Greta Thunberg has been strongly critical of media coverage of the climate crisis. Now she will get the chance to show what she means. Greta Thunberg will become the editor-in-chief of the leading Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter in December – for one day. She said: ”My hope is that DN and other media will be influenced.”
En utskrift från Dagens Nyheter, 2023-04-01 15:17
Artikelns ursprungsadress: https://www.dn.se/sverige/greta-thunberg-will-be-editor-in-chief-of-leading-swedish-newspaper-for-one-day/
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Greta Thunberg will be Editor-in-Chief of leading Swedish newspaper – for one day
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Följ dina intressen Nyhetsbrev Har du redan ett konto? Logga in Skapa konto gratisGreta Thunberg, the world’s best known climate activist, visited Dagens Nyheter in September, to talk about the media and climate change. During her visit she was sharply critical of how Dagens Nyheter and the media at large cover climate change, saying that newsrooms do not treat it as an important and extremely serious crisis.
An idea was born. Why not let Greta Thunberg become editor-in-chief for one day and decide what gets printed? Editor-in-chief Peter Wolodarski liked the idea, and contacted Greta Thunberg who responded positively. He explains: ”For the past year the most common complaint from our readers has been that we do not take climate change seriously enough. We want to improve our coverage in a number of ways, it is one of our greatest challenges as journalists. This is one way of doing that, and we look forward to seeing what we can learn from the experience.”
Greta Thunberg will take over as editor of Dagens Nyheter for one day in early December. She said: ”I hope that this can push Dagens Nyheter and other media outlets to treat climate change like the emergency it is.”
When asked what she will fill the pages with on her day as editor, Greta Thunberg answered: ”I do not plan on loads of opinion pieces or disaster stories. I would rather see studies of our reality right now, and deeper explorations of the climate crisis. And interviews with people with real knowledge, like scientists.”
This is not the first time a well known activist has taken the helm of a newspaper. The most famous example may be when U2’s singer and frontman Bono took over editorship of the British newspaper The Independent for one day in 2006. The result was a classic first page: red with the headline ”NO NEWS TODAY”, designed by artist Damien Hirst. The newspaper edition focused on the AIDS epidemic that was ravaging a number of African countries.
Letting an external actor decide what should be printed could lead to questions about DN’s independence and impartiality. When asked, Peter Wolodarski replied: ”It will lead to some questions, and rightly so. But we will make it clear to our readers that it is a special project for one day.” He continued: ”Greta Thunberg will work with a group of editors from Dagens Nyheter to plan specific ideas, and the journalistic work will meet our usual professional standards. We plan on full transparency. I think it is a very exciting project.”
Peter Wolodarski said that Thunberg’s editorship is not just a one day stunt: ”It is part of a larger effort on our part to improve how we cover climate change. That includes more resources towards reporting on climate change, and reviewing our advertising policies.” He continued: ”I hope this will inspire us to treat the climate crisis like the game changer it is. It affects us, our children and our grandchildren, and it is our responsibility as a newspaper to cover the question with serious, knowledgeable and in-depth journalism.”