For most of the last century, Icelandic media outlets consisted of small political party–owned or affiliated newspapers, on the one hand, and a heavily politically monitored national broadcasting service, RÚV, on the other. There was basically no tradition of professional and politically impartial investigative journalism. This began to change in the 1970s and 1980s, when the professional watchdog role began to gain strength, the party mouthpieces started to disappear, and the political grip on RÚV subsided.
Investigative journalism has, to some extent, gained momentum in the media. Outlets like Stundin and Kjarninn consider investigative journalism to be their main objective. RÚV has a small team of investigative journalists, and its television programme Kveikur produces investigative reports and in-depth coverage on issues of public relevance. The investigative program Kompás (published online only at visir.is) also regularly produces in-depth coverage on powerholders and social matters that need immediate attention. After the 2008 economic crash, the Icelandic media produced powerful coverage on corruption and mismanagement, sometimes with different outlets joining hands or working with foreign media, such as with the Panama Papers. The NUIJ has annually awarded investigative journalism (and other kinds of journalism) since 2003. The interviewees stated that the watchdog role of the media is very important, and it is a clearly a part of Icelandic journalists’ identity. The momentum concerning investigative journalism is evident, but at the same time fraught with difficulties (see Indicator C9 – Watchdog function and financial resources).
