news has a broad and unique mission. Through the statutes and the news poster, more than 50 points with specific requirements and expectations have been formulated. We will have a rich and diverse offer in all genres and be there for everyone – young and old. That was part of the background for us looking for new voices for our podcast venture last year. The current debate is about one of our 58 podcasts and one of many more female podcast profiles, namely Sofie Steen Isachsen, better known as Sophie Elise. The matter is complex, and we have spent time sorting it out. Here I would like to highlight three perspectives on the matter. news must have a large space for expression The debate may give the impression that Sophie and Fetisha’s podcast is the only offer news has for young listeners. That this is news’s offer to young people. So it is not. news has a varied offer for young people on both audio, TV and online. Sophie Elise provokes many, and many think a lot about her. We believed when we engaged her – and I still believe – that there is room for her voice in our mix of content. I also believe that much of what has been said about Sophie Elise is unnecessarily harsh. The Sophie og Fetisha podcast has for the past six months shared directly and honestly their experiences and lives, but also talked openly about mental health and psychological problems, drug problems, about racism and hate speech. These are important topics in the lives of many young people. When the two of them talk about these topics, I think it’s good public broadcasting content. The Sophie og Fetisha podcast has for the past six months shared directly and honestly their experiences and lives, but also talked openly about mental health and psychological problems, drug problems, about racism and hate speech. Photo: Petter Nielsen news must take care of contractors Then we have the case which is the source of the debate of the last few weeks: the Instagram image that appeared last Sunday. When we became aware of this, we did what we always do when matters of this nature arise: We held a meeting, made sure that all parties understood and followed our internal rules of conduct. On a general basis, I can say how such meetings take place. The manager makes it clear which guidelines apply and what we expect from everyone associated with news. If drugs are involved, we will make news’s position clear. In cases like this, news has an important responsibility as an employer and client to take into account those who are employed or deliver content to us. Influencer collaboration is press ethically demanding The last week’s debate has also highlighted several important, principled discussions about influencer collaboration, both internally at news and publicly. The fact that news profiles have commercial collaborations is not an unknown issue. In such cases, we take care to build fences around the program content in the form of time before and after the publication period. In the case of Sophie Elise, we have not taken into account well enough how extensive the commercial business is – and more generally how demanding it is to have sufficient ongoing control against press ethics and our internal guidelines. We will therefore sit down with Sophie Elise in the near future and discuss how to handle this, and whether it is compatible to be an influencer and a full-time news contractor at the same time. The way forward Influencers in Norway are a cultural phenomenon in our time, and news therefore wanted to explore this culture and link one of them to us. Trying something completely new often creates debate. I still believe it is important to sort things out, show consideration and respect, even when the debate becomes emotionally charged. We also said that we wanted to gain experience. We have done that. Now we will evaluate. What we already know is that this is a difficult case, with several sides, which has become demanding for news’s reputation, just as I know it has been demanding for Sophie Elise. I’m sorry for that.
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news’s collaboration with Sophie Elise – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
