Svalbard’s newspaper struggles in the COVID crisis | Polarjournal
The editorial office of the Svalbardposten is located in the middle of Longyearbyen in the blue building, where the bank and the post office are also located. Longyearbyen’s oldest newspaper has been published since 1948. Photo: Svalbardposten / Wikipedia

It almost seems ironic: a global crisis appears and everyone wants news and information. People watch TV, listen to the radio and read newspapers, follow the headlines and reports. Journalists work almost in a chord to master the amount of information. And yet revenues of newspapers are breaking down and employees have to either work part-time or even are laid off. This fate has hit many journalist working places, and the world’s northernmost newspaper, the Svalbardposten,is no exception.

The newspaper, which has been published since 1948, has fallen into the same trap as many print media worldwide: revenues from the sale of advertisements have decreased massively and this can hardly be absorbed by other financial means. Fewer advertisements means more austerity measures, which again has a negative impact on the attractiveness of a newspaper, which in turn shows that it is less attractive for advertising. A vicious circle. Then there came COVID-19 crisis, which could not gain a foothold in Svalbard because the administration had adopted strict measures to protect the population and the health system. Because in Longyearbyen these measures also broke down economically many companies and businesses, which normally advertise in the newspaper, they withdrew these advertisements due to lack of money. Travellers also do not come to Svalbard, which puts another financial burden on the newspaper. “The English-language magazine “Top of the World”, which we produce every spring for tourists, is an important source of income in the first half of the year. This year it had to be deleted,” explains Hilde Røsvik, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief.

The editor-in-chief, Hilde Røsvik has been editor-in-chief of the newspaper for 4 years. Before that, she worked as an editor at other newspapers. The 57-year-old’s contract will expire soon and the job will be re-tendered. Photo: David Engmo

“Unfortunately, subscription revenue does not compensate for the decline in advertising revenue”

Hilde Risvik

The perfidious thing about the situation is that the newspaper is more popular than ever. The number of subscribers has increased by 2/3 compared to last year. The interest in news, which had risen sharply as a result of the COVID crisis, especially in the local area, was enormous. “The editorial team worked at full speed for several months,” explains Mr. Røsvik. “We’ve had an average of 55,000 readers online since the beginning of the year, compared to 33,000 in the same period last year. We also sold almost twice as many subscriptions compared to last year. But subscription revenue unfortunately doesn’t compensate for the decline in advertising revenue,” she says. Although online advertisement also has increased, the loss in the print media is far more severe. A fate that has now led to a decline in print media in many places around the world

About 2,400 people live in Longyearbyen. Many of them inform themselves by the local paper, both online and the printed version. The newspaper also publishes official reports from the administration. Photo: Michael Wenger

The measures taken at Svalbardposten to reduce costs without losing too much attractiveness are manifold. On the one hand, the online presence has been further strengthened and made even more efficient, a process that has been running continuously for a few years now. All editions of the newspaper are first published electronically. From July 7, the printed newspaper will only be distributed to the private addresses every other day, to the mailboxes every day of the week. Unfortunately, the measeures also included to lay off someone, in this case in the marketing department. For a newspaper consisting of a total of 6 employees, this is already serious. Overtime and weekend work of journalists were also not allowed. “As an editor, I do all the overtime work,” says Hilde Røsvik.

“I am convinced that Longyearbyen needs a strong local newspaper.”

Hilde Risvik

But she also believes things will get better. Last year, the newspaper had massively improved its balance sheet, mainly due to austerity and improvement measures. “The turnaround has now been completed and the company was well on its way to achieving a plus this year when the Corona epidemic broke out,” says Mr. Røsvik. “I hope that the newspapers will receive help via a compensation system. I am convinced that Longyearbyen needs a strong local newspaper.”

Michael Wenger, PolarJournal

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