''Det fri Aktuelt'' was a daily newspaper published in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, between 1871 and 2001. It was the first socialist and the earliest newspaper published by a labor union in the world. In addition, it was the last major

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

newspaper in Denmark.

History and profile

The newspaper was established under the name of ''Socialisten'' (Danish: ''the Socialist'') by the cofounder of the

Social Democratic party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

Louis Pio Louis Albert François Pio (14 December 1841 – 27 June 1894) was a Danish politician who founded and served as the first chairman of the Danish Social Democratic Party from 1872 to 1874 and again from 1876 to 1878. Early life Louis Albert ...

, in 1871. Its first issue appeared on 22 July that year. The paper was the organ of the Social Democratic party. Its headquarters was in Copenhagen. In the mid-1970s, the owner of the paper was A/S FagbevægeIsens Presse, a limited liability company. Then It became owned by the trade union movement until 1987, when it declared its independence and freedom. The paper was published by the Labour Movement Press during its final years. The paper was published under different names. The original name, ''Socialisten'', was changed into ''Socialdemokraten'' in 1874. It was used until 1959, when it began to be published under the name of ''Aktuelt''. In 1987, the paper was renamed as ''Det fri Aktuelt''. ''Aktuelt'' had a Sunday edition which was published in

tabloid format A tabloid is a newspaper format characterized by its compact size, smaller than a broadsheet. The term originates from the 19th century, when the London-based pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Co. used the term to describe compres ...

from 1966. In 1973, the format of the paper was also changed to tabloid. ''Det fri Aktuelt'' ceased publication in April 2001.

Political stance and contributors

Being an official media outlet of the Social Democratic party the paper had a social democrat political leaning. At the end of the 1880s it discouraged the immigration of Swede workers to Denmark. However, its attitude towards them totally changed in the 1890s, and it supported the right of poor Swede workers to obtain Danish citizenship. The paper followed the decisions taken in the

Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...

and adopted a positive approach towards labor immigration to the country until

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It also supported the immigration of the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

to the country from 1905 to the end of World War I. The paper suggested in 1975 that

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

was one of the places for Danish families to visit during the summer holidays. Emil Wiinblad was appointed

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the paper in 1881. At the beginning of the 1930s the editor of the paper was H. P. Sørensen. Carsten Jensen was among its contributors. As of 1997 Lisbeth Knudsen was the editor-in-chief.

Circulation

In 1901 the circulation of the paper was 42,000 copies. From 1911 to the 1950s the paper had a fixed circulation of 55,000 copies. During the last six months of 1957 its circulation was 39,445 copies on weekdays. The paper sold 41,000 copies in 1963. Its circulation was 39,400 copies during the first half of 1966. The paper sold 53,000 copies in 1973 and 54,600 copies in 1983. The circulation of ''Det fri Aktuelt'' was 47,000 copies in 1991 and 45,000 copies in 1992. The paper sold 41,300 copies in 1993. Its circulation was 40,000 copies in 1994, 39,000 copies in 1995 and 37,000 copies in 1996. It further fell to 36,000 copies in 1997, to 30,000 copies in 1998 and to 28,000 copies in 1999. Its circulation was 26,000 copies both in the first quarter of 2000 and in 2000 as a whole, making it one of the top 20 newspapers in the country.

Legacy

The photo archive of the paper is kept in Arbejdermuseet (Danish: the Workers' Museum).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:fri Aktuelt 1871 establishments in Denmark 2001 disestablishments in Denmark Daily newspapers published in Denmark Defunct Danish-language newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Denmark Labour movement in Denmark Newspapers published in Copenhagen Newspapers established in 1871 Newspapers disestablished in 2001 Socialist newspapers