The documentary series “Ingen elsker Bamsegut” received strong criticism for not including information that the series’ main character, Jan-Egil Granfoss, had previously been convicted of abusing six children. On Wednesday, it became known that news is withdrawing the series. Program manager Tore Strømøy writes in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening that he is “unsure whether the management’s decision is correct”. He clarifies to news that it is the decision to omit the verdict from the documentary series he is referring to. – The editors have worked on this series for over two years, a story that has consisted of many ethical issues. Precisely because of these issues, I know that the ethics editor and other editors were involved from day one. They have been involved in discussions and decisions all along, he writes. – It is a completely wrong impression that is being created in the media now, that I have any responsibility or influence on this election, he writes further. – That was my last involvement with this case. Strømøy further writes that he found out about the verdict against Granfoss in a conversation with police chiefs in Rogaland on 20 October this year. – I forwarded the verdict to the editorial staff and editor, and that was my last involvement with this case. After this I know that it was the ethics editor, district editor and broadcasting manager who decided what to do with this. I only registered that the verdict was not included in the series, writes Strømøy. It was broadcasting manager Vibeke Fürst Haugen who announced on Wednesday that the series would be withdrawn. – The series does not meet the high journalistic standard it should, and therefore we are depublishing it. The context surrounding the series and the family’s situation has changed since the series was published. The judgment has been made public. This means that many elements could have looked different if we had been open about it during production, said Haugen. Broadcasting manager Vibeke Fürst Haugen (centre) announced that the Bamsegut series is being depublished at a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – Bad solution The lawyer for Granfoss, Leif Strøm, says that news should not have published the documentary. – This is very unfortunate, and a bad solution. This is almost like turning off the light for the case of Granfoss and the family, he says to news. A better solution, Strøm believes, would have been for news to publish a new version of the documentary series in which information about the verdict comes to light. – Then you would get a comprehensive presentation. When news just lets it be, I would think that both viewers and those involved experience this as a lack of clarity. People would like to have an idea of what the truth is. There is no doubt that there is a judgment. But the question is how to see it in the context of the rest of the story, says Strøm. The lawyer has previously stated that Granfoss himself expressed a wish that information about the sentence against him should be included in the documentary. About “Nobody loves Bamsegut”: The documentary series “Nobody loves Bamsegut” is made by the program department of news Trøndelag. The news division works journalistically independently with the news coverage of the case. That news pulls the series, Strøm believes, could lead to a more unclear situation. – Not only for my client, but also for the offended parties. I think that news and Tore Strømøy did a great job making the series. They did indeed make a mistake, but that does not mean that the history of Granfoss is not valid. This is a family that is in dire straits and has had it pretty tough, he says. Strøm says that he has informed Granfoss that news is withdrawing the series, but that he has not yet received any feedback about this from him. – Granfoss and the family will of course try to get to Norway, and in any case try to achieve as normal a life as possible, says Strøm. Granfoss in conversation with presenter Tore Strømøy. Photo: Kjetil Nesgård – A nightmare news has been in contact with several of the victims in the judgment against Granfoss. One of them tells news that this has been a big strain on him. – For me and my family, this has been a nightmare. A lot of bad memories come to the surface again. I would say that it is almost like experiencing it all over again, he says. The man is critical of news’s handling of the case, – That news withdraws the series is indifferent to me. The damage is already done. I think that news’s handling is beyond what can and should be expected, he says. – I don’t hold a grudge against him Another of the aggrieved, a mother of two from Stavanger, believes that it was wise for news to publish the case. – From my point of view, it feels like the journalist had blinders on when he made the documentary. It was surprisingly little reflected in relation to the whole context, she says. The mother of two believes that it is difficult to add information from the abuse conviction into the documentary without making major changes. She believes that it can be published again if news balances the case to Bamsegutt and puts all the facts on the table. – I want to be clear that I am in favor of Bamsegut getting help and that the family should be allowed to come home to Norway. I don’t hold a grudge against him, and I don’t want him to rot away in the Philippines. My criticism is directed at news and how the information has been presented, she says. Broadcasting manager Vibeke Fürst Haugen. Photo: NTB – I regret that today During Wednesday’s Dagsnytt 18 broadcast, the broadcaster says that she was informed about the verdict a few weeks before the documentary was to be published. – What I should have done when I found out about it was to watch the whole series. I should have asked that we lift all the dilemmas and asked for the discussions to be lifted. I did not do that. I regret that today, she says. Haugen says that the documentary series is not true and does not show the whole when information about the verdict is omitted. – What we have to do now is go through our procedures and routines. Several errors have occurred here. We must make sure that this does not happen again, and it is this work that starts now, says Haugen.
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– I only registered that the judgment was not included – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
