– In this podcast, I hope there will be time for more of the nuances that sometimes disappear in the public political debate, time for an honest talk about the dilemmas our world undeniably holds. This is the start of Mette Frederiksen’s podcast “The Prime Minister is asking”, which was launched on 19 May. The podcast has received criticism from several quarters in Denmark, and is currently in a lukewarm 53rd place at the top of the podcast in the country. At the same time, Frederiksen joins a controversial tradition that stretches all the way back to the 1930s: Heads of state who create their own media platforms. Hugo Chávez celebrates higher fees for oil companies in Venezuela on his weekly talk show “Alo Presidente” in 2004. Photo: HO / AFP – Creates his own media reality Among the podcast’s critics is radio host Hassan Preisler. He is known in this country as “the Dane” from “The Norwegian, the Swede and the Dane” on news P2. “Mette gets to create her own media reality with platforms on social media and now also a podcast,” Preisler said in the P2 program on 28 May. – It is neither journalists to ask critical questions nor guests to present conflicting views, which is otherwise part of our democratic principle of journalism, commented media researcher Jakob Linaa Jensen to Politiken. Mette Frederiksen speaks to the media after the referendum on abolishing Denmark’s defense reservations in the EU, 1 June. Photo: PHILIP DAVALI / AFP In the throat of traditional media Criticism goes both ways. In the podcast from June 17, Frederiksen reached out to the traditional media. – A new tendency is that you can stand up and say things that are wrong, without anything happening. At no cost can you just say something about other people, Frederiksen said then. – And it is printed in the newspaper. The journalists reproduce it. There is no one who says, “hey, is that right what you are saying” or “do you have coverage for it”? she continued. Well-known figures such as former Prime Minister Helle Torning Schmidt have lined up for the podcasts, where everything from gender equality to urban planning is discussed. Frederiksen keeps his program relatively short. The podcasts last for about 40 minutes. The same is not necessarily true of other heads of state. Football star Diego Maradona participates in the TV show “Aló presidente” with President Hugo Chávez in 2007. Photo: HO / Reuters “Hello president” Frederiksen may have taken inspiration for the podcast in Latin America. For many years, the program “Aló presidente” aired on Venezuelan television and radio. Almost every Sunday from 1999 to 2012, President Hugo Chávez appeared on the live talk show. In total, there were over 330 episodes, and 61 percent of Venezuelans watched. The program lasted as long as the president wanted, preferably six to seven hours, without a script. It was even inspired by the radio program “Hora do Brasil”, which was led by the dictator Getulio Vargas in the 1930s and 1940s, and Franklin Roosevelt’s “Fireside chats” in the United States. Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his fifth “Fireside Chat” to the American people. Photo: AP Chávez answered questions from Venezuelans who called in, received musical guests, and once even ordered a general to send troops to the border with Colombia. On live. Chávez died in 2013, and his successor Nicolás Maduro has not chosen to use the same concept. But at least one other head of state has in a way continued the tradition. “Direct line with Vladimir Putin” will be recorded in Moscow in June 2017. Photo: MIKHAIL KLIMENTIEV / AFP “Direct line with Vladimir Putin” Vladimir Putin also has his own talk show. Once a year during the summer, “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” is broadcast on several of Russia’s largest TV channels. Ahead of the program, Russians submit hundreds of thousands of questions, and Putin answers about 70 of them. The questions can range from what Putin eats for breakfast to what he thinks about corruption. This year, the program has been postponed indefinitely. Putin’s press secretary has responded evasively about when a possible “direct line” can be arranged, but says that preparations are underway. Erna Solberg meme on the Conservative Party’s Instagram account Photo: Screenshot / Instagram Norwegian direct lines Also here in Norway, politicians and parties have developed their own direct lines to the people. Among other things, the Conservatives have published the podcast “Stortingsrestauranten” since 2016, while the Labor Party has published several different podcasts in recent years. In 2017, for example, Siv Jensen gave a New Year’s speech on Facebook Live. That same year, the Conservatives changed their Instagram account to become a humor account, which political commentator Erik Bergersen thought was strange.
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Are you a president? Mette Frederiksen joins controversial media tradition – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
