Fritt Ord is a Norwegian private foundation, whose aim is to support

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

and a

free press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

. It was established on 7 June 1974 by Narvesen Kioskkompani's leaders

Jens Henrik Nordlie Jens Henrik Nordlie (18 January 1910 – 2 April 1996) was a Norwegian military officer, resistance fighter from World War II and businessperson. He participated in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and was a member of Milorg's leadership in ...

and Finn Skedsmo as well as the lawyer Jens Christian Hauge. Fritt Ord has significant funds and is playing a part in supporting various projects in Norway, as investing in the newspaper

Morgenbladet ''Morgenbladet'' is a Norwegian weekly, newspaper, covering politics, culture and science. History ''Morgenbladet'' was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg. The paper is the country's first daily newspaper; however, Adresseav ...

, supporting an encyclopedia (

Store Norske Leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...

) and holding a 10.1% ownership in the media group

A-Pressen Amedia AS is the second largest media company in Norway (the largest is Schibsted and the third largest is Polaris Media). The company is whole or partial owner of 50 local and regional newspaper with online newspapers and printing presses, a ...

. In addition it awards

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

s to students within

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, awards the Fritt Ord Prize, and supports writing competitions. It has also provided funding for

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite ...

projects, e.g. an upcoming book written by the blogger Fjordman,Geir Ramnefjell
Fritt fram i Fritt Ord?
Dagbladet who calls for the deportation of all

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...

from Europe. The organization awards three annual prizes to support freedom of speech; the Fritt Ord Award (Norwegian: ''Fritt Ords pris''), the Fritt Ord Honorary Award (Norwegian: ''Fritt Ords honnør'') and the Press Prizes for Russia and Eastern Europe (Norwegian: ''Pressepriser for Russland og Øst-Europa''). Those prizes not to be confused with ''"Ytringsfrihetsprisen"'', the annual Freedom of Expression Prize awarded mostly to international writers by the Norwegian Authors' Union.

History

The owners of the kiosk chain Narvesen wanted to transform his chain of

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

and magazine

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, an ...

s to an institution, and on 1 January 1975 the company was taken over by the newly created foundation Fritt Ord at the same time it merged with the

Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...

(NSB) company

Norsk Spisevognselskap Norsk Spisevognselskap A/S, often abbreviated NSS or shortened to Spisevognselskapet (Norwegian for "The Dining Car Company"), was a Norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on Norwegian trains and restaurants at railway ...

, who offered services within catering to the railway. Fritt Ord got 59% ownership in the newly formed company while NSB got 41% ownership. The dividends from the company made it possible for Fritt Ord to perform a number of tasks related to freedom of expression, including support for the Institute of Journalism and the Freedom of Expression Prize as well as a number of grants to numerous persons and institutions, domestically and internationally. In 1995 NSB sold its shares in Narvesen and the company was listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. As a result of this Fritt Ord reduced its ownership in Narvesen to 34% in 1999 and in 2000 Narvesen was merged with Reitangruppen to form ReitanNarvesen. In 2001 Fritt Ord sold its ownership in the company to the Reitan Family. As a result of the capital freed from the sale of Narvesen, Fritt Ord has acquired holdings in ''

'' (30,5%) and A-Pressen (10,1%).

Controversies

David Irving controversy in 2008

The organization was criticized by some for obstructing rather than furthering freedom of speech when it threatened the Norwegian Festival of Literature with withdrawing financial support if the British

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include '' The Destruction of Dresden'' (1 ...

was allowed to speak at the festival. In October 2008 Fritt Ord's director, Erik Rudeng, demanded that its logo be removed from the webpages of the Norwegian Festival of Literature because Irving had been invited to give a lecture on his concept of ''

truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...

'' at the festival. Irving's invitation was withdrawn only a few days later. Rudeng on his side defended the decision by stating that Fritt Ord only sponsored the literature festival in 2008 and thus it was high time their logo was removed when the program for 2009 was presented. This prompted some commentators to address the paradox of a self-proclaimed "free speech" organization which involves itself in a campaign to stop a controversial voice like that of David Irving from being heard in Norway.

Fjordman controversy

It caused controversy when it became known in 2013 that the organization provided funding to the controversial blogger Fjordman (Peder Jensen), who has been characterised as

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

and

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia ...

, for a book Jensen is writing about

Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...

and the 2011 Norway attacks. The Labour youth party leader

Eskil Pedersen Eskil Pedersen (born 6 March 1984 in Skien) is a Norwegian politician and former leader from 2010 to 2014 of the Workers' Youth League (AUF), the youth organisation associated with Norway's leading Labour Party. Pedersen survived the massacre ...

said that Fritt Ord is an organization that provides a platform for "gay-haters and racists," referring to both the support for Fjordman and previous support for other controversial causes and individuals. Member of Parliament

Snorre Valen Snorre Serigstad Valen (born 16 September 1984 in Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, ...

accused Fritt Ord of "mockery of all those killed and injured" in the 2011 Norway attacks, stating that Fritt Ord provides funding to a writer "so that he can publish a book about the terrorist he inspired," concluding that Fritt Ord supports "

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

." Leader of the support group for Breivik's victims, Trond Henry Blattmann, told ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newspa ...

'' that Fritt Ord's financial support for Fjordman was "unacceptable." Fritt Ord's leader Georg Fredrik Rieber-Mohn said the decision to provide grants to Fjordman was very difficult. The decision was supported by ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 millio ...

'' journalist Erik Tornes who argued the grant was a cheap price to pay to get "the extremists out of the echochambers" and by Norway's Minister of Culture Hadia Tajik.Hadia Tajik (25 June 2013)
Kommentar: Vår demokratiske beredskap
'' VG'', retrieved November 30, 2019

References

External links

The foundation's websiteTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritt Ord (Organization) 1974 establishments in Norway Foundations based in Norway Mass media companies of Norway Organizations established in 1974