar in December 1989.
―The Association aims to further investigative, in-depth and critical journalism and will work
for better education in investigative journalism. (…) Over two days, the seminar introduced a
host of Danish and foreign guests, who related their personal experiences and visions for
investigative journalism. On Friday the Pulitzer Prize winner Ric Tulsky, executive director of
462
Mogens Meilby and Kim Minke, Når Sandheden Skal Frem [When the Truth Must Be Told] (Valby: Borgen, 1983).
Page 15.
463
Ibid. Page 9. My translation. Original text reads, ―Under forberedelserne til dette projekt har vi undersøgt, hvad der i
udlandet er skrevet om emnet, og vi har konstateret, at USA – især efter Watergate – har fået en ret righoldig litteratur
om ‘investigative reporting‘, som i vid ustrækning svarer til, hvad mange danske journalister synes at forstå ved
‘dybdeborende journalistik‘. I Europa derimod har man ikke ofret meget opmærksomhed på journalisternes
researchproblemer.‖
464
Ibid. Page 316-317. The remaining references provide historical context for Meilby and Minke‘s book or are linked
to other aspects of journalistic research and writing than investigative journalism. The ear
150

the American ‗Investigative Reporters and Editors, for one was on the podium. The American
association inspired the creation of a Swedish association of investigative journalism that
spurred the idea of a Danish counterpart.‖ 465
Hence, an American example, in the shape of Ric Tulsky, was the only foreign element highlighted
in the pages of Journalisten when The Danish Association of Investigative Journalists was
established. The organization was established right around the time that the Berlin Wall fell and in
the subsequent years, articles in Journalisten and DJH courses were increasingly oriented towards
the United States. Moreover, DJE in 1990 started collaborating with the Florida-based Poynter
Institute and brought in American lecturers annually to teach writing and coaching. 466
Yet, asserting that all attempts at investigative journalism in Denmark were inspired by the United
States would be going too far. As we saw, Ekstra Bladet, in 1982 was described as one of the
Danish outlets, who had succesfully practiced investigative journalism in Denmark, and there are
examples of a variant of American-style investigative journalism being practiced at the newspaper
before anyone had even heard of Watergate.
According to an internally produced anniversary book by Ekstra Bladet, the newspaper launched a
series of investigative articles uncovering fraud in the housing market in and around Copenhagen
under editor-in-chief Victor Andreasen from 1963 and foward. In Ekstra Bladet‘s lore, the article
465 Mette Stenumgaard, "Ny Forening Af Snushaner [New Association for Snoopers]," Journalisten, January 17, 1990.
Page 10-11. My translation. Original text reads, ―Foreningen har til formål at fremme undersøgende, dybdeborende og
kritisk journalistik og vil arbejde for bedre uddannelse i undersøgende journalistik. En anden idé med foreningen er at
udveksle erfaring mellem medlemmerne og med tilsvarende foreninger i udlandet. På to dage præsenterede seminaret
en række danske og udenlandske gæster, der berettede om deres personlige erfaringer og visioner for undersøgende
journalistik. Om fredagen var det blandt andet Pulitzer-prisvinder Ric Tulsky, der er formand for den amerikanske
‗Investigative Reporters and Editors,‘ på talerstolen. Den amerikanske forening inspirerede til dannelsen af en
svenskforening af ‘Gravande Journalister‘ som igen gav idéen til en dansk pendant.‖
466 Knud Søndergaard, "Mød Don Fry [Meet Don Fry]," Journalisten, May 16, 1990. Page 21. According to
Søndergaards course description, several Danish journalists had visited the Poynter Institute in January with great
succes. In terms of ―coaching,‖ the same sequence of transmission, transnationalization and appropriation as the one
described for New Journalism and investigative journalism is also detectable. See for example Flemming Reinvard,
"Journalistisk Coaching [Journalistic Coaching]," Update(1999),
http://www.update.dk/cfje/vidbase.nsf/%28VBFriTekstMultiDB%29/5FFCA21174C7320FC12567F2002CE19F?Open
Document. Article accessed December 28, 2010.
Reinvard‘s article is based on a book by The Poynter Institute‘s Roy Peter Clark from 1992. The Poynter Institute
continues to play an important role in knowledge exchange between Danish and American journalists to this day. Søren
Dalsgaard, "Dit Svære Valg Ved Karrierens Korsvej [Your Hard Choice at the Career's Cross Road]," Update, Spring
2011.
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series came to signify an important shift towards taking a stance on behalf of the little man against
the injustice of society. 467
"[Knud] Vilby – subsequent editor-in-chief of Information (…) says about the effort: ‘The
housing campaign was incredibly exciting because it gave Ekstra Bladet a new legitimacy –
and because it for better and worse (mostly better) helped develop an investigative
campaigning journalism.‖ 468
Vilby‘s comments may be tainted somewhat by the fact that they are delivered delivered 40 years
after Ekstra Bladet‘s successful housing article series and published in an internally produced
anniversary book, but there is evidence that the newspaper was among the very first in Denmark to
embrace an increasingly adversarial stance towards politicians and corporate interests on behalf of
their ―common man‖ core readers. 469
Vilby‘s remark ―for better and worse,‖ however, also alludes to the fact, that Ekstra Bladet‘s
coverage of the case could have been handled better. When Vilby talks about ―campaigning
journalism,‖ then critics pointed out that Ekstra Bladet‘s coverage at times spilled over towards
character assassination. According to Lasse Ellegaard, who had worked as delivery boy at Ekstra
Bladet before he became a journalist himself, Victor Andreasen lacked the ―profession‘s inherent
467 Gregers Dirckinck-Holmfeldt, Tør - Hvor Andre Tier; Vrisne Victor Og Hans Hvalpe [Dares - Where Others Keep
Silent; Grumpy Victor and His Pups], 2 vols., vol. 2 (Copenhagen: Ekstra Bladets forlag, 2004). Page 81-83 and 277.
Furthermore, the book describes how Ekstra Bladet developed a successful self-image of ―watchdog‖ journalism and
also notes how the newspaper‘s success in the 1960, as initially being inspired by Carl-Adam Nycop and his Swedish
newspaper Expressen. Additionally, Ekstra Bladet‘s ability to write from ―the bottom up,‖ as former employee
described it, as opposed to Politiken‘s ―from above and downwards‖ helped create a successful style for the paper. Bent
Juhl, Bladet Fra Munden [Speak Your Mind] (København: Holkenfeldts forlag, 1990). Page 176.
468 Dirckinck-Holmfeldt, Tør - Hvor Andre Tier; Vrisne Victor Og Hans Hvalpe [Dares - Where Others Keep Silent;
Grumpy Victor and His Pups]. Page 83. My translation. Original text reads, ―[Knud] Vilby - senere chefredaktør på
Information og endnu senere formand for Dansk Forfatterforening - siger om indsatsen: 'Boligkampagnen var utroligt
spændende, fordi den gav Ekstra Bladdet en ny legitimitet - og fordi den på godt og ondt (mest godt) var med til at
udvikle en investigativ kampagnejournalistik‖
469 Among the results of the content analysis described in the in the following chapter was the fact that Ekstra Bladet
was the only of the three newspapers studied who wrote ―watchdog‖ stories, defined as ―cases where the journalist
holds public officials accountable for something in relation to their public function that is in the interest of society in
general for the common good of democracy‖ in 1971. 20 percent of the 20 political articles on the front of Ekstra Bladet
during the 1971 election campaign were categorized as watchdog stories. Ekstra Bladet have also won Cavling Prizes in
1966, 1977, 1981, 1989, 2003 and 2004
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ethical standards,‖ and the newspaper‘s journalists also at times lacked documentation for the
stories they ran, which was viewed as a ―calculated risk.‖ 470
As such, Ekstra Bladet‘s method was only partially seen as an example to follow. While the
reporting was good enough to earn Ekstra Bladet a Cavling Prize, it did not reach the level of
professionalism displayed by Woodward and Bernstein. Schierbeck in 1974 did not even mention
Ekstra Bladet‘s coverage and called the Watergate coverage ―advanced,‖ as well as underlined that
the All The President’s Men was a brilliant introduction to the journalistic genre called investigative
journalism.
However, in a different example of transnational inspiration, it is important to account for the
influence of German journalist Günter Wallraff on Scandinavian investigative journalists. For
example, Alex Frank Larsen, who in 1986 won a Cavling Prize for his exposure of doctors‘
excessive use of LSD on mental patients, stated in 1982 that he was directly inspired by Wallraff‘s
in-depth journalism the first time he went undercover. 471
Additionally, the name Walraff, is incorporated into the Scandinavian journalistic vocabulary as
―Wallraffing,‖ has become synonymous with investigative journalism based on the method of going
undercover to do research. In 1988, an opinion piece by Tove Hygum Jakobsen in Journalisten
discussed the cases of Henrik Jul Hansen and Martin Breum, who had used undercover journalism
to investigate the treatment of asylum seekers in Denmark and subsequently sentenced to pay fines
by the Danish court system. Jakobsen concluded that ―Wallraff-methods must be used with care,‖
470 Dirckinck-Holmfeldt, Tør - Hvor Andre Tier; Vrisne Victor Og Hans Hvalpe [Dares - Where Others Keep Silent;
Grumpy Victor and His Pups]. Page 82-86. See also Pundik, Du Kan Hvis Du Tør [You Can If You Dare]. Page 136.
Here Victor Andreasen is described as sophisticated and vulgar, but with a penchant for character attacks ―appealing to
―the basest of instincts,‖ which could not even be outweighed by Ekstra Bladets‘ ―important critique of society.‖
471 Stig Petersen, "Kun Stjerner Graver Dybt [Only Stars Dig Deep]," Journalisten, March 1982. Page 34. Wallraff in an
interview with Journalisten under the theme ―disguised journalist,‖ alluded to the fact that Scandinavian journalists
were inspired by him and came to cover his public appearances. ―Actually several foreign journalists [show up],
American, Japanese, Yugoslavian, Scandinavians first of all, Dutch, French, British. Colleagues from Time Magazine
were with me to a public meeting where I would actually rather have seen my German colleagues as companions. They
would be able to translate it [the wrong-doing uncovered] into something effectual here in this country.‖ My translation.
Original text reads, ―Der kommer faktisk flere udenlandske journalister, amerikanske, japanske, jugoslaviske,
skandinaviske frem for alt, hollandske, franske, engelske. Kolleger fra Time Magazine var med mit til et offentligt
møde, hvor jeg egentlig hellere havde set tyske journalister som mine ledsagere. De ville jo kunne omsætte det til noget,
der kunne få virkning her i landet.‖ Frede Jakobsen, "Temaet Er for Beskidt [The Theme Is Too Dirty]," Journalisten,
November 13, 1985. Page 3-4.
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and that ―editors and journalists alike must be prepared that the experiments can end in conviction.
Yet, care should not lead to the methods being dismissed.‖ 472
Yet, the fact that Wallraff‘s primary journalistic method was (and is) undercover journalism
separates his approach to investigative journalism from Woodward and Bernstein and also separates
it from an organization like the ―Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc.‖ While Wallraff is highly
praised among Scandinvian journalist for his work, it in his function as an undercover journalist,
which is just one of many tools in the investigative journalist‘s tool kit. Indeed, Berlingske
Tidende‘s group of investigative journalists emphasizes, that the group ―as a general rule never
works undercover‖ and instead utilize ―interviews, requests for access, observation‖ as well as the
ressource of time as their main methodology. 473
Conclusion
When the Danish journalists looked outside their own borders for methodological inspiration, the
international role model for systematic, organized investigative reporting was the United States.
Watergate proved to be a powerful image for Danish journalists to be motivated by, and the guest
lecturers brought into the Danish School of Journalism to teach ―investigative reporting‖ were also
American. Moreover, Meilby and Minke‘s first book about research journalism was clearly inspired
by investigative journalism from the United States and adapted to the Danish media market with the
selection of 23 Danish journalists, who consciously or not, were practicing some form of research-
based investigative journalism. Additionally,―Investigative Journalists and Editors Inc.‖ inspired the
creation of a similar organization in Denmark as well as Sweden with an American Pulitzer Prize-
winner present at the establishing seminar. However, among select Danish newspapers, like Ekstra
Bladet, there seems to have been a positive attitude towards analytical, in-depth journalism before
the concept (and methodologies) of investigative journalism was introduced to the Danes.
472 Tove Hygum Jakobsen, "Wallraff-Metoder Ulovlige I Danmark [Wallraff-Methods Illegal in Denmark],"
Journalisten, April 15, 1988. Page 2. Breum worked for the monthly magazine Press, which a won Cavling prize in
1987, and was praised for its investigative reporting by Jens Olaf Jersild, who taught investigative journalism at DJE.
Mette Stenumgaard, "Ællingen Der Blev Til Fem Pip [The Duckling That Turned into Five Quacks]," Journalisten,
January 17, 1990. Page 10.
473 For additional discussion of the ethichs of Wallraff‘s method see Christine Isager, "Skribenter Der Skaber Sig
[Writers Who Make a Scene]," (Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen. Department of Media, Cognition and
Communication.Section of Rhetoric, 2006). Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Page 20-33. Berlingske Tidende‘s group of
investigative journalists, for example, ―as a rule never work under cover.‖ Berlingske Tidende, "Undersøgende
Journalistik På Berlingske Tidende [Investigative Journalism at Berlingske Tidende]," in Berlingske Tidende
(http://www.berlingske.dk/i-laegens-haender/undersoegende-journalistik-paa-berlingske-tidende. June 1, 2009). See
also Jakob Elkjær, Sådan Redder De Journalistikken [They Save Journalism Like This] (Århus: Forlaget Ajour, 2010).
Page 25-49.
154

The German journalist Günher Wallraff also served as a very important source of inspiration for
undercover journalism, but his narrower and more individually driven approach did not provide the
same possibilities for branching out methodologically or transnationally as the American
investigative reporting.
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5. Content analysis
Heeding Krippendorf‘s advice for a content analysis framework this chapter will present a study of
selected newspaper articles by first accounting for the ―research design,‖ then ―data making,‖
followed by ―inference‖ and concluded by ―narration.‖ The section below accounts for the research
design. 474
―Cross-national research should make informed and explicit choices regarding its approach to
comparison – country selection, methodological standardization, origin of categories, reporting
style and so forth,‖ writes the British media scholar Sonia Livingstone and adds ―it is ironic that,
while the process of globalization seems to encourage cross-national research, at the same time it
undermines the legitimacy of the nation-state not only for political, economic or cultural purposes
but also as a unit of analysis.‖ 475
Livingstone‘s observation is a useful reminder about the difficulties of comparing across nations, or
media systems. While acknowledging the great regional and cultural diversity in the United States,
and to some extent in Denmark, the point of departure for the present study is that both nations refer
to something ―real‖ and tangible. 476 American foreign and economic policy does have real
consequences domestically as well as globally, and in the case of the United States and Denmark,
the most relevant example concerning the national media systems would be the state‘s relationship
to national broadcasting. As mentioned in chapter 2, up until the 1980‘s national broadcasting in the
United States was subject to public service requirements perceived to be in the national interest. The
same has been and is still true in for the Danish Broadcast Service and its counterpart TV 2, while
direct media subsidies are also provided to the press to ensure a high level of ―knowledge, culture as
well as significant societal information‖ in Denmark. These policies in Denmark are instituted from
474 Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Page 83-87.
475 Sonia Livingstone, "On the Challenges of Cross-National Comparative Media Research," European Journal of
Communication, no. 18 (2003). Page 482-492. In her article Livingstone examines the benefits and pitfalls of
comparative research and conclude that comparative analysis is useful for ―improving understanding of one‘s own
country; improving understanding of other countries; testing a theory across diverse settings; examining transnational
processes across different contexts; examining the local reception of imported cultural forms.‖ Page 479-480.
476 Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 121-125.
Van Elteren writes, ―there is a stubborn historical-societal reality, a ‗real‘ America, out there, with economic,
technological, military, social, political, cultural and other features that lie outside the realm of social imagination and
may in themselves bring about material, structural and symbolic changes elsewhere, be it in the economy, politics,
society or culture.‖
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the government with an eye to its ramifications on the entire nation, and comparable legislation has
been enacted in the United States, at least until the late 1980‘s. 477 In other words, media legislation
in both Denmark and the United States has been passed with a sense of its national scope. As Lund
notes in a study of the Scandinavian media system, ―the government intervenes in media business
with the intent of securing diversity and national identity.‖ 478
Therefore, working from the premise that differences and similarities between Denmark and the
United States can be meaningfully studied, the current dissertation, following Strömbäck and
Dimitrova‘s example, proposes applying a ―most different‖ systems design for the subsequent
analysis. The present study is specifically looking at countries within the Western World where the
variations in terms of the political system and the concomitant media policies outweighs the
similarities. In other words, the basic historical, political and cultural differences between Denmark
and the United States which has shaped the media environment, means that the two countries can
most fruitfully be viewed as ―most different‖ in terms of research design. 479
The choice of nations as the basis for analysis originates with Hallin and Mancini‘s distinction
between the Scandinavian (in this case represented by Denmark) and American media system as
epitomizing the Democratic Corporatist and Liberal media system respectively. 480
The following section will argue that the ―paint roller‖ approach, to use Schröter‘s terminology, of
content analysis complements the ―small bristle‖ approach of the previous section‘s historical study
in important ways. One of content analysis‘ strengths is its emphasis on reproducibility by other
researchers which has led to the emergence of a intercoder reliability-test norm. Another advantage
is the quantity of material covered, the conventions for reporting content analysis results force the
477
Croteau and Hoynes, The Business of Media: Corporate Media and the Public Interest. Page 71-72. Also Michael
Schudson and Len Downie Jr., "The Reconstruction of American Journalism," (New York: Columbia University,
Graduate School of Journalism, 2009). Page 27.
478
Anker Brink Lund, "Media Markets in Scandinavia: Political Economy Aspects of Convergence and Divergence,"
Nordicom Review, no. Jubilee (2007). Page 127.
479
Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News Coverage in
Sweden and the United States." Page 132. Strömbäck and Dimitrova‘s study has informed much of the research design
as well as the development of the code book.
480
This distinction is mainly based on level of government involvement in the media market, internal and external
pluralism of the press and the different electoral systems. The two nations might, however, have been viewed as ―most
similar‖ has a more global perspective been adopted. As Hallin and Mancini point out, ―[b]y limiting ourselves to North
America and Western Europe we are dealing with systems that have relatively comparable levels of economic
development and much common culture and political history.‖ Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three
Models of Media and Politics. Page 6. Thereby, the authors implicitly point out that had North America and for
example Southeast Asia been compared there would have been less common culture and political history.
157

esearcher to put forth his or her results in relation to the entire sample size instead of merely
selecting a few examples that support or dispel the researcher‘s argument.
Additionally, the following section argues that Danish news outlets between 1968 and 2001
increasingly have moved towards a descriptive, issue-based, and balanced approach to political
news coverage (on the front page), which leads to a potential revision of the hypothesis that Danish
political news coverage has become increasingly Americanized, in terms of commercialization,
which is thought to lead to greater focus on strategy, interpretation and opinion in news coverage.
5.1 Hypotheses to be tested
As we saw in the second chapter, Hallin and Benson, among others, have pointed to the American
news media system being more commercialized than its European counterparts and note that,
―differing relations to the economic and political fields have formed distinctive journalistic
traditions‖ between the media systems. 481
Yet, despite the distinctive journalistic traditions, Hallin and Mancini argue that the differences
between European and the Anglo-American media system, to a considerable extent due to
commercialization, will diminish over time and one should therefore expect Danish news frames to
resemble American news frames over time. 482
Increased market-driven decisions concerning journalism are argued to lead to less focus on topics
such as ―government, international relations and education,‖ at the expense of celebrities, crime and
scandal which are thought by business leaders to be more in line with the public‘s demands.
Consequently, the focus on substantial public service issues are argued to be vaning compared to
more populist, entertaining stories. 483
481
Hallin and Benson, "How States, Markets and Globalization Shape the News: The French and US National Press,
1965-97." Page 28-29. Benson and Hallin here point to increased commercialization as the foundation for such a
hypothesis. See also Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 8. ―One
cannot understand the news media without understanding the nature of the state, the system of political parties, the
pattern of relations between economic and political interests and the development of civil society, among other elements
of social structure.‖
482
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 76, 282-287 and 301-
304.
483
Randal A. Beam et al., "Journalism and Public Service in Troubled Times," Journalism Studies 10, no. 6 (2010).
Page 336-337.
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According to Voss and van der Brugge there is a perception among political commentators in
Denmark that election campaigns are becoming Americanized, meaning less focus on political
issues, and more focus on ―form and staging,‖ 484 leading to a view that this American influence is
reflected in media coverage, since ―politics and the news media have become almost
interchangeable.‖ 485 One should therefore expect that Danish political news focusing on political
issues should be diminishing, while the ―American‖ coverage based on form over substance should
be more prevalent.
Additionally, leading media scholars argue that a significant shift in American election coverage
happened between the 1960‘s and 1970‘s and also note that important changes took place during the
1980‘s when significant deregulatory changes were introduced in the American media market and
subsequently adapted in a European context. 486 The increased commercialization accompanying
deregulation has had tangible consequences in news organizations in terms of the number of
employees and the way that news gathering is systematized, and according to James T. Hamilton
there is a significant effect on news content also. In Hamilton‘s words,
―There has been a substantial change in the content and style of news coverage since 1970.
These product changes are numerous: a decrease in hard news (e.g., public-affairs coverage)
and an increase in soft news (e.g., entertainment, human-interest stories); an increase in
negative tone to cover elections; less focus on watchdog stories (e.g., those dealing with the
operation of government); and an increase in the mix of opinion and interpretation in news
coverage.‖ 487
For this reason, we must expect that over time Danish newspapers‘ political news coverage come to
resemble American reporting and focus less on issues while increasing its focus on soft news
stories, interpretative reporting as well as entertainment or personalization stories. This leads to the
484
Jimmy van der Brugge and Henning Voss, "Politisk Forandring [Political Change]," ed. Jørgen Goul Andersen and
Ole Borre (Århus: Systime A/S, 2003). Page 129.
485
Allern and Blach-Ørsten, "The News Media as A Political Institution: A Scandinavian Perspective." Page 1.
486
Frank Esser, Carsten Reinemann, and David Fan, "Spin Doctors in the United States, Great Britain, and Germany:
Metacommunication About Media Manipulation," Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 6, no. 1 (2001). Page
16-17. See also Horwitz, The Irony of Regulatory Reform: The Deregulation of American Telecommunications. Page
244-247. As well as Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 254-
258. And Schröter, "Economic Culture and Its Transfer: An Overview of the Americanisation of the European
Economy, 1900-2005." Page 339-340.
487
Hamilton, "The Market and the Media." Page 356.
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first hypothesis generated.
H1: From 1968 and forward a ―commercial deluge‖ has enveloped Danish print media
leading to changes in newspaper content with greater focus on form instead of
substance.
H1a: From 1968 and forward news stories increasingly utilize soft news leads
H1b: From 1968 and forward news stories increasingly utilize an interpretative style of
reporting
H1c: From 1968 and forward news stories focus more on personalities and strategy than
political issues, especially in media companies which are publicly traded.
Moreover, the convergence theory also carries with it the hypothesis that over time Danish news
coverage will become more ―objective,‖ as this quality has been identified as uniquely American at
least since the 1920‘s. 488 In this respect, the Danish newspapers‘ break with the party press in the
1970s can be considered a turning point. Politiken severed the newspaper‘s direct ties to Det
Radikale Venstre in 1970 and even though Berlingske Tidende does not have a similar
chronological partition to point to, its political coverage has undergone important changes. As
Berlingske Tidende‘s former managing director and editor Aage Deleuran noted in 1986,
―It is obvious, that journalism, to a not insignificant extent, has a hard time accepting previous
decades‘ golden rules of letting reporting emanate from an honest pursuit of objectivity. The
488 Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 301.‖This process of
homogenization involves, most notably, a weakening of the connections that historically tied the media in the Polarized
Pluralist and Democratic Corporatist systems to political parties and organized social groups, and a shift toward the
commercial structures and practices of neutral professionalism that are characteristic of the Liberal system. See also
Daniel C. Hallin, "Not the End of Journalism History," Journalism 10, no. 3 (2009). Page 332. ―The assumption is
usually that the world media are converging toward a liberal system more or less like the system that prevails in the
United States, dominated by commercial media and by a professional culture oriented toward information consumers,
factural reporting, political independence and the objectivity norm.‖ It is, however, important to note that in both
publications the authors caution against assuming that the American model will supplant European media systems
completely.
160

facts should speak for themselves.‖ 489
While Deleuran seemingly saw the ―pursuit of objectivity‖ as being on the decline, other Danish
journalists, based on the convergencence theory, are argued be in the process of taking the
objectivity ideal to heart, and attempt to employ it in practice. As we saw previously, former
Politiken editor Anders Krab-Johansen‘s journalistic style encouraged news which were considered
―pure‖ and ―purged of commenting cartoon or text based on political positions.‖ 490
Consequently, in both Denmark and the United States the ideal of objectivity still plays a prominent
part at the rhetorical level. Answering whether or not the objectivity ideals‘ characteristics turn up
in actual news content will be the aim of this content analysis section.
As argued in section 2.2, indicators of the objectivity norm are understood as fact-based descriptive
reporting emphasizing information over emotion or interpretation. Another characteristic of
―objective‖ reporting is the prevalence of representing ―fairly each side in a political controversy,‖
and lastly, implicit in the understanding of objectivity is the convention that news stories must
answer the who, what, when, where, why and do it ―in the first paragraph as nearly as possible.‖ 491
This leads to the second hypothesis.
H2: After 1968 the biggest Danish newspapers have separated themselves from direct
political influence, and consequently the journalistic style has moved increasingly
towards the ―objectivity norm,‖ espoused by leading American journalistic
institutions.
H2a: From 1968 and forward news stories in Danish newspapers are increasingly
characterized by descriptive information instead of interpretation.
489 Aage Deleuran, "Linjer I Journalistikkens Udvikling [Currents in Journalislism's Development]," in Pressens Årbog
[Yearbook of the Press], ed. Erik Lund (Copenhagen: Pressehistorisk Selskab, 1986). Page 66-68. My translation. The
original text reads, ―Det er tydeligt nok, at journalistikken i ikke ubetydeligt omfang har svært ved at acceptere tidligere
årtiers gyldne regler om at lade reportagen tage udgangspunkt i en ærlig stræben efter objektivitet. Kendsgerningerne
skulle tale for sig selv.‖ Deleuran does not mention Berlingske Tidende directly but his observations are based on
extensive personal experience with the newspaper.
490 Nielsen and Fremmen, "Da Mr. News Fik Nok Af Views [When Mr. News Became Fed up with Views]." Page 9.
491 Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Page 19 and 222. See also Manoff
and Schudson, "Reading the News." Page 3.
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H2b: From 1968 and forward news stories in Danish newspapers increasingly abandon one-
source articles in coverage of political stories.
H2c: From 1968 and forward news stories in Danish newspapers increasingly utilize a hard
news lead based on answering who, what, when, where, why and how in the first
paragraphs.
5.2 Method and reliability
Having described the research design, the following section will now turn to the ―data making,‖ part
of content analysis, meaning a description of the units of analysis, how the sampling was conducted,
how the results were recording as well as how the results are ―reduced‖ in the presentation. 492
Commercialization and discussions over the ideal of objectivity play a central part in consideration
of American influence on Danish journalism. Writers like Schudson, Ward, Chalaby, Hallin and
Mancini, have all pointed to the ideal of objectivity and increased commercial influence as key
variables in explaining change in news reporting as the consequences of these two developments are
argued to be present in actual journalistic content. 493 Hence, both concepts serve as a useful starting
point for a longitudinal comparative content analysis studying American influence on Danish
journalism.
The content analysis focuses on identifying the ―overall frame,‖ 494 the proportion of soft news and
the level of interpretative reporting in order for the researchers to study the claim of ―form over
substance‖ 495 in Danish and American news, a development argued to be associated with
492
Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Page 86. Krippendorff emphasizes making
clear how one samples from the many available units, as well as making sure the coding instructions are clear and
finally ―reducing‖ the results by simplifying their presentation, in the present case through graphs.
493
See for example Chalaby, "Journalism as an Anglo-American Invention: A Comparison of the Development of
French and Anglo-American Journalism, 1830s-1920s." Jeremy Tunstall, The Media Are American: Anglo-American
Media in the World (London: Constable, 1977; reprint, Second Edition 1994). Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini,
"Americanization, Globalization and Secularization: Understanding the Convergence of Media Systems and Political
Communication in the U.S. And Western Europe," in Comparing Political Communication: Theories, Cases, and
Challenges, ed. Frank Esser and Barbara Pfetsch (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
494
As described in Chapter 2, the present study uses Entman‘s definition of frames and definitions of the six frames
coded for will be provided later in the chapter.
495
Soft news and interpretative reporting are coding options within the variables ―news technique‖ and ―journalistic
style‖ which are defined below.
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commercialization (or Americanization) of the news. 496 On the other hand, variables such as
―sources,‖ 497 ―news technique‖ 498 and ―journalistic style‖ 499 were designed to test the prevalence of
balanced, hard, descriptive and thereby ―objective‖ journalistic content. 500
As a consequence two hypotheses described above were formed to test the independent variables
influence of commercialization and the objectivity norm on the dependent variable which, as stated
above, is the development in news frames found in six newspapers (three in Denmark and three in
the United States) over a 40-year period. The results of the content analysis will then be analyzed
against the broader political context of the chosen countries during this period.
5.2.1 Time Period and Election Campaigns
As noted in chapter 2, election campaigns are useful for studying developments over time, as they
have previously spurred innovation in Danish journalistic practices on. 501 Moreover, election
research offers unique advantages for crossnational comparison since studies of elections have been
conducted systematically ―over time and across societies‖ for decades and additionally constitute
one of the ―most important contributions‖ in the study of political systems. 502
496 Picard, "Money, Media and the Public Interest." Page 342-346. Bourdieu, On Television. Page 56-57. Also Brugge
and Voss, "Politisk Forandring [Political Change]." Page 129.
497 For someone to have been counted as a source in the content analysis, it requires that statements, facts or quotes are
attributed to him/her. The source, whichever category he or she belongs to, must be, whenever possible, identified by
name as well as title, or otherwise labeled an anonymous source.
498 News technique is the overall category used for the distinction between hard and soft news, while journalistic style
distinguishes between interpretative and descriptive reporting. Hard news is defined as stories that follow the ―5W‖
approach and emphasize ―breaking news,‖ recent developments or takes an immediate factual approach to the article
within the first paragraph.Soft news is here defined as stories where the main focus is on human-interest, features or
background articles emphasizing details that do not immediately fit the news criteria of actuality.
499 Descriptive reporting is characterized by its absense of claims concerning significance or results, which would be
considered interpretation and does not assess the merits of policy or accuracy of statements either. These interpretative
elements are attributed to sources in descriptive accounts. In interpretative reporting, on the other hand, the journalist
takes it upon him- or herself to evaluate or interpret information and for example judge its significance.
500 Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond. Page 14-22. Also Chalaby,
"Journalism as an Anglo-American Invention: A Comparison of the Development of French and Anglo-American
Journalism, 1830s-1920s." Page 311-312. See also Tuchman, "Objectivity as Strategic Ritual: An Examination of
Newsmen's Notions of Objectivity." Page 664-665. Additionally, Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History of
American Newspapers. Page 168-171, 186 and 192.
501 Bro, Aktionsjournalistik [Public Journalism]. Page 16.
502 Katz and Warshel, eds., Election Studies: What's Their Use? Page 1-3. Katz and Warshel cite the American National
Election Studies as an example of systematic election studies which have persisted since 1952 and note that ―the
convergence on shared methods is even stronger on an international scope.‖
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Furthermore, election studies holds a prominent place in communication scholarship, as McCombs
and Shaw studied agenda setting in the American presidential election of 1968, Yiengar, Kinder and
Peters used elections to demonstrate the value of ―priming,‖ and Entman recently applied the
concept of ―framing‖ to election research in the United States. 503
Additionally, Strömbäck and Dimitrova‘s analysis of Swedish and American media also focus on
elections since these periods are ―highly amenable to cross-national political communication
comparison,‖ and more idealistically perhaps because ―news coverage of election campaigns is
essential for voters.‖ 504 Thus the large body of election research available to contextualize results of
a comparison between Danish and American news coverage makes election periods a natural
foundation for the present content analysis.
Concerning the current study‘s chronology, Esser, Reinemann and Fan, as noted in chapter 2, argue
that an important shift has taken place in the news media between the 1960‘s and present-day
political campaigns which makes the 1968 election between Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey
the point of origin for subsequent analysis. According to the Esser, Reinemann and Fan, ―issue
coverage‖ combined with a ―descriptive style of reporting‖ was prevalent in the press during the
1960s, but in the following decade an important shift took place,
―In the 1970s, the distribution of media coverage changed fundamentally from issue-based
stories to stories that emphasize who is ahead and behind, and the strategies and tactics of
campaigning‖ 505
Additionally, Esser, Reinemann and Fan see the ―1988 U.S. presidential election‖ as a ―watershed
for a third stage of political journalism,‖ namely metacoverage, where the press, ―self referentially
503
McCombs and Shaw, "The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media." See also Iyengar, Peters, and Kinder,
"Experimental Demonstrations of the 'Not-So-Minimal' Consequences of Television News Programs." As well as
Entman, "Media Framing Biases and Political Power: Explaining Slant in News of Campaign 2008." Also Blumler and
McQuail, "Political Communication Scholarship: The Uses of Election Research." Page 232-236.
504
Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News Coverage in
Sweden and the United States." Page 131-132.
505
Esser, Reinemann, and Fan, "Spin Doctors in the United States, Great Britain, and Germany: Metacommunication
About Media Manipulation." Page 16-17.
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and self-consciously diverges from its customary role as a conduit of information to tone of
reporting on how it is one of the actors on the political stage.‖ 506
As a consequence, the 1988 election is included included in the analysis as it is argued to present
another ―watershed‖ in election coverage. 507 Implicit in Van Elteren‘s definition of Americanization
is a sense of time lag as the United States is seen as a place of origin for a certain development and
that subsequently is thought to impinge on non-Americans.
Hence, this study will focus on the Danish election campaign which follows directly after the
chosen American campaign. This means that the Danish national election of 1971 will be analyzed
in comparison to the American election of 1968. The closely contested American election of 1980
and the Danish election of 1981 have been chosen to test the expected finding of increased amount
of strategy news and additionally, the American election of 1988 will be studied along with the
Danish election of 1990. The closely contested American election of 2000 is chosen along with the
close Danish election of 2001 and the most recent American election is chosen as it according to
Schudson diverged from previous campaigns in its use of ―new media.‖ 508
In his book ―Framing Europe: Television News and European Integration,‖ De Vreese refers to the
concept of an election ―hot phase,‖ a time period, in which media coverage is especially intense. In
his study, De Vreese suggests the hot phase for the European election in 2004 lasted two weeks. 509
However, in a previous study, which de Vreese builds on, Karen Siune and Pascal Leroy analyze
election campaigns during a three week period, and point out that the last week before the European
elections yield the most intense coverage. 510
Campaigns for national Danish parliamentary elections usually last three weeks, and receive more
coverage than European elections, and since a three week ―hot phase‖ corresponds with the design
506
Ibid. Page 16-17.
507
Katz and Warshel, eds., Election Studies: What's Their Use? Page 236-239. Katz and Warshel argue that election
studies are especially useful in cross-national comparisons, for studying the trends in communication and spur
innovations in political communication, are convenient benchmarks for tracing developments over time, are useful
when examining political communication in new media formats, help test key concepts from political communications
theory and contribute significantly to the debate about citizenship.
508
Michael Schudson, "The New Media in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign: The New York Times Watches Its
Back," Javnost - the public 16, no. 1 (2009). Page 74. Also Adam Nagourney, "The '08 Campaign: Sea Change for
Politics as We Know It," The New York Times, November 4, 2008. Nagourney described the 2008 election as an event
which ―fundamentally upended the way presidential elections are fought in this country.‖ Page 1.
509
Claes H. de Vreese, Framing Europe: Television News and European Integration (Amsterdam: Aksant, 2003). Page
84.
510
Karen Siune and Pascale Leroy, "The Role of Television in European Elections: The Cases of Belgium and Denmark
" European Journal of Communication 9, no. 1 (1994).
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of Strömbäck and Dimitrova it is the time period studied here. 511 Furthermore, at least one
American presidential candidate have viewed the last three weeks of an election period as
particularly crucial, and as a consequence Richard M. Nixon coined the phrase ―three-week blitz,‖
to describe how he would wrap up his election campaign in 1968, thereby underlining the
importance of the last weeks in the election. 512 Moreover, in order to study the newspapers‘
coverage of the election results, this study also includes the two days after the election in addition to
the three weeks leading up to the election.
Inspired by Strömbäck and Dimitrova‘s design, which also informed the development of the code
book, front page articles referring explicitly to the national election going on at this particular
period, or referring to the presidential/prime minister candidates or the parties competing in the
election have been selected since these dislay ―the most prominent stories about the elections.‖ 513
Additionally, newspaper front-pages are chosen since these have previously been the object of
comparative scholarly attention in research between the United States and Europe. 514
5.2.2 The Coding Process
During the course of the study, 876 articles were analyzed and coded for the variables such as
―overall frame,‖ 515 ―sources,‖ ―news technique,‖ and ―journalistic style.‖ The articles appeared on
511
Claes H. De Vreese, "Television Reporting of Second-Order Elections," Journalism Studies 4, no. 2 (2003). Page
188. See also Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News
Coverage in Sweden and the United States." Page 138.
512
Robert B. Semple Jr, "Nixon Vows Effort to Seek Arms Curb; Stand Seen Eased; Nixon Pledges to Seek Arms
Curb," New York Times, October 27 1968. Page 1. ―The statement brought to a close the first two weeks of what Mr.
Nixon has called his final three-week 'blitz' - a period in which he has deliberately set aside the lofty Presidential
rhetoric (...) [and] shifted to sharp denunciations of his opponents.‖
513
Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News Coverage in
Sweden and the United States." Page 138.
514
Kevin G. Barnhurst and John Nerone, The Form of News: A History (New York: The Guilford Press, 2001). Also
John Nerone and Kevin G. Barnhurst, "Beyond Modernism: Digital Design, Americanization and the Future of
Newspaper Form," New Media Society 3, no. 4 (2001). Also Kevin G. Barnhurst and John Nerone, "Design Trends in
US Front Pages 1885-1995," Journalism Quarterly 68, no. 4 (1991).
515
Entman, "Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm." Page 52. As we have seen, framing in the present
study is defined as, selecting ―some aspects of a perceived reality and mak[ing] them more salient in a communicating
text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or
treatment recommendation for the item described.‖ Six overall frames were coded for in the analysis. First, issue frame
where a candidate‘s explicit political viewpoints were presented. Second, strategy frame, where there is a focus on who
is ahead or behind in a political race. Third, personalization frame, where there is a focus on politicians‘ behavior and
character rather than political ideology. Fourth, metacoverage frame concerned with journalists covering media aspects..
Fifth, the watchdog frame which contains the articles where journalists holds public officials accountable for something
in relation to their public function that is in the interest of society in general for the common good of democracy.
Lastly, the logistics frame is concerned with focusing on the behind the scenes practical work necessary to pull off a
166

three Danish and three American newspapers‘ front pages in the course of nine different election
campaigns. To give a concrete example of an article where the style was more interpretative than
descriptive and therefore did not live up to the ideals of the ―objectivity norm,‖ one can point to a
Los Angeles Times article from 1968.
―A bombing halt coupled with a move towards substantive negotiations to end the war would
help Vice President Humphrey politically. But whether at this late date it could turn the tide
decisively against Richard M. Nixon is extremely doubtful.‖ 516
As is apparent, the author Robert Donovan attributes none his claims to sources and as a
consequence the reader must attribute the interpretations of a bombing halt‘s outcome to the person
responsible for the article. The news story is not labeled analysis, and is therefore impossible to
differentiate from other news stories on the Los Angeles Times‘ front page. Such stories, where the
journalist seems responsible for paragraphs, that infer consequences or motives have consistently
been coded as interpretation in the content analysis.
In a different example, the personalization frame, as opposed to a political issue frame, is prevalent
in articles which draw a portrait of the politicians or describe some of their personal traits that are
not directly associated with their strategic fight for political office. One such example can be found
in Berlingske Tidende on December 10, 1990 concerning the Danish politician Svend Auken and
his apparent change in appearance and demeanor in the period leading up to a national election. The
article is called ―This is how you build an Auken‖ where Sørrig asks, ―Is the new Auken the real
Auken – or an art product?‖ and uses different experts to comment on the Danish politician‘s
appearance. 517 Another such article, ―He Has a Way with Words: Ronald Wilson Reagan,‖
epitomizing the personalization frame, was written by Howell Raines, the future editor-in-chief of
the New York Times, on November 6, 1980, two days after Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in the
presidential race and led with a paragraph emphazing personal traits of the new president.
national election, i.e. whether or not there is an adequate number of voting booths or if the ballot is clear and easily
understandable.
516 Robert J. Donovan, "Break in Viet War Could Be Too Late to Aid Humphrey," Los Angeles Times October 17, 1968.
517 Kirsten Sørrig, "―Sådan Bygger Man En Auken [This Is How You Build an Auken].‖ " Berlingske Tidende
December 10, 1990.
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5.2.3 Selection Criteria
―Perhaps there has never been a President-designate who so clearly enjoyed or so thoroughly
depended on the sound of his own voice (…)‖ 518
The units of analysis are newspaper stories concerning national elections. Manual selection has
been employed to select only front page stories, since these display ―the most prominent stories
about elections.‖ 519 Content analyses based on database searches are extremely efficient in terms of
the time and money they save the researcher, but results based solely on these searches also raise
some red flags because of the occasional discrepancy between print and electronic versions of
publications. ―Reliance on NEXIS and Dow Jones alone will likely miss articles found in the
hardcopy or microfilm version of the newspaper,‖ conclude political scientists James Snider and
Kenneth Janda in their study of how closely databases reflect actual print versions of newspapers. 520
Additionally, manual selection is the only option available to researchers working with Danish
newspaper content before 1991 as the only electronic newspaper archive, Infomedia, only goes back
to 1990 for the major Danish publications, and even articles about the Danish national election in
1990 are not part of the material contained in the database. 521
As a result, the articles used in the present study have been cross-checked between the microfilm
version and electronic versions when these were available. However, following Strömbäck and
Dimitrova‘s example, only front page articles referring explicitly to the national election or
referring to candidates or the parties competing in the election have been selected. Moreover, the
election itself had to be mentioned prominently in the first four paragraphs of the articles, an
approach also inspired by Strömbäck and Dimitrova‘s study of Swedish and American news content
518
Howell Raines, "He Has a Way with Words: Ronald Wilson Reagan," The New York Times, November 6, 1980.
519
Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News Coverage in
Sweden and the United States." Page 138.
520
J.H. Snider and Kenneth Janda, "Newspapers in Bytes and Bits: Limitations of Electronic Databases for Content
Analysis," in Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 3-6 (The
Marriott Hotel, Boston,1998). Snider and Janda, however, point out that newspapers producing most of their own
content (I.e. New York Times and Los Angeles Times) have fewer omissions of material than other newspapers. Yet
these big papers also have many different regional versions of their paper which leads to other challenges for
researchers.
521
Articles which appear on the frontpage of Politiken in 1990 such as ―S står til sejr ved julevalg,‖ from November 22,
1990 is not part of the database despite Infomedia claiming to have Politiken-content stretching back to January 1,
1990.
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in political campaigns. 522 To ensure variation when examining news discourse development,
newspapers from Denmark and the United States with a varying degree of commercial pressure in
terms of demands of profit, combined with different readership-profiles have been chosen, and will
be analyzed over a period of 40 years. 523
The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Politiken, Berlingske Tidende and Ekstra
Bladet have been selected. Since American journalism is both seen as a model for global
journalism, in terms of journalistic methodology, and a model to avoid due to too much adherence
to the commercial business model, both elite newspapers and more populist oriented papers have
been included to analyze the variation in content.
In the United States, The New York Times, which is protected by the Ochs-Sulzberger-family
ownership against the demands for rapid profit is chosen as a national American newspaper since it
compares well with Politiken on this commercial dimension. 524 The other leading American
newspaper selected is the Los Angeles Times, which has been owned by the Tribune Company since
2000, and previously by the Times Mirror Company with business-oriented Mark Willes as CEO
from May 1995. The Los Angeles Times‘ different recent ownership has underlined the need to
make money while producing news content, and as a result the newspaper has been subjected to the
market pressure to a greater extent than The New York Times. 525
The Los Angeles Times is primarily a regional paper, although it is also read by the political elite on
the east coast. From 1960 and forward the Los Angeles Times mixed regional news with stories of
522
Strömbäck and Dimitrova, "Political and Media Systems Matter: A Comparison of Election News Coverage in
Sweden and the United States." Page 137-138.
523
Commercial pressure has been identified by several international scholars as having an influence on change in media
systems, and consequently media content. See for example, Bourdieu, On Television, Hallin and Mancini, Comparing
Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics.
524
Ken Auletta, Backstory: Inside the Business of News (New York: Penguins Press, 2003). Auletta notes about the
New York Times‘ ownership, ―The Times‘s response to this new reality [of many new developing media platforms and
stalling newspaper growth], one Wall Street figure says, is to be a nibbler, ‗There is a husbanding of the acorns mindset,‘
he says. ‗Arthur [Sulzberger] is much more concerned with what‘s on the front page than with the price of his
stock. He‘s much more a newspaperman than a businessman‘.‖ Page 162.
525
Ibid. Page 64-65. According to Auletta the Los Angeles Times‘ focus on synergy between business and journalism
has people in the newspaper business worried about the pursuit of truth as an ideal. Furthermore Auletta points out that,
―Willes immediately announced that at Times Mirror he expected to double operating profit margins (…) Within
months of his arrival, Willis had fired more than two thousand employees and (…) cut costs by $232 million.‖
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significant national interest and has more recently been exposed to a high degree of commercial
pressure thereby making it somewhat comparable to the situation of Berlingske Tidende. 526
In terms of the populist-oriented newspapers the USA Today has been selected as it consciously
took a novel approach to newspaper journalism with brief stories and colorful lay-out, compared to
the time-tested versions of The New York Times. As journalist Peter S. Prichard has noted,
―USA TODAY had unmistakably announced it was going to be different (…) its front page
would boldly pick homegrown princesses over foreign presidents, its headlines could single
out survivors as well as victims. USA TODAY would be edited, its creators maintained, not
for the nation‘s editors, but for the nation‘s readers.‖ 527
The approach by USA Today, being proud of being different, is similar to the the Danish tabloid
Ekstra Bladet‘s strategy from the 1960‘s and forward, and therefore the two newspapers compare
well in terms of their organizations‘ bottom-up approach to journalism. 528
In the Danish context, the newspaper Politiken has since 1973 been shielded from direct profit-
making demands by Politiken-Fonden, a fund which works to secure ―independent socialliberal
papers (…) in accordance with Politiken‘s previous traditions,‖ and has therefore been chosen as
one of two leading Danish newspapers for the analysis. 529
The second paper selected is Berlingske Tidende, which was taken over by investors in 1982, 530
sold to Norwegian Orkla in 2000, and recently bought by the British newspaper investment group,
Mecom Group. Berlingske Tidende has at least since 2000 been exposed to significant commercial
pressure, and though it has national aspirations, it is mostly read in the eastern part of Denmark.
From 2000 and forward the pressure from outside investors made itself felt on the Berlingske
526
The late American journalist David Halberstam describes the development of the Los Angeles Times from a
parochial to a national newspaper in his book The Powers That Be. David Halberstam, The Powers That Be (Urbana and
Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000). Page 101 and 398-402.
527
Peter S. Prichard, The Making of Mcpaper (Spotlight Press: Champaign, IL, 2007). Page 5.
528
Dirckinck-Holmfeldt, Tør - Hvor Andre Tier; Vrisne Victor Og Hans Hvalpe [Dares - Where Others Keep Silent;
Grumpy Victor and His Pups]. Page 80.
529
B. Helmer Nielsen, "A/S Dagbladet Politiken's Overgang Til Fondseje 1973 [A/S Dagbladet Politiken's Shift to Trust
Ownership 1973]," in Pressens Årbog [The Press' Yearbook], ed. Niels Thomsen (Copenhagen: Dansk Pressehistorisk
Selskab, 1974). Page 67 and 72.
530
Erik Lund, "Dansk Presse 1982 [Danish Press 1982]," in Pressens Årbog 1983:1 [Yearbook of the Press 1983:1], ed.
Erik Lund (Copenhagen: Pressehistorisk Selskab, 1983). Page 101-102.
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Officin [Berlingske Printing House], as the new owners, ―despite a highly weakened newspaper
market expected a return of the invested capital around 15 %.‖ 531
For a Danish commercially-oriented newspaper comparable with USA Today, Ekstra Bladet is
chosen since it is one of two Danish present-day papers that most closely resemble the USA Today
in terms of their commercial and populist approach, as well as lay-out and focus on short well-
illustrated stories. 532 The selection of these six newspapers forms the foundation for the subsequent
content analysis.
5.2.4 Reliability
The conventions for reporting content analysis results force the researcher to emphasize
reproducibility through intercoder-tests, and put forth his or her results in relation to the entire
article sample size which helps to alleviate the difficulty of determining the sample‘s
representativity, a challenge which occasionally plagues more qualitative studies. Content analysis
thereby presents a firm foundation for subsequent discussions to build on.
Yet, it is important to note that the strict separation between quantitative content analysis and more
qualitative hermeneutical analysis is in part artificial. The research process leading up the creation
of a coding scheme and a codebook is often interpretative in nature and a construction by the
researcher. 533 Moreover, despite the large number of texts dealt with in a content analysis, there is
still a significant interpretative element involved in coding text for variables related to meaning.
Scholars utilizing content analysis therefore have to acknowledge that individuals read (and
interpret) texts differently. As Krippendorff notes, ―ultimately all reading of text is qualitative, even
when certain characteristics of a text are later converted into numbers.‖ 534 Consequently, achieving
absolute intercoder-reliability in content analysis is more an ideal than reality, and as will become
apparent, achieving a high ―beyond chance‖ reliability coefficient on variables with few values is
challenging.
531 Klaus Bruhn Jensen, Dansk Mediehistorie 1995-2003 [Danish Media History 1960-1995], ed. Klaus Bruhn Jensen, 4
vols., vol. 4, Dansk Mediehistorie (København: Forlanget Samfundslitteratur, 2001). Page 130.
532 Juhl, Bladet Fra Munden [Speak Your Mind]. Page 176. See also Dirckinck-Holmfeldt, Tør - Hvor Andre Tier;
Vrisne Victor Og Hans Hvalpe [Dares - Where Others Keep Silent; Grumpy Victor and His Pups]. Page 80-83.
533 For an example of a qualitative approach in defining variables see Kimberly A. Neuendorf, The Content Analysis
Guidebook (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2002). Page 102-104.
534 Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Page 16.
171

The code book and the coding scheme was specifically constructed to code for manifest, not latent,
meaning in the texts and after two rounds of pilot-coding, a full-scale content analysis with a
comprehensive intercoder-reliability-test by a second coder was conducted. 535
Based on previous content analysis studies, Neuendorf recommends a reliability subsample size
between 10% and 20% and advocates keeping this sample size larger than 50 and rarely ―larger than
about 300.‖ 536 Consequently, to adhere to Neuendorf‘s guidelines, a pool of 100 articles out of the
entire sample of 876 was randomly selected using the website random.org.
The 100 articles (11,4 percent of the total number of articles) selected for a test of intercoder-
reliability therefore falls well within Neuendorf‘s recommendation and follows her prescription that
―the establishment of intercoder reliability is essential, a necessary criterion for valid and useful
research when human coding is employed.‖ 537
Through the statistical program PASW, the latest version of SPSS, a reliability-test taking into
account chance agreement between coders was chosen. Neuendorf points out that no agreed-upon
standards for presenting intercoder-reliability is prevalent, and therefore ―the best we can expect at
present is full and clear reporting of at least one reliability coefficient for each variable measured in
a human-coded content analysis.‖ 538
To conform with Neuendorf‘s recommendations the reliability results in this study will be reported
using Krippendorff‘s alpha as the reliability-coefficient and reporting this for each variable coded
by the two coders. Furthermore, examples of the coding will be provided throughout the analysis, so
the readers have an opportunity to follow the research process and the line of reasoning developed
based on the content analysis results. Through this approach, a quantitative foundation for further
discussion of the hypotheses‘ validity will be laid. As Neuendorf has pointed out, reporting
intercoder-reliability variable by variable yields a more precise picture of the actual reliability, as
variables with extremely high reliability cannot balance out variables with low reliability scores.
535 Neuendorf, The Content Analysis Guidebook. Page 146.
536 Ibid. Page 158-159. In Daniel Riffe, Stephen Lacy, and Frederick G. Fico‘s writing a ―random selection of content
samples for reliability‖ is recommended. On the amount of text to be tested the authors state that advice has been
ambiguous, but, ―One text (Wimmer & Dominick, 2003) suggests that between 10% and 25% of the body of content
should be tested. Others (Kaid & Wadsworth, 1989) suggested that between 5% and 7% or the total is adequate.‖ Daniel
Riffe, Stephen Lacy, and Frederick G. Fico, Analyzing Media Messages: Using Quantitative Content Analysis, 2nd ed.
(New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2005). Page 143.
537 Neuendorf, The Content Analysis Guidebook. Page 142.
538 Ibid. Page 144.
172

First a comparison of 100 articles between two observers was conducted on the variable called
―overall frame‖ and this yielded a simple reliability of 0,86, meaning that 86 out of 100 units were
judged the same by two coders coding the same 100 articles, in what is also called ―Holsti‘s
agreement.‖ The value for Krippendorf‘s alpha, factoring chance agreement into the reliability-
coefficient was 0,81 as can be seen in Table 6 below. The remaining variables‘ intercoder-reliability
fell in the range between 0,68 and 0,85 when using Krippendorf‘s alpha.
0,9
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
0,81
0,85 0,83
Overall frame Sources used Number of
sources
Intercoder reliability
Table 6 – Krippendorff’s alpha realiability coefficients for variables in the content analysis.
According to Neuendorff there is agreement in the scholarly community, that intercoder-agreement
must have a co-efficient of at least 0,67 but preferably above 0,8. 539 As can be seen all the variables
fall within this category and all are above 0,8 when calculating ―Holsti‘s agreement.‖ For the
following analysis the article sample size of the different variables are depicted in Table 7 for the
selected newspapers in the United States and Denmark.
539 Ibid. Page 142-143. According to Krippendorff, results between 0,67 and 0,80 can be used for scholarly work, but
with caution. Neuendorf points out that beyond-chance statistics are ―afforded a more liberal criterion‖ when reporting
reliability coefficients. As we have seen Krippendorff‘s alpha is considered a beyond chance method and according to
Andrew F. Hayes and Krippendorff, the reliability coefficient ―best suited as a standard‖. Klaus Krippendorff and
Andrew F. Hayes, "Answering the Call for a Standard Reliability Measure for Coding Data," Communication Methods
and Measures 1, no. 1 (2007). Page 78.
173
0,77
Validity
questioned
0,68
0,72
News technique Journalistic style

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
77
30
Table 7 – The number of newspaper articles sampled between 1968 and 2008 divided by news outlet.
The newspaper N reported in Table 7 is also the N that the following graphs are based on. To take
two examples, this means that the percentages of The New York Times articles reported for 1968 are
based on 77 articles while the percentages for Politiken in 2001 are based on 42 articles as will be
apparent in the analysis that follows.
5.3 H1: Commercializaton
55
49
27
25
2
49
44
32
23 20
1
51
47
42
22
20
1
42 45
38
29
22
3
5
9
2
0
H1: From 1968 and forward a ―commercial deluge‖ has enveloped Danish print media
leading to changes in newspaper content with greater focus on ―form‖ instead of
―substance.‖
H1a: From 1968 and forward news stories increasingly utilize soft news leads
H1b: From 1968 and forward news stories increasingly utilize an interpretative style of
reporting
Article sample size (N)
1968 1971 1980 1981 1988 1990 2000 2001 2008
H1c: From 1968 and forward news stories focus more on personalities and strategy than
political issues, especially in media companies which are publicly traded.
174
New York Times
Los Angeles Times
USA Today
Politiken
Berlingske Tidende
Ekstra Bladet

Based on the results described below, the ―inference‖ section in Krippendorff‘s framework, it will
be argued that the commercial influence seen in the United States since the 1970‘s has been
hampered within the Danish newspaper market in part because of direct government subsidies to
media outlets and partly because of the greater professionalization of Danish journalists in terms of
education and autonomy from political parties. 540 Journalistic professionalism and the government
subsidized support for Danish newspapers, combined with the contextual issues surrounding the
different national elections, have ostensibly influenced coverage in the two different countries. As
will become apparent, the closeness of the 2000 election in the United States seemingly leads to
increased strategy coverage, while the issue of immigration played a pivotal role in the 2001
election in Denmark. These contextual factors appear to be reflected in the content analysis‘ results.
The following section will describe the content analysis‘ result and present the results in graphs
interspersed with concrete examples from the newspaper coverage when relevant and relate these
back to hypotheses.
5.3.1 Form over substance
Tables 8 and 9 show a tendency of declining issue coverage in the United States for The New York
Times (p

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 8 – Percentage of issue news coverage for The New York Times between 1968 and 2008
An example of the above-mentioned issue coverage concerning immigration during the 2001
election campaign can be found in Politiken on November 2. Rikke Egelund‘s article-lead quoted
below exemplifies the three ensuing weeks of political campaign coverage based on the issue of
immigration.
Issue news New York Times
1968 1980 1988 2000 2008
―In less than 20 years the number of decendants of foreigners from ‘lesser-developed
countries‘ in the marriageable age in this country will have increased seven-fold. If the young
people continue to bring spouses from their homeland at the same rate as today it will mean a
multiplication in the number of family reunifications.‖ 541
541 Rikke Egelund, "Eksplosiv Stigning I Indvandring [Explosive Increase in Immigration]," Politiken, November 2,
2001. Page 1. My translation. Original text reads. ―Om mindre end 20 år vil antallet af efterkommere af udlændinge fra
'mindreudviklede lande' i den giftefærdige alder her i landet være syvdoblet. Hvis de unge fortsætter med at hente
ægtefællerne fra hjemlandet i samme takt som i dag, vil det betyde en mangedobling i antallet af
familiesammenføringer.‖
176
N (1968) = 77
N (1980) = 55
N (1988) = 44
N (2000) = 54
N (2008) = 45
New York Times
Linear tendency (New
York Times)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Issue news Politiken
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 9 – Percentage of issue coverage in Politiken between 1971 and 2001.
The discussion over immigration was apparent in other news outlets than Politiken also and both
Berlingske Tidende and Ekstra Bladet show an increase in their issue-coverage in 2001. In the
comparison of Los Angeles Times and Berlingske Tidende there is a discernable, but not statistically
significant, drop in issue coverage for the American news outlet between 1980 and 2008 (p

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Issue News Los Angeles Times
1968 1980 1988 2000 2008
Table 10 – Percentage of issue coverage for the Los Angeles Times 1968 and 2008.
An example of Berlingske Tidende‘s issue coverage from 1981 is provided by Lisbeth Knudsen
writing about the Danish social-liberal party Det Radikale Venstre and defense policy.
―Det radikale Venstre yesterday announced that it will not back a government willing to
revise the Danish military reinforcement policy. Radikale have recommended an SVKR-
government after the election but group leader Niels Helveg Petersen yesterday added a
precondition.‖ 542
542 Lisbeth Knudsen, "Radikalt Krav Om Flertalsaftale Efter Valget [Radikale Demand Majority Deal after Election],"
Berlingske Tidende, November 21, 1981. Page 1. My translation. Original text reads, ―Det radikale Venstre meldte i
går klart fra over for en regering der vil ændre på den danske forstærkningspolitik. De radikale har anbefalet en SVKRregering
efter valget, men grupperformand Niels Helveg Petersen føjede i går en betingelse til.‖ The article does include
elements of strategy coverage, but the Petersen‘s demand is focused on a specific political issue and the article is
therefore coded as issue.
178
N (1968) = 30
N (1980) = 49
N (1988) = 49
N (2000) = 47
N (2008) = 38
Los Angeles Times

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 11 – Percentage of issue coverage for Berlingske Tidende between 1971 and 2001.
For the USA Today as well as Ekstra Bladet an increase in issue coverage is discernable, and for the
USA Today this increase is statistically significant (p

coverage on the front page between 1971 and 2001. The newspapers editor-in-chief between 1963
and 1976 Victor Andreasen did not perceived Ekstra Bladet‘s primary role as one devoted to issue
coverage but a ―voice for the individual citizen in the face of political, economic and ideological
power concentrations,‖ as opposed to Politiken‘s ―voice for the highest enlightenment.‖ 544
While Ekstra Bladet did not discuss the political issues of the day, the newspaper in 1971 was,
however, the only one to carry watchdog stories on the front page and devoted 20 percent of its
coverage to stories like Ambro Kragh‘s ―It is this Easy to make Danish Land German,‖ revealing
how Danish entry into the common market open up for German land purchasing opportunities and
prompting political promises to remedy the situation. 545
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Issue news Ekstra Bladet
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 13 – Percentage of issue coverage for Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001.
544 Dirckinck-Holmfeldt, Tør - Hvor Andre Tier; Vrisne Victor Og Hans Hvalpe [Dares - Where Others Keep Silent;
Grumpy Victor and His Pups]. Page 80. See also Juhl, Bladet Fra Munden [Speak Your Mind]. Page 176.
545 Ambro Kragh, "Så Let Er Det Gøre Dansk Jord Tysk [It Is This Easy to Make Danish Land German]," Ekstra
Bladet, September 17, 1971. Page 1 and 6. ―Minister of Justice Knud Thestrup announces major investigation and
Minister of the Market issues declaration. Ekstra Bladet‘s exposure yesterday of Danish-German plans of masspurchase
of recreational areas in Denmark has created an immense stir in political circles.‖ My translation. Original text
reads, ―Justitsminister Knud Thestrup bebuder stor undersøgelse, og markedsministeren udsender erklæring. Ekstra
Bladets afsløringer i går af dansk-tyske planer om masseopkøb af rekarative områder i Danmark har vakt umådelig
opsigt i politiske kredse.‖ The watchdog frame is completely absent from Politiken and Berlingske Tidende in 1971 and
apppears very infrequently on the front page in the chosen American outlets‘ front page coverage. Less than seven
percent of all news stories between 1968 and 2008 deal with watchdog issues, defined in the codebook as journalists
holding ―public officials accountable for something in relation to their public function that is in the interest of society
for the common good of democracy.‖
180
N(1971) = 25
N(1981) = 19
N(1990) = 12
N(2001)= 30
Ekstra Bladet

In relation to H1 the results between Table 8 and 13 do not support hypothesis H1 expecting Danish
newspapers over time to put greater focus on ―form instead of substance.‖ On the contrary for the
three Danish newspapers combined there is a statistically significant rise in issue coverage. The
results based on the American outlets do, however, indicate a decline in issue coverage and a slight
decline in strategy coverage as well.
The 2000 election‘s increase in strategy coverage for The New York Times (from 29,5 in 1988
percent to 44 percent 12 years later), stands out compared to the other elections studied and the
most likely explanation is the close race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which has been
described by scholars as ―the perfect tie.‖ 546 As an example, The New York Times ran many front
page stories in October and November of 2000 discussing Al Gore and George Bush‘s abilities to
win the necessary votes. The following article lead is a typical example of a ―strategy news‖ lead,
―Vice President Al Gore is showing considerable strength in Florida among elderly and
independent voters and is seen as more likely than his opponent to reduce the cost of health
care and prescription drugs and protect the environment, a New York Times/CBS News poll
shows.‖ 547
The presidential elections of 1988 and 2008 were not as closely contested, in the last three weeks of
the campaign as the 2000 election, and this may be part of the reason that the percentage of strategy
coverage is below 30 in both those elections.
546 James A. Ceasar and Andrew E. Busch, The Perfect Tie: The True Story of the 2000 Presidential Election (Lanham,
Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2001).
547 David E. Rosenbaum and Janet Elder, "Independents and the Elderly Lift Gore in Florida, Poll Says," The New York
Times, October 26, 2000. Other examples include David Firestone‘s ―Big Push Starts to Lift Turnout of Black Vote,‖
from October 29, 2000 or Alison Mitchell‘s ―A Confident Bush Says He Can Win California‘s Vote,‖ from October 31,
2000.
181

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Table 14 – Percentage of strategy news for The New York Times between 1968 and 2008.
In terms of the Danish coverage, Table 15 shows that there is an overall decrease in the use of
strategy coverage for Politiken between 1971 and 2001, most markedly between 1990 and 2001 for
Politiken (p

Like The New York Times, Los Angeles Times show a tendency towards decreasing strategy
coverage between 1968 and 2008, but with a marked increase in the closely contested election of
2000. The decline in strategic news coverage for Los Angeles Times is not statistically significant
however.
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Strategy news Los Angeles Times
1968 1980 1988 2000 2008
Table 16 – Percentage of strategy news for Los Angeles Times between 1968 and 2008.
The same declining tendency as is apparent for Politiken in terms of strategy frames can be seen for
Berlingske Tidende even though the development is not statistically significant (p

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 17 – Percentage of strategy news in Berlingske Tidende between 1971 and 2001.
Like The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, the great focus on strategy frames in the 2000
election for USA Today, as seen in table 14 and 16, can likely be explained by the closeness of the
Bush-Gore-duel. USA Today from early on followed a strategy of making the news visually
appealing 548 and this approach lend itself well to strategy coverage of the 2000 election.
An example of the visual approach combined with strategic news frames can be found on
November 3, 2000 when Jill Lawrence published ―Uncertainty Chases Nominees to Election Day,‖
and began her article, which was placed under two big photos of the presidential candidates and
flanked by a graph about ―States with the lowest percentage of voter turnout,‖ with the following
words.
Strategy news Berlingske Tidende
1971 1981 1990 2001
―Al Gore and George W. Bush headed into the final weekend of the presidential campaign in
a frenzy of visits to states still so tight that either candidate might win them – and the White
House. Polls showed Bush leading by up to 5 points.‖ 549
548 Prichard, The Making of Mcpaper. Foreword and page 273-275.
549 Jill Lawrence, "Uncertainty Chases Nominees to Election Day," USA Today, November 3, 2000. Page 1.
184
N (1970) = 27
N (1981) = 32
N (1990) = 42
N (2001) = 29
Berlingske Tidende
Linear tendency
(Berlingske Tidende)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 18 – Percentage of strategy news in USA Today between 1988 and 2008.
Ekstra Bladet‘s election reporting goes against the tendency of Politiken and Berlingske Tidende,
but eventhough the rise in strategy coverage between 1971 and 2001 follows the expected
development based on hypothesis 1 the results are not statistically significant.
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Strategy news USA Today
1988 2000 2008
Strategy news Ekstra Bladet
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 19 – Percentage of strategy news for Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001.
The closeness of the 2000 campaign in the United States helped explain the results of the increased
strategy frame use and the importance of the election campaigns context in explaining results is also
185
N (1988) = 20
N (2000) = 22
N (2008) = 22
USA Today
N(1971) = 25
N(1981) = 19
N(1990) = 12
N(2001)= 30
Ekstra Bladet

apparent for the Danish 2001 election. In the Danish context, the direct newspaper subsidies from
the state has aimed to enhance public debate, and thereby make sure that the newspapers focus on
topics of public interest. 550 This conscious public service strategy may help account for some of the
increased focus on political issues in 2001. However, the across-the-board increase in issue
coverage between 1990 and 2001 is also difficult to explain if not for the great emphasis by
politicians and journalists alike on the immigration issue. This development in election coverage
was markedly different from the election in 1990, which had mainly focused on discussion of
economic issues and because of a greater degree of consensus on the economy, the election
coverage focused mainly on the strategy of forming coalitions. 551 Consequently, the hypothesis that
Danish election news coverage focuses increasingly on strategy and personalization finds little
support in the analyzed material.
For the American news outlets coverage depicted in Table 20, there does seems to be an increasing
tendency towards personalization coverage for The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times
between 1968 and 1988 (from 2,6 and 3,3 percent to 18,2 and 14,3 percent respectively), but
subsequently a deline is apparent.
Percent
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Personalization frame
1968 1980 1988 2000 2008
Table 20 - Percentage of personalization frames in American news coverage between 1968 and 2008.
550
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 17.
551
Brugge and Voss, "Politisk Forandring [Political Change]." Page 119.
186
New York Times
Los Angeles Times
USA Today

Yet, the relatively infrequent use of the personalization frame among American and Danish political
reporters means that the results are not statistically significant. USA Today once again goes against
the overall tendency of The New York Times and Los Angeles Times‘ coverage between 1968 and
2008. For USA Today there is clearly a decline in the use of personalization frames from 1988 until
2008, which fits well with the newspapers pronounced focus on hard news from the early 1990‘s
and forward as mentioned above. Also for the Danish news outlets is an uneven trend of
personalization coverage apparent. Ekstra Bladet focuses most on the personal characteristics of
politicians, but also here, as within the American outlets, the coverage peaks in 1988.
Percent
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Personalization frame
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 21 - Percentage of personalization frame in Danish news coverage between 1971 and 2001.
The lack of personalization frames in Danish election coverage corresponds well with research from
Germany, where Esser finds that, there has only been slight to no significant rise in personalization
coverage, though an increase in personalization coverage would be assumed, if one expects an
increasing tendency towards tabloidization, which Esser defines as, ―the direct result of
187
Politiken
Berlingske Tidende
Ekstra Bladet

commercialized media, most often promoted by the pressures of advertisers to reach large
audiences.‖ 552
In line with Esser‘s results, the current study only finds a slight, statistically insignificant rising
tendency for Berlingske Tidende and Ekstra Bladet, as can be seen by consulting Table 21. For all
the Danish outlets less than five articles in each election year has been coded as ―personalization‖
frame. 553
Based on the statistically significant results above we can conclude that there has been a rise in
issue coverage for all the Danish outlets‘ front page coverage between 1971 and 2001, and thereby
increased focus on substance. Additionally, the results for Politiken show a statistically significant
decrease in strategy coverage between 1990 and 2001, an outcome which is contrary to what was
expected of hypothesis H1c which stipulated that there should be an increased focus ―on
personalities and strategy,‖ in the Danish news coverage especially for media companies that are
publicly traded.
The results are not unequivocal but all three Danish news outlets display a decline in strategy
coverage between 1990 and 2001 and when combined for this period the results are stastically
significant (p

ased on commercial pressure. Berlingske Tidende which is publicly traded, and Ekstra Bladet
which is dependent on day-to-day sales use soft news leads more frequently than Politiken which is
somewhat shielded from commercial pressure. The tendency is less pronounced for the American
newspapers, but even for The New York Times which has historically been shielded from
commercial pressure there is a statistically significant rise in the use of soft news leads (p

25
20
15
10
5
0
Table 23 – Percentage of soft news coverage in Politiken between 1971 and 2001.
Politiken‘s soft news coverage never rises above 22 percent in the four election campaigns studied,
and hovers between 10 and 13 percent between 1971 and 1990. Only in 2001 does there seem to be
a shift to more soft news on the front page of Politiken though this change is not statistically
significant. For the Los Angeles Times there is a decline in soft news coverage between 1968 and
1988 and a slight rise until 2008. These results are not statistically significant however.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Soft News Politiken
1971 1981 1990 2001
Soft News Los Angeles Times
1968 1980 1988 2000 2008
Table 24 – Percentage of soft news in the Los Angeles Times 1968 to 2008.
190
N (1971) = 25
N (1981) = 23
N (1990) = 20
N (2001) = 42
Politiken
N (1968) = 30
N (1980) = 49
N (1988) = 49
N (2000) = 47
N (2008) = 38
Linear Tendency
(Politiken)
Los Angeles Times
Linear tendency (Los
Angeles Times)

The publicly owned newspaper Berlingske Tidende uses considerably more soft news leads than
Politiken. Between 18 and 35 percent of Berlingske Tidende‘s articles from 1971 to 2001 begin with
a soft news lead; a figure that has risen from 19 to 31 percent in that 30 year time span. Berlingske
Tidende‘s change in news frames is not statistically significant though.
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Soft News Berlingske Tidende
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 25 – Percentage of soft news in Berlingske Tidende between 1971 and 2001
Also the tabloid Ekstra Bladet, largely dependent on day-to-day sales, uses far more soft news leads
than hard news leads and its soft news coverage increases from 40 percent to 84 percent between
1971 and 1990 a development which is statistically significant (p

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Table 26 – Percentage of soft news in USA Today between 1988 and 2008.
As can be seen in Table 27, the soft news coverage of Ekstra Bladet peaks in 1990, but even in
2001, more than 66 percent of the news is initiated with a soft news lead. One example is ―Nyrups
Wild Party,‖ which describes the Social Democratic Prime Minister singing during a birthday
celebration.
Soft News USA Today
1988 2000 2008
―- Come on Nyrup, old pal. Come and sing a song for us! The doubt was painted onto Poul
Nyrups face. But then the Prime Minister nonetheless let himself be whirled into a wild
birthday party at Herning Folk School late last night.‖ 555
555 Claus Jessen, "Nyrups Vilde Fest [Nyrup's Wild Party]," Ekstra Bladet, November 17, 2001. Page 1 and 8. My
translation. Original text reads, ―- Kom nu Nyrup , gamle swinger. Kom og syng en sang for os! Tvivlen stod et kort
øjeblik malet i Poul Nyrups ansigt. Men så lod statsministeren sig alligevel hvirvle ind i en vild fødselsdagsfest på
Herning Højskole sent i aftes.‖
192
N (1988) = 20
N (2000) = 22
N (2008) = 22
USA Today

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Soft News Ekstra Bladet
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 27 – Percentage of Soft News coverage in Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001.
In the Danish context, Politiken adhere more to the traditional inverted news pyramid with hard
(who, what, when, where, why, how) news leads than the more stylistically unbounded soft news
approach. An observation supported by internal procedures at Politiken where it is emphasized that,
―as a general guideline, a news story must be written after the ‗inverted triangle‘ with the most
important information first: Who, what, where and when.‖ 556
In summary, there is a tendency towards increased soft news coverage in all three Danish news
outlets, though this increase is only statistically significant for Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and
1990. There is, however, also a discernable difference in the use of soft news leads between
Berlingske Tidende which has been publicly traded since 1982 and Politiken which has been
shielded from commercial pressure by Politiken-Fonden since 1973. 557 These results correspond
well with Hamilton‘s argument, that due to increased commercial influence, among other factors,
one should expect, ―a decrease in hard news‖ and ―an increase in soft news‖ as well as an increase
in ―the mix of opinion and interpretation in news coverage‖ since the 1970‘s. 558 However, based on
the results hypothesis H1a stating that ―from 1968 and forward news stories increasingly utilize soft
556 Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 24. My translation. The original text reads, ――En nyhed skal som hovedregels skrives efter
‗nyhedens trekant‘ med de vigtigste oplysninger først: Hvem, hvad, hvor, hvornår.‖
557 Lund, "Dansk Presse 1982 [Danish Press 1982]." Page 101. Also Erik Lund and Niels Thomsen, "Ejer- Og
Kontrolforhold I Dansk Presse [Owner- and Controlconditions in Danish Press]," in Pressens Årbog 1974 [Yearbook of
the Press 1974], ed. Niels Thomsen (København: Dansk pressehistorisk selskab, 1974). Page 202.
558 Hamilton, "The Market and the Media." Page 356.
193
N(1971) = 25
N(1981) = 19
N(1990) = 12
N(2001)= 30
Ekstra Bladet
Linear tendency
(Ekstra Bladet)

news leads,‖ can neither be dispelled or confirmed based on the available data. The results for
Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 1990 (p

slight decline in the use of interpretative reporting (p

As we saw earlier in this chapter, Robert Donovan from the Los Angeles Times used an
interpretative style of reporting when arguing that it was ―extremely doubtful,‖ that a bombing halt
in North Vietnam would help Humphrey against Nixon. 559 Interpretative reporting is on the rise
until 2000, but then drops significantly. In Berlingske Tidende there is, however, a rise discernable
between 1990 and 2001.
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Interpretative news Berlingske
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 31 – Percentage of interpretative news coverage in Berlingske Tidende between 1971 and 2001.
In terms of the coverage in the United States, there is an overall rise in interpretative coverage
between 1968 and 2008 for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and USA Today. Yet,
interpretative coverage on the front page declines between 2000 and 2008 for both The New York
Times and Los Angeles Times as seen in Table 28 and 30. 560
559 Donovan, "Break in Viet War Could Be Too Late to Aid Humphrey."
560 The New York Times‘ interpretative coverage hovers between 30 and 43,2% between 1968 and 2008 while Los
Angeles Times has a clear rise of interpretative coverage between 1968 and 2000 but then a sharp decline in 2008 (from
33,3 percent in 1968 up to 66 percent in 2000 and then down to 39,5 percent in 2008). For the USA Today interpretative
reporting rises from 15 percent in 1988 over 22,7 in 2000 to 26,3 in 2008.
196
N (1970) = 27
N (1981) = 32
N (1990) = 42
N (2001) = 29
Berlingske Tidende
Linear tendency
(Berlingske Tidende)

25
20
15
10
5
0
Table 32 – Percentage of interpretative reporting in USA Today between 1968 and 2008
Interpretative coverage for Ekstra Bladet is at a consistent level, at or above 50 percent, which must
be deemed characteristic for the tabloid‘s approach to journalism. Ekstra Bladet‘s journalists often
become part of the story or offer evaluations not attributed to sources, which is reflected in the
numbers of Table 33.
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Interpretative news USA Today
1988 2000 2008
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 33 – Percentage of interpretative news articles in Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001.
197
N (1988) = 20
N (2000) = 22
N (2008) = 22
USA Today
Linear tendency (USA
Today)
Interpretative news Ekstra Bladet
N(1971) = 25
N(1981) = 19
N(1990) = 12
N(2001)= 30
Ekstra Bladet

As an example of Ekstra Bladet‘s more unconventional soft news and interpretative approach, one
can turn to the following article from September 1971 concerning a campaign stop for the
Conservative politician Erik Ninn-Hansen.
―The time has passed when an election meeting could be handled in a town hall with blunt
words and coffee with pastries (…) Approximately 450 people had made their way to Ninn-
Hansens hour and a half long show which went across the stage in well-groomed, American
style.‖ 561
Later in the article the journalist inserts a ―tee hee how funny,‖ as an ironic comment on a statement
by the Danish politician Erik Ninn Hansen. This tendency towards soft news leads and
interpretative reporting is more pronounced in Ekstra Bladet and Berlingske Tidende‘s articles than
is the case with Politiken‘s coverage.
Based on the above results H1b stating that ―news stories increaingly utilize an interpretative style
of reporting‖ from 1968 and forward can not be supported. There is, however, a statistically
significant rise in interpretative reporting for all the Danish news outlets between 1990 and 2001
(p

instead of substance in election coverage, find indications that, ―the alleged Americanization of
Danish elections is a myth.‖ 562
Additionally, the above section has shown that both in terms of soft news and interpretative
reporting a rise can be detected in the United States and Denmark, but this development is rarely
statistically significant. Moreover, it does not seem like there is a correspondence between
American news frames or style of reporting and Danish newspapers in terms of similar
developments over time. There is no clear connection between soft and interpretative news
reporting in the Danish and American newspapers which were expected to share reporting styles
based on degree of commercial pressure. It can therefore not be concluded that there is a clear
development towards more soft news and interpretative reporting either in the United States or in
Denmark due to increased commercial pressure over time.
5.4 H2: Objectivity
H2: After 1968 the biggest Danish newspapers have separated themselves from direct
political influence, and consequently the journalistic style has moved increasingly
towards the ―objectivity norm,‖ espoused by leading American journalistic
institutions.
H2a: From 1986 and forward news stories in Danish newspapers are increasingly
characterized by descriptive information instead of emotion or interpretation.
H2b: From 1968 and forward news stories in Danish newspapers increasingly abandon one-
source articles in coverage of political stories.
H2c: From 1968 and forward news stories in Danish newspapers increasingly utilize a hard
news lead based on answering who, what, when, where, why and how in the first
paragraphs.
562 Brugge and Voss, "Politisk Forandring [Political Change]." Page 129-130. ―It is irrefutable that there has been a
marked increase in newspaper articles dealing with political substance.‖
199

Based on the results below, it will be argued that when looking at descriptive journalistic style, the
move from away from one-source articles and the use of hard news leads in election articles, it is
possible to speak of a shift towards the ―objectivity ideal‖ in Danish journalism and by extension an
adaptation of American ideals of journalistic style and production. This shift is especially apparent
in the Danish appropriation of ―balanced‖ political reporting which seems to have occurred
between 1981 and 1990 while the percentage of hard news leads for Berlingske Tidende and
Politiken simultaneously stays high.
As is apparent from Tables 34 to 38 all three American newspapers have a slightly declining
propensity in terms of descriptive coverage and especially between 1968 and 2000 is this tendency
pronounced with the Los Angeles Times (p

memoirs. 563
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 35 – Percentage of descriptive news stories in Politiken between 1971 and 2001.
In terms of Danish descriptive news coverage, we saw a significant rise in Politiken‘s descriptive
political reporting between 1971 and 1990, but for Berlingske Tidende this trend is less pronounced.
There is a slight decline detectable in Ekstra Bladet‘s coverage between 1971 where there are 40
percent descriptive news articles and 2001 where there are 36 percent descriptive news articles as
seen in Table 39. For the Los Angeles Times there is a statistically significant drop in descriptive
reporting between 1968 and 2008 (p

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Descriptive news Los Angeles Times
1968 1980 1988 2000 2008
Table 36 - Percentage of descriptive news stories in Los Angeles Times between 1968 and 2008.
For Berlingske Tidende‘s there is a slight, statistically significant decline in descriptive coverage
between 1971 and 2001 (p

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Descriptive news Berlingske Tidende
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 37 – Percentage of descriptive news stories in Berlingske Tidende between 1971 and 2001.
In the USA Today, descriptive coverage has been on the decline since 1988, but due to the small N
of the newspapers election articles from 1988 to 2008, the results are not statistically significant. An
example of USA Today‘s coverage could be ―Election ‘88 chases heart of Texas,‖ which also
exemplifies strategy coverage and a soft news lead in its description of voters feeling oversaturated
with political information directed at them.
―Even though he calls the campaign exciting, law student Marty Schexnayder says he‘s
suffering battle fatigue from the presidential fight in Texas. (…) But relief is not in sight.
Despite polls showing them five to 10 points behind, Democrats are still storming Texas.‖ 565
565 Julie Morris and Michael Rosenfelt, "Election '88 Chases Heart of Texas," USA Today, October 20, 1988. Page 1.
203
N (1970) = 27
N (1981) = 32
N (1990) = 42
N (2001) = 29
Berlingske Tidende
Linear tendency
(Berlingske Tidende)

90
85
80
75
70
65
Descriptive news USA Today
1988 2000 2008
Table 38 – Percentage of descriptive news stories in USA Today between 1988 and 2008.
Keeping in line with Ekstra Bladet‘s profile as being out of the mainstream, the newspapers article
leads are also more innovative and provocative throughout the years studied than the more
mainstream Berlingske Tidende and Politiken. These findings also correspond well with recent
Danish scholarship, which points out that Ekstra Bladet is considered the least objective and most
sensational news outlet among Danish readers. The development of descriptive news reporting for
Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001 is not statistically significant. 566
566 Erik Albæk, David Nicolas Hopmann, and Claes Holger de Vreese, Kunsten at Holde Balancen [The Art of Keeping
the Balance] (Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2010). Page 100.
204
N (1988) = 20
N (2000) = 22
N (2008) = 22
USA Today
Linear tendency (USA
Today)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Descriptive news Ekstra Bladet
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 39 – Percentage of descriptive news stories in Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001.
The above results indicate unequivocal results regarding hypothesis H2a stipulating that ―from 1968
and forward news stories in Danish newspapers are increasingly characterized by descriptive
information instead of interpretation. This development is seen for Politiken, but not for Berlingske
Tidende and the results for Ekstra Bladet are not statistically significant. H2a can therefore not be
confirmed despite Politiken incorporating more descriptive coverage between 1971 and 2001.
5.4.1 The move from “Discount Journalism”
In Danish journalism, it has been a long-held view that news articles should incorporate more than
one source in order to achieve balance and avoid what Meilby has called ―discount journalism.‖
However, as we shall see Danish and American political journalists have not always lived up to the
ideal of using two sources. 567 The objectivity norm prescribes balancing ―sources with conflicting
viewpoints,‖ 568 and during election campaigns, stories with less than two sources do therefore not
afford room for more than one viewpoint. 569 As is apparent from Table 40 there is a significant
decline in the use of stories containing zero or only one source in The New York Times between
567 Mogens Meilby, "Discountjournalistik Med En Enkelt Kilde [Discount-Journalism with a Single Source],"
Update(1999), http://www.update.dk/cfje/VidBase.nsf/ID/VB00115402. Article accessed on November 13, 2010.
568 Sigal, "Who? Sources Make the News." Page 16.
569 The coders have only taken articles into account where sources are quoted directly in the text.
205
N(1971) = 25
N(1981) = 19
N(1990) = 12
N(2001)= 30
Ekstra Bladet

1968 and 2008 (p

with a reply in the article. Based solely on the text, the article‘s author ―Mac‖ does not seem to have
attempted a comment from the two parties either. The article itself is characterized by being hard
news as well as descriptive in nature, but knowing Politiken‘s close historical affinity with The
Radikale Venstre and Pundik‘s publicized break with the political party, it is notable that such as
story can be found on the front page during a national election campaign as the top story in 1971. 571
By 2001, however, less than 17 percent of the frontpage articles in Politiken dealing with politics
zero or one sources in their articles. One of the articles that does use two sources ―VK: Thule
should be part of missile defense‖ discusses whether or not the Danes should allow the Thule-base
to be part of the American proposed missile defense. In the article, Venstre‘s spokesman for defense
Svend Aage Jensby is quoted as saying ―it would be a slap in the face of the United States,‖ if
Denmark said no, while his political opponent Minister of Defense Jan Trøjborg advocates taking
more time to make a decision since ―it can not be simplified the way that V and K does.‖ 572 As the
above example indicates, Politiken by 2001 balances opposing statements in political reporting to
an extent not seen in 1971. Also the article ―Venstre Wants an All New Minister‖ from 2001 reveals
that statements between opposing candidates Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
are balanced. These examples can be seen as indicators that a shift towards an ideal of using at least
two sources with opposing political viewpoints have occurred during election campaigns. 573
571
Mac, "Regerings-Trojkaen Slingrer Før Valget [Government-Trojka Wavering before Election]," Politiken,
September 11, 1971.
572
Kristian Klarskov, "VK: Thule Skal Med I Missil-Skjold [VK: Thule Should Be Part of Missile-Defense," Politiken,
November 6, 2001. Page 1.
573
Christine Cordsen and Kristian Klarskov, "Venstre Vil Have Helt Ny Minister [Venstre Wants an All New
Minister]," Politiken, November 12, 2001. This is also the case of ―VK-government expected in a few days,‖ where
Venstre‘s Anders Fogh Rasmussen‘s statements are inserted along with the potential coalition partner and leader of the
right-wing party Dansk Folkeparti Pia Kjærsgaard.
207

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 41 – Percentage of zero or one-source news articles in Politiken between 1971 and 2001.
The tendency of decline in the use of zero source or one-source articles is apparent in all four
mainstream outlets studied here. Also for the Los Angeles Times the move to using more than one
source in their political articles is significant between 1968 and 2008 (p

Berlingske Tidende, which historically has had close ties to Det Konservative Folkeparti, also relied
heavily on zero- or one-source articles in 1971 and 1981 but as was the case with Politiken, there is
a significant decline in Berlingske Tidende‘s use of zero or one-source stories after 1981 (p

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Table 44 – Percentage of one-source news stories in USA Today between 1988 and 2008.
The decline in one-source stories seen with Politiken and Berlingske Tidende is also apparent with
Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001 though the results are not statistically significant (p

Based on the above results hypothesis H2b stating that ―from 1968 and forward news stories in
Danish newspapers increasingly abandon one-source articles,‖ is confirmed for both Politiken and
Berlingske Tidende and the same tendency seems apparent for Ekstra Bladet though the
development is not statistically significant (p

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 46 – Percentage of hard news leads in The New York Times between 1968 and 2008.
According to Schudson, the prevalence of new media platforms during the 2008 campaign
significantly altered the way that traditional media outlets like The New York Times covered
national elections. 575 Consequently, The New York Times devoted more time to covering politics
and especially new media, such as YouTube, the way that their new media competitors were
covering the campaign, a change that potentially helps to account for the decline in hard news
coverage seen on The New York Times‘ front page between 1968 and 2008 (p

For Politiken the percentage of hard news coverage declines from 88 percent in 1971 to 79 percent
in 2001 but this development is not statistically significant.
92
90
88
86
84
82
80
78
76
74
72
Table 47 – Percentage of hard news leads in Politiken between 1971 and 2001.
The development for Los Angeles Times is less clear-cut than the development for The New York
Times but still the overall decline in hard news coverage between 1968 and 2008 is statistically
significant (p

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Table 48 - Percentage of hard news leads in Los Angeles Times between 1968 and 2008.
For Berlingske Tidende there is a slight but statistically insignificant decline in hard news from 81,5
percent in 1971 to 69 percent in 2001 (p

newspapers goal to become a more serious, and in this sense more hard news, outlet over time. 577 If
one turns to the results of USA Today‘s use of issue frames between 1988 and 20008, these
developments can seemingly be explained in terms of conscious management decisions. USA
Today, the national American newspaper, which was started in 1982, initially emphasized news that
was ―shorter and brighter,‖ news which had ―good photos and informative graphics‖ in full color
and news written for the American public instead of fellow editors. The USA Today did as noted,
however, make an editorial shift towards a ―harder approach to news‖ in the early 1990. 578 As we
saw on Table 46 and 48 there is declining tendency among The New York Times and Los Angeles
Times‘ hard news coverage, while the USA Today on the other hand have increased their share of
hard news stories since 1988.
70
68
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
Table 50 – Percentage of hard news leads in USA Today between 1988 and 2008.
As noted in the previous section, the difference in the use of hard news is interesting given the
variation in commercial pressure between the three Danish news outlets. Additionally, the
difference is also notable given the variation in publishing ideals between Politiken and Ekstra
Bladet where the latter took a bottom-up approach to newspaper writing, focusing on ordinary
people, while Politiken‘s style was characterized more by top-down focusing more on ―high brow‖
577 Prichard, The Making of Mcpaper. Page 275-277.
578 Ibid. Page 274.
Hard news USA Today
1988 2000 2008
215
N (1988) = 20
N (2000) = 22
N (2008) = 22
USA Today

topics. 579 Based on this observation one might expect more soft news from Ekstra Bladet than
Politiken and the content analysis also shows the expected difference in the use of hard news,
though the results for Ekstra Bladet are not statistically significant.
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Hard news Ekstra Bladet
1971 1981 1990 2001
Table 51 – Percentage of hard news leads in Ekstra Bladet between 1971 and 2001.
Based on the results, hypothesis H2c stating that ―from 1968 and forward news stories in Danish
newspapaers increasingly utilize a hard news lead,‖ can neither be confirmed or rejected. Yet, the
statistically insignificant tendency seems to be a decline in hard news leads.
Overall, however, H2 expecting Danish news journalism to have moved increasingly towards the
―objectivity norm,‖ is confirmed since the most convincing statistically significant result confirmed
hypothesis 2b and the results for hypothesis 2a and 2c were more ambiguous. Politiken is the
Danish newspaper which most clearly exhibit the ―objective‖ characteristics expected with its
statistically significant increase in descriptive reporting and the use of two or more sources in
political reporting between 1971 and 2001. Similarly, Berlingske Tidende abandoned the use of
one-source articles on the front page in the period studied and the same seems to be the case for
579 Juhl, Bladet Fra Munden [Speak Your Mind]. Page 176. See also Dirckinck-Holmfeldt, Tør - Hvor Andre Tier;
Vrisne Victor Og Hans Hvalpe [Dares - Where Others Keep Silent; Grumpy Victor and His Pups]. Page 80-83.
216
N(1971) = 25
N(1981) = 19
N(1990) = 12
N(2001)= 30
Ekstra Bladet
Linear tendency
(Ekstra Bladet)

Ekstra Bladet though this development is not statistically signifant. 580 Consequently, it is obvious
that Danish news coverage over time includes more quoted sources in political articles. Though it
must be noted that the inclusion of two or more sources in a political article does not necessarily
lead to balanced reporting, the previously mentioned examples from Politiken in 2001 indicate that
political actors with opposing viewpoints are included in the two-source articles. 581
The present content analysis provides an empirical foundation for arguing that one-source articles in
Danish political news are rarer than was the case in the 1970s and early 1980s. Balanced political
news reporting has long been the ideal in the United States and it has also become the case in
Denmark. As expected there seems to be a time lag in the adoption of the American ideal of
balanced political reporting. 582
Conclusion
In summary, the selected Danish newspapers have increasingly adopted the ideal of using more than
one source in political reporting on the front page. As opposed to the overall news frame, there
seems to be a similar development between the use of balanced political articles in the United States
and the use of balanced articles in Denmark with a time lag before this development is seen in the
Danish newspapers. Whether the use of at least two sources also leads to balancing sources with
opposing viewpoints can not be determined by the present content analysis, but a sampling of the
political articles from 2001 reveals that the practice of balancing opposing statements was clearly
present in Politiken‘s reporting every time at least two sources appeared in the newspapers‘ political
articles.
A slight decline in descriptive news is detectable for Berlingske Tidende but over time Politiken and
Berlingske Tidende are at least as ―objective‖ as their American counterparts based on the use of
two-source articles, descriptive and hard news. There is, however, a declining tendency of hard
news coverage for all the Danish news outlets but the percentage of hard news for Politiken and
Berlingske Tidende is still comparable to The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. It is
therefore possible to argue that a shift towards the ―objectivity ideal‖ and an appropriation of
journalistic practices, which emanated in the United States, has taken place in Denmark. In the
580 Between 1981 and 2001 Politiken‘s use of zero- or one-source articles declines from 73,9 to 16,6 percent, while the
numbers for Berlingske Tidende is a decline from 87,5 percent to 27,5. Also Ekstra Bladet‘s political articles decline
from 68,4 to 43,3 percent in that period.
581 Meilby, "Discountjournalistik Med En Enkelt Kilde [Discount-Journalism with a Single Source]."
582 Schou, "Postwar Americanisation and the Revitalisation of European Culture." Page 149.
217

following section the content analysis chapter is wrapped up with the ―narration‖ part of
Krippendorff‘s framework which ―amounts to the the researchers making their results
comprehensible to others.‖ 583
5.5 Discussion
In the late 1960‘s and early 1970‘s Danish newspapers, among them Politiken, were closely tied to
political parties, while an American newspaper like The New York Times since 1896 had made a
point out of giving the news ―impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of any party, sect or
interest involved.‖ 584 Seeing therefore that Politiken‘s political articles in 1971 are more
interpretative than New York Times‘ is not surprising. Politiken‘s board appointed Herbert Pundik
editor-in-chief in 1970, and he immediately initiated changes to ensure a more professional
journalistic approach. 585
In Pundik‘s view professional journalism was closely tied to a greater emphasis on political
independence. Pundik therefore quickly severed Politiken‘s ties to the political party Det Radikale
Venstre. On February 20, 1970 Pundik notified Prime Minister Hilmar Baunsgaard, that Politiken
no longer would be associated with Det Radikale Venstre and in a letter to Baunsgaards brother, the
day after, the editor-in-chief wrote.
―As we explained to the Prime Minister yesterday, we are afraid that the discretionary
measures, that our employee naturally has had to take, can be a hindrance for dynamic and
independent political journalism.‖ 586
Yet Pundik also began other new initiatives in terms of the way that a newspaper was organized and
which topics to emphasize. Pundik was inspired by European and Anglo-American media outlets.
583 Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Page 85.
584 Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers. Page 110-111.
585 Niels Thomsen, "Pressen 1969-70 [The Press 1969-70]," in Pressehistorisk Årbog [Press Historical Yearbook], ed.
Niels Thomsen and Lars Furhoff (Copenhagen: Dansk Pressehistorisk Selskab, 1970). Page 173.
586 Pundik, Du Kan Hvis Du Tør [You Can If You Dare]. Page 68. See also Bjørn Bredal, Politiken Mod Politiken [The
Policy against Politiken] (Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag, 2009). Page 462-469.
218

Pundik had, for example, visited The Washington Post for inspiration shortly before he became
editor-in-chief at Politiken. 587
In the years after 1971, Pundik‘s more professional approach to political news coverage did,
however, make its presence felt, at least according to his autobiography, and although a causal
connection cannot be made directly to the journalistic content on Politiken‘s front-pages in 1981
and 1990, it is, in the light of Cook and Bourdieu‘s writings concerning journalism as an institution
and field, striking that the newspapers political articles become much more descriptive and much
less interpretative from after the 1971 election while the balanced approach to political reporting is
adopted after 1981. An observation also supported by Hjarvard when he writes,
―The newspapers‘ political ideology will seldom be explicitly articulated in the daily editorial
process, but rather be part of the employees‘ tacit knowledge about existing norms in the
company.‖ 588
For Berlingske Tidende and Ekstra Bladet the most obvious ―American‖ development in terms of
their political news coverage seems to be adopting the ideal of balanced reporting in their news
articles after 1981. Ekstra Bladet does, however, have a slight upward tendency to more descriptive
news coverage between 1971 and 2001, but the starting point is also much lower than Politiken and
Berlingske Tidende‘s meaning that Ekstra Bladet with its tabloid-profile is much less focused on
descriptive reporting than the two omnibus newspapers.
587 Pundik, Du Kan Hvis Du Tør [You Can If You Dare]. Page 42-44. ‖The model was the British weekly Sunday
Times‘ Insight Team (…) I gave the editorial operation more structure. This I learned at Washington Post. (Before my
accession the board had sent me on a stay abroad at the American daily, where I was able to follow the newspapers‘
editorial work process)‖ My translation. Original text reads, ―Modellen var den engelske ugeavis Sunday Times' Insight
Team" (…) ‖Jeg har lagt den redaktionelle drift ind i fastere rammer. Det lærte jeg på Washington Post." (Inden min
tiltrædelse havde bestyrelsen sendt mig på et studieophold på det amerikanske dagblad, hvor jeg fik lov at følge avisens
redaktionelle arbejdsgang, HP).‖
588 Hjarvard, "Den Politiske Presse - En Analyse Af Danske Avisers Politiske Orientering [The Political Press: An
Analysis of Political Parallelism in Danish Newspapers]." Page 49. My translation. Original text reads, ―Avisens
politiske grundholdning vil sjældent være eksplicit artikuleret i den daglige redaktionelle proces, men snarere være en
del af de ansattes tavse viden om gældende normer i virksomheden.‖
219

To summarize, Politiken‘s political coverage seems to be inspired by the Anglo-American ideal of
objective journalism, meaning a hard news lead, descriptive reporting and representing both sides of
a political controversy fairly from 1981 and forward. 589
The differences between Politiken and Berlingske Tidende as well as Ekstra Bladet may be
explained by the newspapers‘ different customer- and leadership-profile as well as the three
newspapers‘ different levels of commercial pressure.
―[M]edia systems are shaped by the wider context of political history, structure and culture,‖ argues
Hallin and Mancini and it seems that the same can to an extent be said of the election campaigns
studied here. We saw how the American frontpage coverage in 2000 reflected the close race
between Gore and Bush and also found evidence that the Danish 2001 campaign was partly shaped
by the great focus on the issue of immigration. 590
Developments in broader society may also help account for the greater amount of strategy and
interpretative coverage seen in the Danish newspapers in 1971 as Politiken made gains in the use of
the opinion poll.
―Today Politiken introduces a whole new form for opinion poll, which stands out from
everything else of this kind by being current within the last 24 hours (…) The new system,
which makes it possible to bring opinion analyses that time does not outrun is prepared by
Kasper Vilstrup Market Analysis and conducted together with sociologist Harald Rømer. The
study encompasses a panel of 400 voters who all have a telephone in common.‖ 591
In the days following this introduction Politiken published a host of articles with the latest voter
opinions, articles which were often interpreted by Rømer or Vilstrup and therefore not written in the
detached, descriptive way that the American ideal of objectivity espoused. Though the differences
in journalistic content between the United States and Denmark have not diminished, it is notable
589
Jørgensen, Journalistik Med Stil: Fra Klassiske Nyheder Til Fortælling [Journalism with Style - From Classical
News to Narrative]. Page 24-25.
590
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 46.
591
Politiken, "Politikens Vælgerpanel [Politikens Election Panel]," Politiken, September 10, 1971. My translation. The
original text reads, ―"Politiken introducerer i dag en helt ny form for opinionsundersøgelse, som adskiller sig fra alt
andet af den art ved at være døgnaktuelle. (…) Det nye system, der gør det muligt at bringe opinionsanalyser som tiden
ikke når at løbe fra inden de bringes frem er udarbejdet af Kasper Vilstrup Markedsanalyse og udført i samarbejde med
sociologen Harald Rømer. Undersøgelsen omfatter et panel på 400 vælgere, som alle har det til fælles at de har telefon.‖
220

that Politiken in 1971 adopts a polling method which emanated, and had been used, in the United
States since at least 1936. 592 Berlingske Tidende at the same time was working with Gallup to give
an indication of voters‘ political leanings and had been doing so since 1964. 593 Yet, an opinion poll
from 1971 shows that Berlingske Tidende, compared to Politiken, was still using fairly old data to
try and predict current political trends. 594
The fact that the strategy frame has been common in Danish news coverage at least since 1971 may
then be partly explained by Politikens introduction of Vilstrups analyses and Berlingske Tidende‘s
use of Gallup polls, but also by the fact that the content analysis sample is taken solely during the
last three weeks of an election campaign, where the need for knowing who is ahead, or who is
behind, is perhaps greater than is the case in non-election years. The introduction of the opinion
poll, as a tool for political election coverage can also been seen as a form of structural
Americanization in terms of science and technology, not until George H. Gallup introduced the
survey techniques were they appropriated in a Danish setting and later incorporated into Danish
news coverage. 595
5.4.1 Publicist and Public Service
Despite recent studies finding an increased focus on personalization and political process in Danish
news coverage, 596 there are also studies indicating that Danish public service coverage is alive and
well. As noted previously Lund and Sepstrup found that Danish media subsidies have helped
maintain a multifarious Danish media landscape where more space has been awarded cultural issues
as well as public debate over the years. 597 Scandinavian definitions of the publicist concept are
592 Jr. Charles W. Roll and Albert H. Cantril, Polls: Their Use and Misuse in Politics (New York: Basic Books, Inc.,
Publishers, 1972). Page 10. Roll and Cantril trace the evolution of polling in America all the way back to 1774, but
places 1936 as the year where ―scientific‖ polls conducted by George H. Gallup first appeared.
593 Dan Larsen, Partiernes Bevægelser I Gallups Politiske Index [Party Movement in Gallups Political Index] (Århus:
Institut for Presseforskning, 1978). Page 10 and appendix page 4. According to Larsen, Gallup has polled Danish
people‘s political leanings since 1957.
594 Berlingske, "Berlingske-Gallup Om Partierne Og Vælgerne; Politisk Indeks [Berlingske-Gallup About the Parties
and Voters; Political Index]," Berlingske Tidende, September 5, 1971. Page 8.
595 Larsen, Partiernes Bevægelser I Gallups Politiske Index [Party Movement in Gallups Political Index]. Page 10. The
poll referred to on September 5, was collected between August 7 th and August 21 st that same year. See also Chalaby,
The Invention of Journalism. Page 138. Chalaby notes that in England the ―News-Chronicle pioneered the use of the
opinion poll during the 1945 General Election campaign.‖
596 Peter Bro et al., "Mediernes Valgkamp [The Media's Election Campaign]," (Modinet
Mandag Morgen, 2005). Page 12. See also Lasse Højsgaard, "Substansen Er Parkeret [The Substance Has Been
Parked]," Journalisten, November 3, 2010. Page 28-29.
597 Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]."Page 64.
221

closely connected to the notion of public service and understood as professionally produced media
content selected and processed based on professional standards which live up to the ideal of
furthering debate, culture and general education in broader society. 598
Additionally, Hjarvard argues that though the Danish newspaper market has been increasingly
commercialized, it has not lost the publicist core of working in the public‘s interest. According to
Hjarvard, Berlingske Tidende is experiencing increased commercial pressure after Det Berlingske
Officin was sold to first Orkla and then Mecom Group, while Politiken entered into a commercial
partnership with Jyllands-Posten despite ideological differences, to preserve a press ―that is not
purely commercial, but combines publicist and businesslike interests.‖ 599
Hjarvard notes that the Danish media system has reflected the development of broader society after
World War II, an observation which goes hand-in-hand with Hallin and Mancini‘s argument that
media systems closely mirror the greater societal context they develop in. Currently, however, two
different approaches to newspapers publishing is now apparent, a purely commercial, exemplified
by free newspapers like Metro Express, and a half commercial and half publicist approach
exemplified by newspapers like Politiken and Berlingske Tidende with Ekstra Bladet occupying a
middle ground according to Hjarvard. Hjarvard labels this tendency the divided press system or
functional differentiation.
According to Hjarvard, the free newspapers in Denmark are the ones most resembling the purely
commercial and politically neutral newspapers espoused by the liberal media model, but the
newspapers that are subsidized through subscriptions, advertisements as well as the state still are
able to resist the purely commercial approach to newspaper publishing.
―The present development is characterized by commercialization, but it will not necessarily
lead to a purely liberal press model in Denmark. The closer interplay between press and
politics, between journalistic professionalism, publicist ambition and commercial interests can
result in more complex press relations than existing theories prescribe. Not least is there a
598 Ibid. Page 18.
599 Hjarvard, "Den Politiske Presse - En Analyse Af Danske Avisers Politiske Orientering [The Political Press: An
Analysis of Political Parallelism in Danish Newspapers]." Page 31-32 and 45-46. My translation. Original text reads,
―Der er naturligvis tale om et fornuftsægteskab, der skal sikre stordriftsfordele i den øgede konkurrence, men man har
samtidig skabt et fælles selskab, hvormed man håber at kunne forsvare eksistensen af en presse, der ikke er rent
kommerciel, men kombinerer publicistiske og forretningsmæssige interesser.‖
222

need for a more nuanced description of the press‘ political role than theories based on an
American media reality indicate. The party press is dead, but the rumors of the political press‘
death are greatly exaggerated.‖ 600
It therefore seems that the structures of the Danish newspapers market, where the major newspapers
still espouse a publicist ideal of furthering debate, which again qualifies them for government
subsidies to an extent inhibits the more purely commercial conditions of the American newspaper
market. Moreover, the merger between Politiken and Jylland-Posten at the organizational level also
provides an example of a compromise between commercial and publicist ideals. Danish newspapers
are consolidating and branching out to other media outlets like radio and the web in order to make
enough money for ensuring that the publicist foundation endures. The unique economic and
political history of the Scandinavian countries has in turn developed a Scandinavian journalism
tradition which has been distinct from the more unadulterated commercial American model.
Conclusion
It seems the claim that increased commercialization leads to increased focus on opinion polls and
less focus on political issues cannot be supported by the present study. On the contrary there is a
distinct increase in coverage of political issues in Danish media between 1990 and 2001. Part of this
increase may be explained in terms of the election context, namely the prevalence of immigration
discussions during the campaign, but part of this coverage may also be due to a publicist core news
value upheld in Denmark by direct and indirect government subsidies as discussed in Chapter 3 and
in the last part of the present chapter.
Moreover, Danish newspapers have increasingly adopted the ideal of using more than one source in
political reporting and a random sample from Politiken‘s political reporting also shows that the
appropriation of two-source articles has led to a balancing of opposing statements, which is a
journalistic practice emanating from the United States.
600 Ibid. Page 51. My translation. Original text reads, ―Den igangværende udvikling er præget af kommercialisering,
men det vil ikke nødvendigvis føre til en rent liberal pressemodel i Danmark. Det nærmere samspil mellem presse og
politik, mellem journalistisk professionalisme, publicistiske ambitioner og kommercielle interesser kan resultere i mere
sammensatte presseforhold end eksisterende teorier foreskriver. Ikke mindst er der behov for en mere nuanceret
beskrivelse af pressens politiske rolle, end teorier med afsæt i en amerikansk medievirkelighed angiver. Partipressen er
død, men rygterne om den politiske presses død er stærkt overdrevne.‖
223

6. Counterforces and Qualifications
The process of Americanization is one described by Hallin and Mancini as an interplay between
exogenous processes and endogenous development. 601 While there have clearly been external
attempts to influence Danish journalism, most notably coming from the American Embassy in
Copenhagen, the internal development within the Danish media market has also played a prominent
role in the discussion of Americanization in Denmark. Some of the internal development has been
shaped by the government‘s media policies, some by the journalistic institutions themselves and
some by the individual journalist. Some have worked counter to Americanization and some has
spurred it along. Direct media subsidies, the move away from the party press and the strong union
organization are all developments unique to Danish media system which have little to do with
influence from the United States. 602
We have seen how the Danish government‘s subsidy policy towards the newspapers is markedly
different from the American espoused by FCC chairmanMark Fowler, and has helped the Danish
press resist commercial pressure commonly associated with Americanization. We have followed
the development of the party press from Henrik Cavling‘s derision of newspapers‘ political
affiliation to the party press‘ demise in the late 1970‘s, a development which can be seen as a step
towards an American model of ―objective‖ journalism. It is, however, important to note, as
Hjarvard has done, that the Danish press is still tied to politicial ideologies just not as closely as it
was in the 1970s. 603
Concerning union membership, the Danes has not felt that there was much to be gained from
following an American or British example. In fact the Danish Union of Journalist‘s in 1979 more or
less derided the American Newspaper Guild and the British National Union of Journalist‘s for not
being better economically prepared for conflicts between workers and publicists.
―The two biggest union‘s within the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the
American Newspaper Gulid and the British NUJ is threatened by economic ruin because of
601
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 254-262.
602
Journalisten, "Har Strejket Sig Til Økonomisk Ruin [Have Striked Themselves to Economic Ruin]," Journalisten,
June, 1979. Page 15.
603
Erik Lund, "Med Fyns Tidende Døde Den Sidste Rest Af Flerbladssystemet [with Fyns Tidende the Last Remnant of
the Multipaper System Died]," Journalisten, September, 1979. Page 8. Lund describes the Danish multipaper-system,
where every major city would have four different papers backing four different political parties as ―the Danish press‘
and the Danish democracy‘s hallmark.‖ See also Hjarvard, "Den Politiske Presse - En Analyse Af Danske Avisers
Politiske Orientering [The Political Press: An Analysis of Political Parallelism in Danish Newspapers]." Page 51.
224

striks among journalist‘s within the past two years. Today the coffers are empty, both in New
York and London (…) P.S. The Danish Union of Journalist‘s has less than 4.000 members
and in their support is a guarenteed fund containing a double-digit amount of millions.‖ 604
Thus, developments unique to Danish society contribute to arresting Americanization; an
observation which undermines the theory of cultural imperialism. On the other hand, developments
like increase in foreign ownership of Danish media, the break of the Danish Broadcasting Service‘s
monopoly and the influence of the internet have also served to shape the Danish media market
internally and are connected to structural Americanization. 605
Yet, as previously noted, the most powerful force counteracting Americanization of Danish
newsrooms is unquestionably the difference in the two media systems‘ relationship to media
subsidies. The state is much more active in Denmark and spends approximately one billion dollars
in direct and indirect media subsidies to uphold news production deemed important to the
upholding the informational level for at well-functioning democracy. 606 In comparison the United
States, a country with almost 55 times as many people, spends less than half the Danish amount
(approximately 400 million dollars). 607 As mentioned in chapter 3, the Danish media subsidy is
meant to provide a high quality supply of ―knowledge and culture dissemination along with
significant societal information and debate of importance for a democratic society.‖ 608
The establishment of Dagspressens finansieringsinstitut (DFI) [The Press‘ Financing Institute] in
1970 was the first institutional recognition that the press was worthy of state subsidies and these
subsidies were to be based on support to daily papers or publications within that genre, that could
604 Journalisten, "Har Strejket Sig Til Økonomisk Ruin [Have Striked Themselves into Economic Ruin]," Journalisten,
June, 1979. Page 15. My translation. Original text reads, ―De to største forbund inden for International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ), det amerikanske Newspaper Gulid og det britiske NUJ, er truet af økonomisk ruin på grund af
arbejdsnedlæggelser blandt journalister indenfor de sidste to år. I dag er kassen tom, såvel i New York som i London
(...) PS: Dansk Journalistsforbind har under 4.000 medlermmer, og i ryggen på dem står en sikringsfond, indeholdende
et to-cifret millionbeløb.‖
605 Hallin, "Not the End of Journalism History."
606 Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 3.
607 Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols, The Death and Life of American Journalism (New York: Nation Books,
2010). Page 192.
608 Kulturministeriet, "Kommissorium for Udvalget Om Den Fremtidige Mediestøtte [Mandate for the Committee on
the Future Media Subsidy]." Accessed November 27, 2010. My translation. Original text reads, ―Mediestøtten skal
kunne bidrage til at sikre et mangfoldigt, alsidigt udbud af høj kvalitet til alle borgere i Danmark af formidling af viden
og kultur samt væsentlig samfundsinformation og debat af betydning for et demokratisk samfund.‖
225

―further a diverse selection of news and analysis of importance for the public debate in a democratic
society.‖ 609
The whole underlying premise behind the Danish state‘s support of newspapers and other media, is
that by partly subsidizing news media‘s production of debate, culture and general education the
state can thereby ―regulate‖ citizens to consume more of these publicist values than would have
been the case in a media market purely driven by commercial concerns. 610
Hallin and Mancini, writing about political journalism, refer to these regulatory differences as a
European departure from American ―first amendment absolutism,‖ which holds the view, that
media markets should not be regulated. The lack of a European equivalent of ―first amendment
absolutism,‖ in the authors‘ view renders it likely, that ―electoral communication will continue to be
more regulated in Europe‖ and thereby counteract the homogenization claimed to accompany
Americanization. 611
Judging from Lund and Sepstrup‘s analysis as well as Hjarvard, Allern and Ørsten combined with
the above content analysis, media subsidies do, nonetheless, play a part in maintaining external
newspaper pluralism and also uphold publicist ideals in the Danish press thereby counteracting the
less desirable developments accompanying the commercialization associated with the American
media market. 612
6.1 “Weighing” American influence
According to van Elteren, it is necessary for researchers of Americanization to ―weigh‖ American
influence ―appropriately amidst other foreign influences of the domestic situation‖ and realize that
―incoming culture is not simply American but usually encompasses other cultural flows and
609
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 15-17.
610
Ibid. Page 18.
611
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 283.
612
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." See also Hjarvard, "Den Politiske Presse - En Analyse Af Danske Avisers Politiske Orientering [The
Political Press: An Analysis of Political Parallelism in Danish Newspapers]." As well as Allern and Blach-Ørsten, "The
News Media as A Political Institution: A Scandinavian Perspective."
226

orrowings.‖ 613 On the other hand, Kuisel reminds scholars that it is important not to mistake ―the
subplot for the main narrative.‖ 614
In the case of Americanization of Danish journalism, it is obvious that the United States is not the
only foreign influence affecting Danish journalistic practices. Sweden, Norway, Germany and
Britain have also played significant roles in inspiring Danish journalists. In a broader cultural
context, Sørensen and Petersen argue that, even though Denmark ―entered the American sphere in
politics and economics‖ between 1945 and 1960, the cultural input into Danish society during this
time primarily came from the United Kingdom. At the same time, America remained a distant
dream for most Danes due to dollar-shortages, strict governmental regulations on trade, and lack of
economic progress. 615
While an argument can be made that some of the impulses coming from Britain was simply
Americanization by ―secondary appropriation,‖ there was undoubtedly a strong connection to
Britain before Denmark entered NATO, and also in the early 1950‘s. The Danish membership in
F.I.E.J., the later World Association of Newspapers in 1948, is also a testament to an increased
international outlook which was initially led by Europeans.
Additionally, it must be noted that Danish undercover journalism seems to have been greatly
inspired by Walraff, while the policy on media subsidies has largely been inspired by Swedish,
Norwegian, Dutch and New Zealander examples. 616 Moreover, the same year as Døcker described
his trip to the United States to study technology, Danish journalists were shortly thereafter also
afforded the opportunity to be part of a study tour to Japan to look at new technology. The
November issue of Journalisten describes how journalists would have the opportunity to ―bring the
latest experiences regarding Japanese newspapers utilization of communication- and production
technology home.‖ 617
If one views Americanization of Danish journalism as a process of peaks and valleys, following
Schröter‘s example, then a high point would be placed in the early 1950‘s, when the USIA reported
613
Elteren, Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and Global Influence. Page 164.
614
Kuisel, "Debating Americanization: The Case of France." Page 100.
615
Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans." Page 139-140.
616
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 104.
617
Journalisten, "Nordisk Studierejse Til Japans Nye Presseteknik [Nordic Study Tour to Japan's New Press
Technology]." My translation. Original text reads, ―hente de seneste erfaringer om japanske avisers udnyttelse af
moderne kommunikations- og produktionsteknik hjem..‖
227

a string of good propaganda results home in the context of a very favorable environment of public
opinion towards the United States, and a low point placed in the late 1960‘s and early 1970‘s, when
Osvald and Toftkjær Jensen wrote very critically of the United States and there were
demonstrations almost every year at Rebild against the United States. 618
Americanization of Danish journalism then reached a high point again around 1973 and 1974 with
Tom Wolfe‘s book on New Journalism and more importantly Woodward and Bernstein‘s
publication of All the President’s Men and then, judging from Journalisten, a slight decrease in the
mid-1980‘s where Danish journalists displayed a great deal of international solidarity by writing as
much about third-world countries and the Soviet Union as they did about the United States. 619 It
would then be fair to say that Americanization reached a new high in the 1990‘s after the fall of the
Berlin wall. The Danish branch of ―Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc.‖ (FUJ) as well as a
more formalized connection between the Poynter Institute and DJE which led to annual courses
being taught by American journalists and scholars in Denmark were two tangible examples of a
closer connection to the United States by Danish journalists.
618 A concrete example of the lack of enthusiasm for American society and politics among Danish journalists in the late
1960s can be found in April 1968 in Journalisten. Journalisten‘s editor Per Sabroe enthusiastically wrote an article
where he encouraged Danish journalists to cover the American presidential election between Hubert H. Humphrey and
Richard Nixon. The initiative had not previously been seen in Danish journalism, so it was a special opportunity
presented to the journalists.―The presidential election in the United States appears to be extraordinarily exciting, as
exciting as the Olympic Games. Concerning sport the press has in several instances cooperated to send a team as a
package trip. The same initiative has – not yet – been taken regarding larger foreign policy events, known well ahead of
time and the editor of Journalisten has therefore sought to have an itinerary outlined for a trip to the election in the
United States for journalists. Yet a few months later, Sabroe had to concede, that his initiative had not been met with the
enthusiasm he hoped and cancelled the tour. Per Sabroe, "USA-Rejsen [The USA Trip]," Journalisten, April 1968. Page
22. My translation. Original text reads, ―Præsidentvalget i USA tegner til at blive usædvanlig spændende – lige så
spændende som en olympiade. Når det drejer sig om sport har dagbladene i flere tilfælde samarbejdet om at sende
journalisthold af sted til charterpris. Der er – endnu ikke – samme initiativ omkring større udenrigspolitiske
begivenheder, som man kender i god tid, og Journalistens redaktør har derfor søgt at få opstillet et rejseprogram fo en
tur til valget i USA for journalister (…)‖
619 The editorial line in Journalisten during the 1980‘s seems to have been focused on a great sense of solidaritywith
countries and journalists less well off. Journaliten had regular campaigns of ―write your colleague free,‖ where Danish
journalists were encouraged to write to regimes that lacked press freedom to raise awareness of imprisoned colleagues.
Journalisten also described the establishment of of a Danish Third world press agency and had articles from Kenya,
South Africa, Pakistan, China and India as well as offering annual DJE courses on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
to name some examples. See for instance, Flemming Ytzen, "Journalistik Fra Den Tredje Verden Til Salg [Journalism
from the Third World for Sale]," Journalisten, September 14, 1983. Page 12-13. Or concerning the socialist views of
former Journalisten-editor Frede Jakobsen see Anette Claudi, "Provokation Hans Metode [Provocation His Method],"
Journalisten, March 28, 1990. Page 2.
228

•British
liberation
•British
influence
1945
1950's
•USIA
•Daily News
Bulletin
•Osvald/Toftkjær
•Negative articles
1969
Furthermore, while key actors in Denmark have travelled to the United States for inspiration for
years, it is important to remember, that the United States, being a nation of immigrants, also got
much inspiration from the outside world on a continual basis. In the 19 th century and early 20 th
century Europeans like Josef Pulitzer, who had the most prestigious journalistic award named after
him, and Jacob Riis who pioneered flash photography, and the ―muckraking‖ use of reporting to
prompt social reform left important imprints. 620 Additionally, a host of European intellectuals fled to
the United States in the 1930‘s and early 1940‘s, which according to Pells‘ assimilationist
interpretation, has led to American universities, Broadway theaters, publishing houses, and
magazines being, ―deeply affected by European intellectuals, artists, and entrepreneurs.‖ 621
More recently, with the problems faced by the commercial newspaper model exemplified by the
American newspapers, American observers have turned to Europe for examples of how to preserve
the journalistic institutions that serve the public interest. 622
620
Jacob A. Riis, How The Other Half Lives, Penguin Classics (New York: Penguin Books, 1997). Page 27-31. Tom
Buk-Swienty, Den Ideelle Amerikaner [The Ideal American] (København: Gyldendal, 2005). Page 7-9.
621
Pells, Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture since World War II..
Page 313.
622
McChesney and Nichols, The Death and Life of American Journalism. Page 228. Also Bree Nordenson, "The Uncle
Sam Solution: Can the Government Help the Press? Should It?," Columbia Journalism Review (2007). Page 40.
229
1974
•Watergate
•New
Journalism
Table 52 – A simplified model of peaks and valleys in American influence on Danish journalism
•Third
World
•Soviet
Union
Mid-1980s
•FUJ
•DJE and
Poynter
Institute
1990

Conclusion
As noted by Schröter in his description of Americanization‘s waves, there were highpoints and low
points throughout the 20 th century, developments which are also apparent during the period studied
here. One of the low points in regards to the American governments‘ moral authority occurred in
the late 1960s when the Vietnam War was increasingly unpopular and anti-American
demonstrations occurred at the annual Rebild festival. The Danish Union of Journalist‘s could not
create enough interest in the United States‘ presidential election in 1968 to arrange a study tour.
Furthermore, while there is an overrepresentation of stories from the United States in Journalisten‘s
coverage from foreign countries, it is not the only country, where the journalist union‘s periodical
try to gather inspiration from. Taken together the middle of the 1980‘s actually does not show any
preference for news about the United States in terms of how to organize and develop journalism. On
the contrary, as seen in Chapter 4, the United States Information Agency is specifically covered as
an influence to avoid in 1988. However, there are notable exceptions especially in terms of
technology where Danish media employees continued to travel to the United States in search of new
inspiration.
6.2 Methodology and Future Research
In terms of the present dissertation‘s methodology an attempt has been made at merging a
hermeneutical archival analysis with a quantitative content analysis to identify key episodes and
individuals while comparing these to actual developments in news production.
This approach has followed Hallin and Mancini‘s call for more ―comparative content data,‖ and
―comparative historical research in communication,‖ in order to investigate the differences and
similarities between media systems. At the same time, the archival research has filled a gap in the
―qualitative, interpretative analysis,‖ suggested in Hallin and Mancini‘s writings.
―Our research suggests that the differences in how journalists actually do their work are larger
than the differences in their survey responses, which are heavily shaped by cross-national
230

normative expectations and aspirations. (…) What really matters is how journalists or other
media personnel function in practice.‖ 623
Yet, even though important information has been added to the process of Americanization by
looking at the driving forces behind transmission, transnationalization, and appropriation in the
present dissertation, it is also acknowledged, that other methods could nuance ―how the process
happens concretely.‖ 624
Especially when dealing with a contemporary historical phenomenon like Americanization of the
media an ethnographic approach ―based on field observation and extensive interviewing,‖ would
seem a fruitful approach to clarify the present findings to an even greater extent and tying these
methods closer to the quantitative analysis conducted. 625 A few examples of interviews have been
provided through the communication with Anders Krab-Johansen as well as former New York
Times-journalist Joseph Treaster. Greater emphasis on the key actors in the Americanization
process, however, seems a fruitful way to gain even more concrete knowledge of the process.
For example, building on the driving forces identified by this dissertation, one could envision a
study identifying a number of journalists who had been on exchange to the United States through
Fulbright, or other trips sponsored more directly by the American government, being interviewed
(or observed in their editorial environment) after their exchange experience and then conducting a
content analysis of these individuals‘ journalistic output before and after their exchange. Other
studies linking key actors in the qualitative and quantitative studies closer together than it has been
done in the present dissertation seem equally productive. 626
623
Hallin and Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Page 303-304.
624
Ibid. Page 303.
625
Ibid. Page 303-304.
626
Hallin and Mancini note, the quantitative analysis has its merits, but should ideally be combined with more
qualitative approaches. Following the American ―participant observation‖ examples set by Gans, Tuchman, Hallin and
Schudson and building on Danish scholars like Ida Willig‘s work would seem to add an important component to the
debate over Americanization which is missing in the current study. Herbert J. Gans, Deciding What's News: A Study of
CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek and Time (New York: Vintage Books, 1980). See also Tuchman,
"Objectivity as Strategic Ritual: An Examination of Newsmen's Notions of Objectivity." As well as Hallin, "The
Passing of The "High Modernism" Of American Journalism." Also Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History
of American Newspapers. In the Danish context see, Ida Schulz, "Bag Om Nyhedskriterierne [Behind the News
Criteria]," (Roskilde: Center for Journalism, Department of Communication, Journalism and Computer Science, RUC,
2006).
231

In terms of the methodology chosen for the present project a few observations are also warranted.
Despite a Freedom of Information Act request it has not (yet) been possible to get access to
American archival material which can shed light on Americanization from a ―transmission‖
perspective after 1976. Presently, it is therefore not possibly to study which measures have been
taken by the American State Department to influence Danish journalists after 1976. This situation
coupled with the fact that important changes took place in Danish journalism after 1968 (i.e. direct
media subsidies, formalized education, and the end of party press) leaves some interesting
possibilities for future studies.
The ―appropriation section‖ as well as the content analysis has focused on Danish society after 1968
because of the above mentioned changes, but the fairly small overlap between 1968 and 1976
means that there is still much work that can be done on the topic which has not been covered in the
present dissertation. Moreover, it is important to maintain a certain critical distance to the
documents coming from the American Embassy in Copenhagen for at least two reasons. First, while
there is no reason to doubt their authenticity, it is important to remember that the State Department
documents were all written with a receiver in mind. According to Pells, the reluctance of ―officials
in the field to question the wisdom of their superior in the home office,‖ is a problem endemic to
any bureaucracy.
―Hence, the embassies tended to send reports back to Washington proclaiming that every
concert, every speaker, and every exchange program had been a smashing success, a
testimonial to the brilliance of whatever initiative was presently in vogue.‖ 627
While Pells‘ quote above seems to exaggerate the lack of sincerity in the USIA material, since
much of the information in these documents can be corroborated from other primary or secondary
sources, for example the entusiasm in the press concerning the Fulbright Program, it is still
important to keep this potential pitfall in mind. Secondly, though there is much extremely valuable
material at the National Archives about the diplomats at the American Embassy in Copenhagen, the
classification categories for the press, television, technology, culture and politics have changed over
627 Pells, Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed American Culture since World War II.
Page 87.
232

the years, and the documents that remain for a small country like Denmark at times seem
incomplete making it difficult to follow a case of attempted influence from beginning to end.
Additionally, the Fulbright and DAF sources used in the dissertation must also be assessed
somewhat critically. The evaluations might yield a more positive impressions of their exchange than
private correspondence would have done since these exchange evaluations were also written with
an audience in mind. Whether it is the American government in the shape of the Fulbright
evaluations, the DAF annual report or Journalisten the journalists writing knew that they were
potentially writing for a broader audience. Delving deeper into correspondence by key Danish
journalist‘s actors who have been abroad would seem a fruitful way to support or dispel the notion
that the American exchange programs was such an overwhelmingly positive experience as it is
described in the ―public‖ source-material.
This observation ties into many of the conclusions regarding the section on symbolic
Americanization. While Journalisten is an extremely useful way of gaining an overview of the
debates in the Danish journalistic environment between 1968 and the present, the version of the
journalistic environment in Denmark presented through its pages are obviously edited and at times
obviously edited from a union perspective.
The consequences, for the present study is difficult to ascertain, but it seems logical that greater
focus on the key actors‘ private correspondance, biographies, or statements in interviews with other
news outlets, if not interviews with future researchers, could nuance the timeline and conclusions
concerning Americanization through New Journalism and investigative reporting even further.
Moreover, the importance of formal journalism education from the late 1960‘s and forward in
Denmark has been broached, but the curricula of the Danish School of Journalism have not been
studied. Such an analysis coupled with the the significance of the two new journalism educations
established in 1998 might also add important information about the teaching of American
methodology and practice at Danish institutions. Sørensen and Petersen, for example, have shown
that American English was not awarded equal status to British English until 1971 in Danish high
schools, a testament to the relatively late American influence on Danish educational institutions. 628
628 Petersen and Sørensen, "Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans." Page 125-126. As has been described,
American officials also recognized the need for reaching the Danish high school teachers with the lecture series that
they organized in the 1970‘s and forward. Yet, the question remains of how successful they were in terms of The
Danish School of Journalism. For an example of American interest in Danish high schools see Brooks McClure,
"American Studies Seminar for Teachers of English at Teacher-Training Colleges in Middelfart, May 10-12, 1970.,"
233

Additionally, in terms of the content analysis, it is going to be of great importance to analyze the
2011 election campaign in Denmark utilizing the code book and coding scheme for the current
project for reasons of comparison. In the above content analysis five American election campaigns
are studied, but only four Danish. The reason for this discrepancy is a conscious choice, since the
2008 campaign in the United States seemed to present such a watershed in the use of new media,
that it at times spilled over into coverage and subsequently has been the source of scholarly
attention. 629
The consequence of the discrepancy between the number of Danish and American election
campaigns is difficult to gauge, but it is likely that it does not challenge the overall conclusions
reached about the influence of commercialization and the ideal of objectivity. The Danish press
appropriated a descriptive, balanced style in the 1970‘s and 1980‘s when the two countries can be
directly compared, and Lund and Sepstrup‘s analysis from 2009 conclude that commercialization
has not affected the Danish media environment to the extent that one may fear in part due to
government subsidies. 630 Using a different code book, Bro et al. did, however find that only 36
percent of news stories in the 2005 election campaign dealt with political substance. The
commercialization hypothesis H1 stating that one should suspect a greater focus on ―form‖ instead
of ―substance,‖ over time may therefore be affected. 631
Additionally, futher studies of the importance of context in election studies seems warranted. The
content analysis conducted above seems to indicate an increase in strategy coverage for all the
American news outlets in the close 2000 election campaign and a greater focus on issues in the
2001 Danish election where immigration was the overarching political issue. Determining whether
or not closely contested national elections also lead to increased strategy coverage would, for
example, seem warranted.
(National Archives. RG 59. General Records of the Department of State. Subject Numeric Files. Culture and
Information. EDU. 10-3. DEN. 1971. June 4, 1970).
629
Entman, "Media Framing Biases and Political Power: Explaining Slant in News of Campaign 2008." Nagourney,
"The '08 Campaign: Sea Change for Politics as We Know It." Page 1. Schudson, "The New Media in the 2008 U.S.
Presidential Campaign: The New York Times Watches Its Back."
630
Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]." Page 44-48 and 61-64.
631
Bro et al., "Mediernes Valgkamp [The Media's Election Campaign]." Page 12. Currently it does, however, seem
likely that the Danish election campaign will be focused on a debate over early retirement benefits and thereby issue
coverage. Hilmar Vester, "Regeringen Vil Afskaffe Efterlønnen [The Government Will Eliminate Early Retirement
Benefits]," http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Politik/2011/01/01/01150722.htm. Date accessed January 1, 2011.
234

Furthermore, studying American and Danish political journalism in non-election years also seems a
fruitful way of gathering more information about the influence of commercialization and the ideal
of objectivity on the different media systems. Moreover, content analyses that take articles inside
the newspaper into account might also yield results that can expand upon the analysis conducted
here.
6.2.1 Practical Implications
The study of Americanization conducted in the pages above has yielded at least two important
results which have practical implications. First, the above study has shown that the claim of
Americanization in Danish journalism is much more complex than merely a question of ―form over
substance.‖ Secondly, and more idealistically, the study has shown the importance of consciously
supporting and nurturing a sense of public service in media organizations and educational
institutions from both a political and journalistic perspective.
Through the analysis of symbolic Americanization from a transmission, transnationalization and
appropriation perspective this dissertation has shown, that Americanization of Danish journalism is
much more complex than merely a question of less focus on substance in day-to-day reporting.
Americanization must also be analyzed as the results of the American governments attempts to set
the journalistic agenda concerning Danish journalist‘s reporting on the United States. Additionally,
Americanization must be studied through the impact of knowledge exchange on journalistic practice
for the number of Danish journalists who have studied at American journalistic institutions. Lastly,
Americanization must be analyzed through the way the process is discussed among Danish
journalists themselves in their professional fora and through other outlets. Additionally, studying
the commercial aspects associated with Americanization of journalistic content in subject fields or
―journalistic beats‖ that are not politics seems fruitful, as the pressure to live up to public service
ideals are arguably greatest, and the commercial pressure least, among political journalists. 632
Additionally, recent scholarship, supported by the present study, has shown the concept of
commercialization is more complex than merely an expectation of economic decisions displacing
public service ideals. As Hallin has remarked, ―One assumption that lay behind the convergence
632 Morten Skovsgaard and Arjen van Dalen, "Korrespondent Bag 'Borgens' Beskyttede Mure [Correspondent Behind
the Protective Walls of Christiansborg]," Politica no. 3 (2010). Page 298.
235

hypothesis was the idea that commercialization would lead inevitably to political neutrality. But this
is clearly false.‖ 633 Hallin‘s observation that the impact of increased commercialization on news
content is more complex than previously acknowledged, is supported by Beam et al.‘s recent
writings where it is noted that ―a strong market orientation‖ does not necessarily mean lack of
commitment to journalistic ideals.
―The findings in this study seem to challenge the widespread assumption that a strong market
orientation – at least as assessed by a news organization‘s employees – is always incompatible
with a strong commitment to public-service journalism.‖ 634
What these newer findings suggest corresponds well with the Danish media market‘s apparent
ability to resist the increased focus on the form of news reporting instead of more substantive news
in political reporting. Consequently, the results from the present study suggests that future analyses
between media systems incorporate the complexity of commercial influence on media content.
The historical analysis found that Danish politicians since the early 1970‘s had been attentive to
ways of stemming commercial pressure on the newspaper industry and thus complemented as well
as helped explain the content analysis‘ results. Moreover, it is important to recognize, as does
Schröter, that commercialization is a ―mindset‖ that leads to a shift in ―how society‘s values are
defined.‖ 635 Though Hallin and Beam et al. nuance the common generalizations about
commercialization‘s influence on journalism, it must also be remembered, that excessive focus on
―monetarization‖ in American news institutions at times has led to ―coverage of important foreign
and national developments,‖ being sacrificed ―in favor of the ‗hyper-local‘.‖ 636 Though
consequences vary regionally, it seems clear that an excessive commercial focus has been
633
Hallin, "Not the End of Journalism History." Page 333.
634
Beam et al., "Journalism and Public Service in Troubled Times." Page 748. Beam et al. notes, ―What seems likely is
that for some organizations or under some conditions, a strong market orientation could undermine a commitment to
public-service journalism, while in others it would not. The task now is to identify conditions under which a strong
market focus might produce ‗‗bad journalism‘‘ and the conditions under which it either is irrelevant or even acts to
bolster journalistic quality.‖
635
Schröter, Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe
since the 1880's. Page 214.
636
Beam et al., "Journalism and Public Service in Troubled Times." Page 735-736.
236

detrimental to several American news outlets within the past 15-20 years not least the Los Angeles
Times. 637
Hence, one can presently detect a slight tendency among American media scholars to advocate a
―Scandinaviazation,‖ meaning increased direct or indirect media subsidies, on the United States‘
media market. 638 This American scholarly focus is a testament to the importance of continually
cultivating a sense of public service in national media at both the grassroots and
ownership/leadership level. As Downie and Kaiser note with a tinge of nostalgia, ―a great news
organization is difficult to build, and tragically easy to disassemble.‖ 639
As a result of conscious government policy and journalistic professionalism, it turns out that
presently the jeremiad over journalism is just that. A jeremiad. The Danish publicist ideals nurtured
by the state has curtailed commercial influence, and thereby important aspect of the perceived
negative Americanization, in important ways. The Danish jeremiad over journalism thereby actually
leaves a little room for optimism. And as the American Professor Andrew Delbanco reminds us,
―Reading those old laments has a certain therapeutic value, since it turns out that everything
we think today has been thought before - especially the dark thought that the world is in
unprecedented trouble.‖ 640
637 Ibid. Page 734-736. Also Auletta, Backstory: Inside the Business of News. Page 64-65. According to Ken Auletta the
Los Angeles Times‘ focus on synergy between business and journalism, for example, has people in the newspaper
business worried about the the pursuit of truth as an ideal..
638 McChesney and Nichols, The Death and Life of American Journalism. Page 228. ―To our view, many of the best
ideas come from countries other than the United States. This book has sampled liberally from them, urging Americans
to borrow from the experience and wisdom of Canada, Britain, Denmark and all the outher countries that have invested
more aggressively and extensively in public media than has the United States.‖ Also Schudson and Jr., "The
Reconstruction of American Journalism." Page 85.The authors implicitly use Denmark and Finland as an example when
they write, ―The approximately $400 million that Congress currently appropriates for the CPB each year is far less per
capita than public broadcasting support in countries with comparable economies—roughly $1.35 per capita for the
United States, compared to about $25 in Canada, Australia, and Germany, nearly $60 in Japan, $80 in Britain, and more
than $100 in Denmark and Finland.‖ See also Nordenson, "The Uncle Sam Solution: Can the Government Help the
Press? Should It?." Page 40.
639 Jr. and Kaiser, The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril. Page 262. Downie Jr. and Kaiser point to
CBS and the Philadelphia Inquirer as examples that ―bad things can happen to good newsrooms.‖
640 Andrew Delbanco, The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope (Cambridge, Massachussets: Harvard
University Press, 2000; reprint, Second printing). Page 83-87-
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Conclusion
This section has shown that the present study can be expanded and improved upon by incorporating
different qualitative and quantitative methods than the ones used in the present study.
Simultaneously, it has been pointed out that analyzing the 2011 Danish election campaign will be of
importance in comparison with the American 2008 election results. The section has also shown that
Americanization occurred in waves and went through a low point in the late 1960‘s and early
1970‘s. Additionally, suggested potential pitfalls for excessive interpretation of the source material
forming the foundation for the study of symbolic Americanization has been pointed out.
In terms of practical implications, this dissertation calls for increased nuance in the use of concepts
such as Americanization and commercialization. The claim of ―form over substance,‖ in Danish
news reporting is rejected by the present study and the generalization that increased
commercialization leads to inferior public service news content also is in need of increased
scholarly attention. Lastly, it is important to continually nurture journalistic ideals of public service
in order to avoid the unfortunate implications of unbridled commercialization in the Danish media
market.
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7. Conclusion
Through archival and content analysis the present dissertation has nuanced the discussion of
Americanization by distinguishing between structural and symbolic Americanization and within
these two parameters identified different levels and key actors in the process.
In terms of structural Americanization this study has shown, that Denmark has been influenced by
American strategic thinking after joining NATO, but that the country has maintained a ―power of
the weak,‖ due to its strategically important location. Additionally, in terms of economy, it has been
demonstrated that while important parts of the Danish media market have been deregulated since
the late 1980‘s, the deregulation has not led to the consequences normally associated with increased
commercialization in Danish general news coverage. On the contrary the publicist ideals in the
Danish press seem to be practiced in connection with national elections and according to Sepstrup
and Lund also in everyday news reporting.
A clear influence and inspiration from America is discernable in the field of technology, where
Danish journalists from the 1970‘s and forward travelled to the United States to see the latest
developments and incorporated them into their newsrooms either through direct import or through
―secondary appropriation,‖ as when Norwegian Comtec sold technology or software to Danish
journalistic institutions.
Concerning symbolic Americanization, this project has shown that there was a very conscious effort
from the American Embassy to influence Danish journalism and that this effort in the eyes of the
Americans was very successful, especially in the 1950‘s when the United States‘ role in the world
was more positively perceived than in the late 1960‘s.
Furthermore, the current dissertation has found that educational exchange between the United States
and Denmark was especially successful in shaping more positive and nuanced views of the United
States. All Danish journalists who returned from the United States after an exchange stressed the
positive aspects of the experience.
In terms of how journalistic practices were appropriated by Danish journalists, this study concludes
that there has been a strong inspiration from the United States in connection to form and content of
news articles. This is not a development occuring specifically after 1968, since Henrik and Ole
Cavling were directly inspired from study trips to the United States, but Politiken‘s break with Det
239

Radikale Venstre in 1970 led to a more independent journalistic approach with focus on more
sources in the stories and more descriptive news stories. Moreover, a similar tendency is seen at
Berlingske Tidende during the same time period.
Furthermore, through the case studies of New Journalism and investigative journalism this
dissertation provided two concrete examples of how American journalistic impulses are
transmitted, transnationalized and appropriated. The study shows, that the method of New
Journalism as well as investigative journalism inspired by American journalists clearly influenced
Danish reporters‘ practices between the early 1970‘s and the 1990‘s. The sequence of
―transmission,‖ ―transnationalization,‖ and ―appropriation,‖ is easily discernable in both cases and
can also be detected in connection to other American media practices experimented with by Danish
journalists for example the concept of journalistic coaching introduced by Don Fry from the
Poynter Institute in 1990.
In terms of the content analysis there is little evidence of convergence between the Danish and
American overall news frames or uses of soft or hard news. The content analysis shows that
developments commonly associated with increased commercialization, increased soft, interpretative
reporting based largely on opinion polls has been curbed in Danish political reporting between 1971
and 2001.
Additionally, the content analysis results show that the Danish newspapers Politiken and Berlingske
Tidende have become as ―objective,‖ as their American counterparts based on hard, descriptive and
balanced news as well as issue-coverage. Lastly, the study has shown that Danish journalists were
inspired by Britain, Germany, Sweden and Norway as well as the United States after World War II,
but in terms of journalistic practices and the use of technology the United States held a unique
position which increased from the 1950‘s and forward. The early 1970‘s with the example of
Watergate in the United States, combined with what must be termed a technological revolution in
the news room meant that the United States dominated Danish journalists‘ view of the future. The
coverage of journalistic tendencies from the United States increased after 1989 with the fall of the
Berlin Wall, but can up to 1989 best be described as a process occurring in waves.
This dissertation therefore concludes that that the simplistic claims that Danish news coverage is
becoming more ―Americanized‖ should be revised by clarifying which part of Americanization is
being referred to and which level of society is looked at. There is great difference between
240

structural and symbolic Americanization and the differences between government policy,
journalistic institutions, and individual actors also must be taken into account when discussing the
concept.
241

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English Summary
This dissertation examines American influence on Danish journalism. Utilizing a three-pronged
approach focused on transmission, transnationalization and appropriation of American products
and practices, as well as a content analysis of selected newspapers, I attempt to answer one central
question: How have structural and symbolic developments emanating from the United States
influenced Danish journalism?
Commercial influence is often argued to be a key component of Americanization of Danish
journalism, one which leads to a focus on ―form‖ instead of ―substance,‖ but this study finds that
these assumptions must be revisited and revised. The content analysis conducted here reveals that
the effects of increased commercialization on news content are more complex than the ―form over
substance‖ claim. Additionally the content analysis shows that Danish political reporting is
characterized to a great extent by substantive journalistic content.
Through an archival analysis utilizing historical methodology this dissertation additionally finds
that in order to study the concept of Americanization meaningfully one must take sender,
intermediary and receiver perspectives into account. The claim that Americanization is equivalent
to cultural imperialism, a view that precludes the receiving nation‘s ability to reist outside influence,
is dispelled.
Through an analysis of previously classified documents from the American Embassy in
Copenhagen, I demontrate that American officials, at the structural level, consciously sought to
shape Danish strategic and economic policy. However, due to Greenland‘s strategic important
location for American air bases, Danish leaders maintained room to maneuver politically. In
economic terms, the results show that the Danish media market has become increasingly
commercialized and deregulated, but that government subsidies and increased journalistic education
have contributed to maintaining a multifarious and public service-oriented press. Additionally, the
current study shows that Danish journalists were greatly impressed by technology invented in the
United States and later adopted or adapted into Danish newsrooms.
At the symbolic (or cultural) level, American Embassy officials systematically attempted to
influence Danish journalists through free trips to the United States, public lectures, personal
relationships and threats of denying interview requests when Danish reports on America were
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perceived as unfair. This transmission of American influence was during the 1950s considered very
successful by the American Embassy Officials as they could observe their news bulletins being
picked up by the Danish press and at times also succeeded in publishing anti-communist material
through Danish media outlets or political organizations.
In terms of transnational initiatives, based on archival material from the Fulbright Commission and
Denmark-America Foundation, the current dissertation finds that educational exchange between the
United States and Denmark was extraordinarily successful in shaping more positive and nuanced
views of the United States among the Danish journalists selected. Danish journalists found
American journalistic education to be at a higher level than what they were offered at home; this
education therefore impacted journalistic practices as well.
Moreover, based on the Danish Union of Journalists‘ periodical Journalisten, this study concretely
shows how the process of appropriation of journalistic methods like New Journalism and
investigative reporting occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. Further, this section demonstrates that
in terms of new journalistic styles, the United States was seen by Danish journalists as the place to
look for the future of the profession.
The results of the content analysis, based on 876 newspaper articles written during nine different
Danish and American election periods, shows that selected Danish media outlets between 1971 and
2001 increased their coverage of political issues on the front page and moreover adopted a more
balanced approach to political reporting. Hence, the hypothesis that Americanization leads to less
focus on political substance finds little support in the present study. The practice of balancing
opposing statements in political reporting is part of the journalistic ―objectivity ideal,‖ and as such
lend support to the hypothesis that Danish political reporting has become more neutral since the
break with the party press in the 1970‘s.
The results of the present dissertation carry with them two practical implications. First, this
dissertation shows that the concept of Americanization is more complex than commonly
acknowledged, and therefore as a minimum must be analyzed from both a sender and receiver
perspective.
Second, the results of the content analysis indicate that Danish political journalists have been
impacted less by commercial pressure than would otherwise be expected based on studies
conducted in the United States. Direct and indirect Danish government subsidies to newspapers that
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promote public debate, a key component for a democratic society, are here identified as one of the
key variables that differentiate the American and Danish newspaper market. This difference in the
two media systems‘ respective relationships to the state has recently led American media
researchers to looks towards Scandinavia as a model to be emulated. This should serve as an
argument for continued nurturance of the public service ideal that remains alive and well among
Danish political journalists and publishers.
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Dansk Referat
Denne afhandling undersøger amerikansk indflydelse på dansk journalistik. Via en analyse af
overførsel, transnational vidensudveksling og tilegnelse af amerikanske produkter og amerikansk
praksis, kombineret med en indholdsanalyse, arbejder jeg ud fra spørgsmålet: Hvordan har
strukturelle og symbolske udviklingstræk, som udspringer fra USA, påvirket dansk journalistisk?
Kommercielle kræfter fremhæves ofte blandt forskere som en central faktor bag amerikanisering,
og menes at føre til øget fokus på ‖form i stedet for indhold‖ i politisk journalistik. Denne
afhandling viser imidlertid, at at dansk politisk journalistik er karakteriseret ved en stigende fokus
på politisk substans. Yderligere viser afhandlingens resultater, at der er mindre fokus på ‖form,‖
karakteriseret ved personhistorier og meningsmålinger, end det tidligere har været tilfældet.
Afhandlingens historiske arkivanalyse konkluderer, at en undersøgelse af amerikanisering må
analyseres ud fra både et afsender og et modtager perspektiv og samtidig må der også foretages en
analyse af forbindelsen mellem disse to. Resultatet betyder at opfattelsen af amerikanisering som
―kulturel imperialisme,‖ hvor modtagersiden ignoreres, må afvises som forståelsesramme.
Ved hjælp af en analyse af hidtil hemmeligholdte dokumenter fra den amerikanske ambassade i
København påvises det, at amerikanske embedsmænd på det strukturelle niveau forsøgte at forme
dansk strategisk og økonomisk politik. Grønlands strategisk vigtige position for det amerikanske
militær, og Danmarks indflydelse i forhold til Grønland, gav til gengæld danske politikere et større
beslutningsmæssigt råderum, end det normalt kunne forventes i et asymmetrisk magtforhol. I
forhold til økonomisk politik, så er det danske mediemarked med årene blevet mere kommercielt og
dereguleret, men direkte og indirekte mediestøtte har været med til at fastholde et mangfoldigt
medieudbud og en publicistisk orienteret presse. Denne afhandling viser yderligere at der blandt
danske journalister har været en stor interesse for amerikansk teknologi, da forskningen i USA
inden for eksempelvis brug af computere i journalistik var længere fremme end det var tilfældet i
Danmark.
På det symbolske niveau (i denne afhandling forstået som kulturel indflydelse) er der fra 1945 og
frem systematiske forsøg fra amerikanske side på at påvirke dansk journalistik. Embedsmænd på
den amerikanske ambassade i København forsøgte bevidst at påvirke dansk journalistik i en mere
pro-amerikansk retning. Ved hjælp af gratis ture til USA, prominente amerikanske gæsteforelæsere
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i Danmark, oparbejdelsen af personlige kontakter samt trusler om at afskære fremtidig assistance i
forbindelse med interviews, forsøgte amerikanske embedsmænd at påvirke dansk journalistisk
dækning. Denne overførsel af amerikanske synspunkter blev opfattet som yderst succesful af
amerikanerne især i 1950erne, hvor de ofte kunne konstatere at deres nyhedsblad havde en meget
direkte indflydelse på danske avisers artikler om USA.
I forhold til transnationale initiativer viser denne afhandling, baseret på materiale fra Fulbright
Kommissionen og Danmark-Amerika Fondet, at uddannelsesmæssig udveksling mellem Danmark
og USA havde en stor indflydelse på de danske journalister, som var afsted. Niveauet på de
journalistiske uddannelser i USA opfattedes ofte som værende højere end i Danmark, hvilket var
med til at påvirke de studerendes opfattelse af journalistik og samtidig medvirkede journalisternes
udvekslingsopmold til at give et mere nuanceret billede af USA.
Via en gennemgang af fagbladet Journalisten viser denne undesøgelse konkret, hvordan processen
omkring tilegnelsen af amerikanske metoder som New Journalism og ―investigative reporting‖
foregik i 1970erne og 1980erne. Yderligere viser denne del af afhandlingen, hvordan USA blev
opfattet af danske mediefolk som et sted, hvor fremtidens journalistiske udvikling kunne opleves.
Resultaterne fra indholdsanalysen, som er baseret på 876 artikler udgivet i løbet af ni forskellige
danske og amerikanske valgkampe, viser at udvalgte danske aviser øgede deres dækning af politiske
substantielle emner på forsiden mellem 1971 og 2001. Yderligere indikerer indholdsanalysen, at
danske journalister på undersøgelsens udvalgte aviser har tilegnet sig idealet om balance af
synspunkter i politisk journalistik.
Der er således i denne undersøgelse ikke belæg for hypotesen om, at amerikanisering fører til
mindre fokus på politisk indhold. Til gengæld så underbygger indholdanalysens resultater
antagelsen om at dansk politisk journalistik er blevet mere neutral og balanceret efter partipressens
afvikling i 1970erne.
Afhandlingens resultater betyder i praktis, at brugen af begrebet amerikanisering må nuanceres.
Amerikaniseringsprocesser er mere komplekse end det ofte antages, og bør derfor som minimum
analyseres fra både et afsender og et modtager perspektiv.
Derudover så antyder indholdsanalysen og nyere forskning, at det danske mediemarked er mindre
kommercialiseret, end det kunne forventes ud fra lignende studier foretaget i USA. Den direkte og
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indirekte mediestøtte fra den danske stat er den mest iøjnefaldende faktor, som er med til at adskille
det amerikanske og danske mediemarked. Mediestøtten, som tildeles medier, der formidler
væsentlig samfundsinformation og debat af betydning for et demokratisk samfund, vurderes af
nordiske forskere som nødvendig for at opretholde et mangfoldigt mediemarked. Amerikanske
medieforskere er derfor for nyligt begyndt at skele til den skandinaviske model som et eksempel til
efterfølgelse for det meget kommercielle og pressede avismarked i USA. Denne nylige amerikanske
interesse i den nordiske mediestøtte bør derfor opfattes som et argument for yderligere pleje af det
publicistiske ideal, som kendetegner danske politiske journalister og udgivere.
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