WORLD PRESS TRENDS - World Association of Newspapers

SWEDEN
Commentary - Swedish Newspaper Publishers Association
The Swedish economy continued to suffer during 2002. This
was evident in newspaper advertising sales as well, which were
down 7.2% for the whole year. During 2002, every quarter
compared negatively to the corresponding quarter in 2001,
although it recovered little by little throughout the year. There
was no category that increased advertising sales, but the smaller
the newspaper the less it decreased. Total advertising
expenditure in traditional media (paid newspapers, magazines,
TV, radio, cinema, and outdoor) decreased 5.7%. Advertising
sales on the internet increased by 3.0%. Free sheets and outdoor
also increased in 2002.
Total circulation was 4,063,500 copies on weekdays. Comparable
titles were up by 0.4% for 2002. Circulation for morning
newspapers went down 0.2% while single copy tabloids were
3.0%. 14 titles were published on Sundays in 2002. Sunday
circulation fell by 0.6% for comparable titles.
Readership is still strong in Sweden with 88% reading a daily
newspaper (same as 2001).
An increasing number of newspapers have a website with
editorial content. 85% of dailies and 49% of non-dailies have a
website with editorial content.
One merger took place in 2002. Nordvästra Skånes Tidningar and
Helsingborgs Dagblad in southern Sweden merged to become the
largest newspaper outside Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo,
and the 8th largest overall. The number of dailies decreased
from 94 to 91 and the number of non-dailies decreased from 76
to 75.
The debate on whether to legislate on media concentration or
not culminated in December 2001, when the Government
withdrew its plans for a draft legislation, as it would be able to
pass such a draft through the Parliament. The issue is, however,
still on the Government’s agenda and in 2002 it asked The
Competition Authority to make a report on media concentration
in Sweden. This report should be completed before November
2003.
State subsidies are given to newspapers with a low household
coverage in order to maintain plurality. The subsidies amounted
to SKr 486 million in 2002, including a smaller subsidy of about
SKr 75 million set aside for all daily newspapers which take
part in a joint distribution system. Press subsidies and their effect
on competition remain the subject of intense debate in political
and newspaper industry circles.
A new subsidy was introduced during 2002 for technical
investment. The subsidy is of a total amount of SKr 45 million
over a three-year period. It can only be received by newspaper
companies that are subject to the general press subsidy system.
Another new subsidy of SKr 15 million was introduced during
2002, with the purpose of supporting the distribution of
newspaper copies with extreme costs. This subsidy is available
when the distribution cost, on a weekly basis, exceeds a certain
amount on average.
For several years Sweden has had a special advertisement tax
(4% for newspapers) on printed media. The tax has been
criticised by the press and other media. There is a broad
consensus that this tax should be abolished, but still the
Government lacks alternative financing for the State budget to
the tune of the U$100 million or so the advertising tax brings in.
Nevertheless, the tax was partly abolished in 1998, but only on
direct marketing – a step that made the distortion to competition
even clearer. There is still also a debate on whether this tax –
unusual in Europe – conforms to Community law. The industry
has continued intense lobbying efforts during the year to abolish
this tax.
The convergence issue becomes more important and raises
numerous legal questions when different sectors are being
integrated. The Swedish newspaper industry is emphasising
this issue and the consequences it might have from a legal point
of view.
When it comes to the question of copyright and employment,
many newspaper companies faced difficulties in acquiring the
rights they need to develop their businesses. The issue is to some
extent solved in the collective agreement, but many practical
problems occurred during the year.
The problems in relation to freelancers and the debate on to
which extent newspaper companies acquire copyright when
buying material from freelancers remained intense.
The discussion on how to apply traditional copyright law in
the digital domain – and how to strike a balance between rights
holders and the need for users – continued in the light of the
discussions on how to implement the EU directive on copyright
and neighbouring rights in the information society into domestic
law. The announced draft for this implementation was delayed
during 2002 and is now expected to be presented during spring
2003.
POPULATION
Population by age and sex
All individuals Male Female Households
000 % 000 % 000 % 000
0-15 1,724 19 884 20 840 19 4,363
16-24 937 10 479 11 458 10
25-34 1,180 13 601 14 580 13
35-44 1,251 14 640 14 611 14
45-54 1,195 13 604 14 591 13
55-64 1,119 13 563 13 556 12
65+ 1,534 17 656 15 878 19
Total 8,941 100 4,427 100 4,514 100
Source: SCB
Age structure of daily readership
% of % reach within
Age readership age group
15-24 13.6 79.3
25-34 16.3 82.0
35-44 18.1 88.2
45-54 18.5 92.0
55-64 16.9 94.4
65-79 16.6 93.5
Source: Orvesto Konsument 2002, Research
International
WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS - WORLD PRESS TRENDS 2003 259