Local media has always been weak in the small Icelandic media market (Guðmundsson, 2004). On a regional level, ownership concentration is high, in the sense that in most areas there is only one media outlet to speak of, usually an online news site. Also, these media outlets have only one to two staff members, and they are often also the owners.
There are regional newspapers in the northern, eastern, and western parts of the country, all being small organisations with a maximum of three journalists, and mostly owned by individuals who are also editors. These media outlets are generally not included in regular audience or readership surveys.
There are no regional or local television channels, except for N4 TV in Akureyri (North Iceland). N4 reaches the whole country, but its target areas are the north, northwest, and east of Iceland. It does not operate with a news service, and none of the staff are credited as reporters or journalists. N4 also publishes a small “what’s on” magazine. The biggest shareholder in N4is one of the biggest companies in the region, KEA, and other private companies in the area. In addition, Akureyri municipality holds considerable shares. None of these shareholders have any stake in any other media outlets.
