The Jeremiad Over Journalism

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.
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