Media policy is constantly evolving, and staying up to date with new regulations and changes is not an easy task. In this article, we take you behind the scenes of the Nordic Media Policy newsletter, offering a look at how the key topics are being identified and prioritised.
Nordicom’s popular newsletter Nordic Media Policy is edited by Tobias Lindberg, media researcher at Nordicom. To gain a better understanding of the work that goes behind compiling and editing the newsletter, we asked Tobias to take us through a typical day.
“To create the Nordic Media Policy newsletter, I follow a wide range of industry websites, newsletters, and messaging services. I collect all the relevant material in a dedicated folder in my inbox”, Lindberg explains.
The aim is to create a newsletter that systematically compiles the most important developments in media policy, providing readers with a clear and efficient way to stay informed – without the need to track multiple sources themselves.
Editor Tobias Lindberg creates the newsletter Nordic Media Policy.
Photo: Påhl Ruin
From Gathered Information to Curated Newsletter
It’s not just about gathering information. Every issue of our newsletter is about expert judgment: What is most relevant? And what do our subscribers want to read?
“When it’s time to assemble the newsletter, I settle in at my desk and dive into the latest developments. I review the collected content, selecting the most relevant stories and shaping them into concise, news-focused pieces”, says Lindberg.
“Once the draft takes shape, I trim down a few articles to keep the newsletter crisp and engaging. I also incorporate links to relevant studies and additional resources that provide deeper insights into Nordic media policy”, he continues.
At this point, the material is passed over to Nordicom’s manuscript editor Kristin Clay for proofreading and a final edit.
“It’s always a pleasure to proofread the Nordic Media Policy newsletter. It’s a quick read but dense with information. Even though I’m not a professional within the media policy sphere, any new knowledge in the field makes me a better editor of media and communication research. So, proofreading this actually benefits me professionally too! Moreover, as someone who personally likes to stay up to date on the current state of affairs – but often encounters a language barrier – this also provides a nice English-language resource for me”, says Clay.
Why Should You Subscribe?
Nordic Media Policy‘s unique selling point is that it is the only newsletter highlighting media policy from a Nordic perspective. For anyone who wants to stay up to date on media policy developments in this part of the world, the newsletter is one of the easiest and fastest ways to do so.
“We curate and summarise key updates, delivering them straight to your inbox every other month – saving you time and keeping you ahead”, says Lindberg.
Who Reads the Newsletters?
Nordicom publishes two newsletters: Nordic Media Policy, focusing on national media policy developments in the Nordic countries; and European Media Policy, reporting on EU news and media policy issues at the European level.
The newsletters have subscribers from a variety of professional backgrounds:
- Policymakers following legislation and regulatory changes
- Researchers needing insights for their analyses
- Officials at various authorities who need to stay up to date with media legislation and developments
- Media professionals wanting updates on how new rules can affect them
- Media agencies and media analysts wanting to stay ahead on new legislation and conditions for media
Thoughts from Current Subscribers
“As a researcher, I value the concise summaries and relevant links to studies and resources. The newsletters save time while ensuring I don’t miss important developments. With media policy constantly evolving, the newsletters offer a clear and efficient way to keep up with changes at both the Nordic and European levels. They’re a must-read for anyone working in this field”.
“I particularly appreciate the focus on Nordic media policy, as I often use Nordic examples as best practices in audiovisual production and public service media values. The newsletter makes it easy to stay updated without having to track multiple sources”.
Leen d’Haenens, Professor at the Institute for Media Studies (IMS) and Vice-Dean International Relations of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Leuven, Belgium
“I always check out the Nordic Media Policy newsletter as it is a great way to keep up with a policy field that is important to my research, but also recently one that has gained salience on the political agendas in all the Nordic countries. It is also always interesting to see in which ways the Nordic countries differ from each other, or inspire each other, in their policies”.
“The EU, with both the European Media Freedom Act and the Digital Services Act, has become the primary political player in European media policy. In order to follow all these important developments, I subscribe to the European Media Policy newsletter. It’s the best way to keep up with the newest initiatives on media regulation”.
Mark Blach-Ørsten, Professor at the Department of Communication and Arts, Roskilde University, Denmark
“In contemporary media policy analyses, the focus on regional insights is especially fascinating. The Nordic Media Policy newsletter has its character and style. Though providing a comprehensive view of the developments in the media and communications sphere – which is indeed a challenging task, as there are intense restructurings across all arenas, including technological innovations, infrastructural changes in media operations, and cultural transformations in media functions and people’s media repertoires – the newsletter achieves the primary aim of highlighting those aspects that are critically relevant for that specific moment in time. Furthermore, applying this broad perspective regionally highlights specificities based on market sizes, linguistic and cultural specifics, and geographic locations. Though we live in a highly interconnected and digitally integrated and engaging world, geography, as it turns out, plays a significant role in people’s social and political lives and, hence, also in the media’s everyday operations. I strongly recommend subscribing to the newsletter, not only to learn about the latest advancements but also to gain a sense of direction”.
Auksė Balčytienė, Professor and core founding person of the Journalism and Communications School at Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
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