The Jeremiad Over Journalism

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.
170