Statssekretær Johanne Gaup

Sami media - policy and practice

Rovaniemi, 18. september 1998

First of all, I should like to thank you for inviting me to attend and speak at this seminar. Sami media policy is an issue that greatly interests me and this seminar provides a welcome opportunity to discuss this theme.

I have been asked to speak on "Sami Media - Policy and Practice". An exciting topic, but difficult too, because it is naturally easier for me to talk about Sami media policy while perhaps it is easier for others here, for instance those who work in the Sami media, to tell us how this policy works in practice. However, I shall try to address both aspects of the issue.

The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) does a formidable job broadcasting programmes in Sami through NRK Sami Radio. I am pleased that the NRK proposes to broadcast Sami radio and television programmes nationwide so that Sami people all over the country can benefit from NRK Sami Radio’s programmes. The NRK will therefore be establishing a separate Sami radio channel in connection with the introduction of digital broadcasting.

The Norwegian Government takes the view that a good Sami media service is of vital importance in maintaining and developing Sami culture and language. The Storting supports this view.

In recognition of the fact that it is extremely important for the Sami people to be able to participate in national and local debate through the Sami media, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs provides press grants for Sami newspapers. These grants have gradually increased over the years, but the Government understands the impatience of Sami newspapers concerning the rate at which the increases take place.

Personally, I should like to have seen a Sami daily newspaper, and also a tabloid that would be available at kiosks in the largest towns and, not least, in the areas where Sami people live rather than only in the core municipalities.

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The access of minorities to the media can be viewed from several perspectives. It can be regarded as helping the minority to acquire knowledge of the processes that are taking place outside the Sami community, and it can be regarded as a tool for developing and maintaining the minority’s own culture and characteristics. Access to the media has a clear democratic function - various groups must be able to present their views and must have the right to present themselves - paint their own self-portrait. A large number of TV channels alone is no guarantee that minorities will be able to promote their own causes on their own terms.

We have to ask the following questions: On what terms do the media function? Do all groups have genuine access to the media? And do the Sami people as a minority group have the same access? Access to the media can be evaluated in terms of control of broadcasting time or the consideration that is shown for the minority in the content of broadcasts. Awareness of the target group - the minority or the general public - also determines the premises for broadcasts.

The minorities must be allowed to take part in forming the image of themselves that is transmitted in the media. The question is how this is done, and perhaps how it should be done. To what extent should they be ensured real access so that they are able to influence the choice and content of programmes? There are several possible strategies, such as representation on decision-making bodies, in management, on programme advisory councils, or dedicated newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, special recruitment programmes etc.

The obligations laid down in international conventions and declarations may be interpreted to mean that nation states must give minorities a real possibility of having their own media and must provide a certain amount of funding for this purpose, that discrimination must be prevented and that the State must make an active contribution towards increasing the general public’s knowledge of minority cultures.

International instruments can only provide minimum standards to ensure minorities’ access to the media in the countries concerned. National legislation therefore has a decisive influence on the actual opportunities provided by these countries. Norwegian legislation must be interpreted to mean that the Sami people must have access to the media in accordance with the above provisions. The provisions can also be interpreted as supporting the idea of positive extraordinary measures.

Section 7-2 of the Broadcasting Act stipulates that one of the members of the National Advisory Council must be the Chairman of the Sami Programme Council. The regulations attaching to Section 7-3 concerning Regional Advisory Councils state that the Sami Programme Council must be appointed by the Sami Assembly. There is also a provision requiring the minutes of Sami Programme Council meetings to be submitted to the Sami Assembly. I have already mentioned the objectives of NRK Sami Radio.

With respect to programming, the terms of TV2’s licence state that "Broadcasts shall, over time, contain a varied programme menu with programmes for both broad and narrow viewer groups, including the Sami population group, and minorities". The terms of the licence for P4, a national radio channel financed from advertising revenues, have approximately the same wording. The objectives for programme content include the requirement that the NRK shall "feel a responsibility" for defending and developing Sami language and culture. The NRK’s objectives for Sami Radio in 1995 included providing improved programme services for listeners in North Troms county and for Lule Sami listeners (i.e. Sami living further south, around Tysfjord) and increasing the news items in NordNytt (News from the North) and Dagsrevyen (the main news programme). In 1997 we noted a significant rise in news items in Nordnytt and Dagsrevyen and the transmission time was extended, with special broadcasts of educational and language programmes.

In Norway, the Public Broadcasting Advisory Council (Allmennkringkastingsrådet) was established in 1996 to assist the authorities in evaluating the extent to which the programme policies of NRK, TV2 and Radio Hele Norge are in accordance with the intentions upon which their activities as public broadcasters are based. In its reports in recent years, the Council has concluded that both P2 and P4 are contravening the terms of their licences in certain areas. In the case of P4, the council points to deficiencies in relation to niche programmes for minority groups and linguistic diversity. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has therefore requested a report on future programme plans and will, on this basis, undertake further evaluations and follow up these matters.

I am pleased about the latter. TV2’s programme series Gutta på tur (The Lads on Tour) cannot be regarded as being a programme for the Sami population, even though the lads are on tour in Samiland. I am also looking forward to the results of cooperation currently being entered into between the Sami production company Govat A/S and TV2 to produce Sami TV programmes. This should increase the volume and quality of TV programmes based on Sami reality.

Efforts are now under way to strengthen future cooperation on television between the Nordic countries, a study has been carried out on a possible joint Nordic Sami radio channel, and NRK Sami Radio is working to extend both TV broadcasts and participation in a digital radio channel. I have heard that the Nordic broadcasting organisations have decided to start their own "Sami channel" next year (1999). However, I should like to point out that a joint radio channel also raises a number of new questions. I must particularly mention the question of which ethical guidelines for journalists have been adapted to the Nordic Sami community? Might this be something we should consider investigating?

The Sami media are undergoing a phase of development. Sami newspapers and publications naturally belong in this picture. In my view, NRK Sami Radio has developed particularly well. Perhaps we have now reached a level where the main stumbling block is not access to financial resources but access to qualified personnel. It is necessary to have financial resources, but they don’t solve every problem. One of our goals must be to increase the quality of Sami broadcasts by developing human resources.

In 1991-94, a trial project to train Sami journalists was carried out at the Sami College in Kautokeino, culminating in a report, an evaluation of the course and proposals for future action. The project report concludes that a special course must be established to cover the need for education in journalism in the Sami areas. Sami journalists have confirmed that there is a pressing need for a special course for Sami journalists, not least because few Same apply to the Norwegian journalism colleges. Both development of the media and the important Sami policy issues that are being debated in the media indicate that there is a significant need for journalists who speak the Sami language and know Sami culture. What I have said so far also indicates a need for professional research on Sami media and studies to find out how the Norwegian media cover Sami affairs.

In schools, we now have a Sami curriculum and a national curriculum which require pupils to learn about topical social issues and current affairs. Moreover, the general public knows little of Sami affairs. This situation will make great demands on the Sami media, both Sami Radio and the newspapers, as a supplement to both education and public information.

Journalists who are to work in multi-ethnic communities, whether they have Norwegian or Sami backgrounds, must be taught to understand and analyse the special characteristics of a minority community like the Sami, and the relationship between this community and the nation at large. They must be aware of the cultural and social processes of change and the cultural tensions that are present in the North Norwegian and Sami societies, and the identity-related choices and life situations that result from this. This must be one of the necessary qualifications for working in a multi-cultural society. In other words, in multi-ethnic societies, journalists must be aware of which spectacles they are wearing.

Journalists must know how to relate to people from different cultures. In the media it is important to have credibility based on cultural ballast as well as cultural understanding. Sami journalists have dual qualifications - they can function both in relation to the Sami people and Sami language media and be a resource for the Norwegian media on Sami and North-Norwegian affairs. They therefore provide a dual service to the Sami and Norwegian media because they have the necessary cultural expertise and background knowledge.

Consequently, the steps in the recruitment and qualification process should be: 1) Sami journalists for the Sami media, 2) Sami journalists for the Norwegian media, 3) Further education and training for employees of the Norwegian media.

I have been told that the Norwegian Union of Journalists has established an ad hoc group to study matters relating to the education of Sami journalists. It is necessary to develop a course with a content that suitably qualifies journalists who are to work in Sami areas, and it is necessary to make active efforts recruit journalism students.

The Sami College wishes to establish a course for Sami journalists based on trans-cultural expertise, and to foster linguistic development in this area.

It is clear that the Sami media face serious challenges. Many of them have to do with linguistic development and access to media in their own language and on their own terms. I would say that there is a special need for responsible information that leads to objective debate and does not create splits between population groups and rural communities. When reporting small, intimate community affairs journalists must have special ethical standards. Of course they must contribute to the debate, but this must not take place on a personal level. It must be a debate about substance, not personalities. Journalists must know the way of life and be able to make judgements on the basis of the facts and realities of Sami society.

I should like to add that the Sami press agency provides a good overview of news for the entire Sami area, from which I also benefit. I believe more public institutions should utilise this service. Sami text TV provides a review of news and current affairs every morning. Living so far from the centre of things in Oslo, I can stay up to date on matters relating to my job - and can more easily answer questions from the press!.

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As I mentioned before, the Government is of the opinion that a good Sami media service is essential for the maintenance and development of Sami language and culture. This is a fact, and the Government will gradually help to develop this service in cooperation with the Sami media. Funding for this process has been provided for some time and we have gradually seen an increase in Sami newspapers and radio and TV broadcasts. It may still take a little time to reach our goal, which is also dependent upon our having qualified Sami media personnel.

We understand the impatience of the Sami media. They lack both financial and professional resources because they, as others in other media, are naturally concerned to develop for the society of tomorrow. I share the impatience they have communicated to me with respect to the training of Sami journalists. We have a common interest in ensuring that the Sami media have integrity and are objective, and that their professional standards are as high as those of the national media. Readers are and should be critical, whether they are Same or from other ethnic groups.

The Sami community is small and vulnerable and both the media and the authorities must take this into account. Cooperation is therefore extremely important, and I believe part of the solution for developing the Sami media is more cooperation between Norway, Sweden and Finland. We cooperate well through NRK Sami Radio. This cooperation should be extended to include newspapers and local radio stations. Together we will be stronger and have more influence on both the Sami social debate and the debate on Sami affairs in the respective countries.