ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Media & reporting card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 69 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaDemocracy & power
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Democracy & power

Media & reporting

Private & public service media outlets

The media is sometimes called the third estate: it scrutinises those who decide on our behalf. The central government sets the frame through constitutional protection, media support and broadcasting licences, but no politician may touch the content. More and more of what you see is also steered from Brussels and by platform companies outside Sweden.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · libraries & local information · approx 5 %
  • State · constitution, media support & licences · approx 75 %
  • EU · platform rules & media freedom · approx 20 %

The central government sets the frame but may not steer the content, that is the principle of editorial independence. The general election decides media policy, the European Parliament election more and more of the platform rules.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityOutside the steering
The regionOutside the steering
Central governmentA frame without content · centre of gravity
Who decides?
No formal role over the media, but the municipality is a major news source and runs the libraries.
No formal role, but the region is scrutinised by the media and buys advertising space.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Swedish Agency for the Media (Mediemyndigheten) and the review board for radio and TV.
What do they decide?
The municipality's decisions, minutes and press conferences are the raw material of local journalism. The libraries give everyone access to media.
No power over the media. Healthcare decisions are one of local journalism's most important areas to cover.
The Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression, media support, broadcasting licences and the public service remit.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipality's own channels and in the local media's coverage of the council.
In the region's press room and in the media's scrutiny of healthcare.
In the Riksdag and at the Agency for the Media. The content is steered by the newsrooms, not by the central government.
Who pays?
Nothing to the media directly. Municipal tax pays for libraries and the municipality's own information.
Nothing to the media, apart from advertising and information.
Public service through a fee on the tax bill, media support through the central government budget.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Tip off the local newsroom, write a letter to the editor, use the library.
Regional election Tip off the media about healthcare, write a letter to the editor on regional issues.
General election Vote on media policy, report a programme to the review board.
EUThe EU regulates the platforms through, among other things, the Digital Services Act, and protects the independence of the media in the internal market. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case The path to the news about your municipality
  1. State

    The constitution gives the freedom

    The Freedom of the Press Act dates from 1766 and gives the right to publish without prior review. Source protection means that whoever tips off a newsroom can stay anonymous, and agencies may not investigate sources.

  2. EU

    Brussels regulates the platforms

    More and more people meet the news through social media, and the EU's rules for digital services govern the platforms' responsibility for what spreads there. The rules apply directly in Sweden.

  3. State

    Media support keeps the newsroom alive

    The Agency for the Media distributes media support meant to safeguard local journalism across the country. Without the support, many municipalities would be left almost entirely uncovered.

    Point of influence

    The general election decides the size and form of the media support. Inquiries into media policy go out for open consultation (remiss).

  4. Municipality

    The newsroom scrutinises the town hall

    The local reporter reads the register, requests documents and asks questions about the procurement. The principle of public access to official documents (offentlighetsprincipen) gives the journalist, and you, the same right to the documents.

    Point of influence

    Tip off the newsroom, source protection shields you. You can also request the same documents yourself.

  5. State

    The content can be reviewed afterwards

    Anyone who feels wrongly treated can turn to the Media Ombudsman, and radio and TV can be reported to the review board. The review always happens after publication, never before.

    Point of influence

    Anyone can report a broadcast to the review board. It costs nothing.

  6. Your everyday life

    The news reaches you

    The scrutiny is published and so is the municipality's reply. What you do with the knowledge, a letter to the editor, a question to the council, a vote, is your part of the cycle.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which local decisions would no one scrutinise if the local newsroom disappeared?

  2. Where is the line between supporting journalism with public money and making it dependent on the central government?

  3. How do you choose which news sources to trust?

  4. What does it do to a society when more and more people get their news through feeds that no editor put together?

  5. Who should be responsible for what spreads on the platforms: the companies, the central government, the EU or the users?

Glossary

Public service
Radio and TV in the service of the public, funded by a fee and with a remit from the Riksdag but editorially independent.
Mediestöd
State support distributed by the Agency for the Media to safeguard journalism across the country.
Källskydd
The right to stay anonymous when you give information to the media, and the ban on agencies investigating the source.
Sändningstillstånd
The licence that governs what radio and TV companies may broadcast, decided within limits set by the Riksdag.
Granskningsnämnden
A board at the Agency for the Media that reviews afterwards whether a programme followed the rules, after reports from anyone.
Offentlighetsprincipen
A constitutionally protected right for everyone to read agencies' official documents.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.