Document applies for press support. The Norwegian Media Authority decides which media will have their applications approved. The state directorate has its headquarters in Fredrikstad. Photo: The Norwegian Media Authority.

– The fact that we are getting so many applications again this year shows that the support scheme is still important for media diversity, says Hanne Nistad Sekkelsten of the Norwegian Media Authority. Document also applied for press support in 2022, but was then refused because the subscription scheme had lasted for less than a year.

– The Norwegian Media Authority will now assess each individual applicant against the various criteria to see if the publication is qualified to receive support, says Sekkelsten, who is director of the legal and regulatory department at the Norwegian Media Authority.

This year, 160 media have applied to the Norwegian Media Authority for production support, which is the formal name for what most people call press support. Document is one of ten ‘new’ applicants:

Translated Screenshot: The Norwegian Media Authority’s list

The information was made known in a press release from the Norwegian Media Authority on Thursday:

The scheme is intended for mediums in markets that are too small to be viable, and for mediums that are an alternative to the leading media in larger markets. The money is distributed between local newspapers, weekly newspapers and national niche newspapers (an alternative to the leading national daily newspapers).

In order to receive production subsidies, newspapers must meet a number of criteria. The publication must, among other things, have as its main purpose the dissemination of news, current affairs and social debate to the general public, in addition to having a wide range of news, current affairs and debate material from various areas of society.

Which newspapers receive support, and how much each individual newspaper receives, will only become clear in the autumn after the Norwegian Media Authority has processed all the applications. Then the Ministry of Culture and Equality will set subsidy rates.

Ten new application years for the production subsidy (Medietilsynet)

Managing director Hanne Tolg comments: The reason why Document was rejected last year was that we did not have a subscription solution for the whole of 2021. We only started at the end of March 2021.