The Media Act (no. 38/2011) obliges all media to have an editorial policy statement and rules of editorial independencepublished on the Media Commission (MC)’s website (Parliament, 2011). Manyof these touch upon possible interventions on newsrooms and editorial work, and most of them stress independence from owners and external parties. Additionally, the most prominent news media houses also have internal rules of conduct or a code of ethics (CoE) and through these, have some protections against internal and external influence. The CoE of the National Union of Icelandic Journalists (NUIJ), however, does not cover external influences.
In the Public Service Broadcasting Act (no. 23/2013), an emphasis is placed upon professionalism in RÚV’s work (Parliament, 2013). RÚV abides by rules of editorial independence (Media Commission, 2020a) sanctioned by the MC, which, for example, bans RÚV’s board from interfering with news and news-related programmes. In RÚV’s “Rules on news and related programmes in RÚV”, reporters are also protected against interference from the state and its board.
Torg’s news media outlets portray a self-regulation system on the MC’s website (Media Commission, 2020b). It is clearly stated there that the interests of owners should never be considered when news is gathered and processed – editorial independence shall be upheld, and editorial products should be independent from boards and owners. If a board member or owner is the subject of coverage, a specified procedure shall commence that secures a fair handling of possible nuances, where a board member or owner shall be treated as an unrelated party. Between the news staff and owners, there is a “Guarantor” that treats complaints or accusations about rules being broken.
Morgunblaðið’s “Rules on Editorial Independence” have not been approved by the MC (Media Commission, 2019b). They state that decisions on content published in the paper and related outlets are in the hands of editors or their representatives. The editors and journalists are independent of others in their work, and journalists will, at each and all times, be offered the best possible conditions to uphold the editorial policy. Also stated is that cautions and layoffs are presented according to laws and regulations that apply.
Sýn’s news media have a Policy Statement and rules on editorial independence(Media Commission, n.d.-b),which state thatreporters are independent from the owners and the board. The editor-in-chief is obligated to report any attempt to unduly influence editorial decisions to the company’s chief lawyer at all times, and besides those legally sanctioned rules, the outlets also rely on the NUIJ’s CoE.
The biweekly newspaper and online news site, Stundin, adheres to the media law by having a policy statement and rules of editorial independence (Media Commission, n.d.-a), in addition to relying on the NUIJ’s CoE. The policy statementstates that diversity in ownership contributes to the independence and objectivity of Stundin, and in the rules of editorial independence, it postulates that the staff shall own a majority of the shares (with no one shareholder owning more than 15%). There is also a guarantee that the board will secure editorial independence, hold special interests at bay, and not propagate the owner’s interests in the production of news. The editors have sole power over hiring and firing.
Online news site and biweekly business paper Kjarninn miðlar also has a policy statement and rules of editorial independence, in adherence to the media law (Media Commission, 2019a). Otherwise, it relies on the NUIJ’s CoE. The policy statement reminds journalists that their loyalty lies only with the readers and no one else, and the independence of editors and journalists is emphasised as well as an absolute division between editorial staff and departments of income. Journalists at Kjarninn cannot be fired without a written explanation.
Most other media outlets in Iceland have limited self-regulation tools, aside from what the Media Law requires and accepting the jurisdiction of NUIJ’s CoE. Many of them are local and small, with one or two staffers – and those often being the owners.
With regard to ownership, the journalists interviewed said they never discussed editorial matters or news items with owners or board members, with the exception of the smallest media organisations where editors are also owners. Overall, most journalists and editors said that owners (who are not editors) usually did not interfere with editorial decisions or the daily operations of the news outlets.
