Everything about Jyllands-posten totally explained
[ˈmɒ:ɒnæˌʋiːˀsn̩ˈjylænsˌ pʰʌsd̥n̩] (
English:
The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"), commonly shortened to
Jyllands-Posten or
JP, is a
Danish daily
broadsheet newspaper. It is based in
Viby, a suburb of
Århus, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 150,000 copies, it's the largest-selling newspaper in Denmark. Its main competitors are the broadsheet
Politiken and
compact Berlingske Tidende.
The
foundation behind the newspaper, Jyllands-Postens Fond, specifies that it's an independent
liberal newspaper (
liberal should be understood in the historic meaning of the term). The paper officially supported the
Conservative People's Party until
1938. Since then, it has considered itself an independent liberal-conservative (bourgeoisie) newspaper.
In international affairs, it was generally supportive of Britain and critical of Germany, which it considered the only country that "wished to attack Denmark," to quote an 1872 edition. This nationalist sentiment was a reaction to Germany's annexation of large portions of southern Jutland following the
Second War of Schleswig in 1864. Editorially the newspaper supported the
Danish minority in Germany and advocated for a new border located at the
Danevirke. Throughout
World War I Jyllands-Posten continued its verbal attacks on Germany despite the government's policy of neutrality in the conflict. In 1918, the newspaper was outlawed in Germany. In
1933, the newspaper advocated that Denmark follow Germany's example and replace petty party politics with the stability of an authoritarian regime. The paper considered the German Weimar republic to be a failure because of its lack of stability, and was sympathetic to
Adolf Hitlers coming to power and the shutting down of democratic institutions. In march 1933, the paper wrote:
Only dry tears will be cried at the grave of the Weimar Republic ... As odd as it may sound, the only 12-year-old German constitution with its one-chamber-system, its low electoral age - 20 years - and proportional representation is already antiquated. The editorial of May 17, 1933, stated that
...democratic rule by the people, as we know it, is a luxury which can be afforded in good times when the economy is favorable. But restoring the economy after many years of lavish spending requires a firm hand... (External Link
)
On
November 15,
1938, the editorial commented on the
Kristallnacht with the words:
"When one has studied the Jewish question in Europe for decades, the animosity towards the Jews is to a certain extent understandable, even if we look past the racial theories, that mean so much in the national socialist world view [...] We know, that tens of thousands of Jews condemn the Jewish business sharks, the Jewish pornography speculators and the Jewish terrorists. But still, it can not be denied, that the experiences which the Germans - as many other continental peoples - have had with regards to the Jews, form a certain basis for their persecution. One must give Germany, that they've a right to dispose of their Jews." (External Link)
A front page story in 1938 was an open letter to Mussolini criticizing the persecution of Jews, written by
Kaj Munk, a prominent priest and playwright, who himself had though previously been sympathetic towards Mussolini and Hitler. The edition announcing the Liberation of Denmark sold 102,000 copies. A number of the paper's employees were involved in the
Danish resistance movement against the
German occupation of Denmark.
Jyllands-Posten's editorial line remained staunchly anti-Communist.
Jyllands-Posten was affected by a series of
strikes in 1956 and between 1973 and 1977. In 1977, the paper left the Union of Danish Employers, following a three week long strike against the introduction of new labour-saving equipment. In 1971, the paper bought out the joint stock company controlling it, and it has since been owned by a foundation. In the 1980s, the newspaper gradually increased its number of foreign correspondents, until finally stationing more than 20 journalists around the world.
In 1982,
Jyllands-Posten's Sunday edition became the largest Sunday paper in Denmark. The paper established offices in Denmark's 10 largest cities. The 1990s was marked by a struggle with
Berlingske Tidende which was seeking to expand its circulation in Jutland. In response,
Jyllands-Posten began issuing a special version of the paper in Copenhagen. In 1994, the weekly edition became the biggest daily morning-newspaper in Denmark with a circulation of 153,000
|-
! Day !! Sections !! Description
|-
| Monday || Sport || Sports
|-
| Tuesday || International || International news and analysis
|-
| Wednesday || Forbrug || Consumer guides and reviews
|-
| Thursday || KulturWeekend || In-depth analysis of culture, often in relation to politics and international events
|-
| rowspan="3" | Friday || Tour || Automotive
|-
| Must* || Men's magazine
|-
| Viva* || Women's magazine
|-
| Saturday || Explorer || Travelling and leisure
|-
| Sunday || Living || Furnishing, home and lifestyle
|}
*) Must and Viva are not published on a weekly basis, but rather 10 times a year each, always on Fridays.
Comic strips
Daily comic strips in
Jyllands-Posten are
Ziggy and
Fred Basset (known as
Freddie in Danish); the Danish comic
Poeten og Lillemor was previously featured, but cancelled some time after the death of its creator,
Jørgen Mogensen.
Website
Since 1996,
Jyllands-Posten has also operated a news website,
Internetavisen Jyllands-Posten (
www.jp.dk). The website features a section of English-language news, supplied by
The Copenhagen Post, while the Danish IT newspaper
ComON supplies much of the technology-related content.
PDF editions of the printed newspaper from the recent few years are available to subscribers. A separate portal for business news,
Erhverv På Nettet (
epn.dk), was launched in October 2006; the main website now refers to epn.dk for business news, and epn.dk back to
Jyllands-Posten's main site (as well as
Ekstra Bladet's) for general news.
Political line
Immigration
Jyllands-Posten doesn't present a consistently pro- or anti-migrant stance relative to other Danish newspapers. However, it has been criticized as being anti-migrant after a few controversial incidents.
A journalist employed at
Jyllands-Posten won a second prize in 2005 in an EU wide competition for journalists for diversity and against discrimination. The compilation of several articles "The Integration Paper" by Orla Borg was awarded the second prize.
In 2002 the Danish Council of the Press, criticised the newspaper for breaching its regulations on race while reporting on three Somalis charged with a crime.. The relevant regulation was: "Any mention of family relations, occupation, race, nationality, faith or relationship to an organisation ought to be avoided, unless this has a direct relevance to the case,"
Jyllands-Posten published a story alleging asylum fraud by resident
Palestinian refugees in Denmark. This contributed to the electoral success of
Anders Fogh Rasmussen in November 20, 2001, whose political party campaigned for reduced immigration. The story was found to be unsupported and resulted in the sacking of the editor-in-chief Ulrik Haagerup on December 12, 2001 (
Politiken,
Berlingske Tidende,
Information,
B.T., December 13, 2001). However,
Jyllands-Posten maintained that the dismissal of Haagerup had nothing to do with his responsibility for the articles in question (editorial on December 16, 2001). According to
Weekendavisen, a newspaper that pretty much shares the political line of
Jyllands-Posten, the real reason for Haagerup's dismissal was a disagreement about the employment strategy (December 21, 2001).
The 2004 report on Denmark by the
European Network Against Racism (ENAR), an organisation of
NGOs funded partly by the
European Commission, concluded that the Danish media devoted an excessive proportion of their time to the problems posed by immigrants, and most often Islamic immigrants, while often ignoring the problems that these immigrants face. According to the ENAR report, out of 382 JP articles on immigrants, 212 were negative, a share similar to other Danish newspapers. The ENAR report holds newspapers such as
Jyllands-Posten to blame for the rise of the anti-immigrant right-wing in Danish politics.
Cartoons controversy
The paper gained international attention after its controversial publication in
September 2005 of 12 cartoons depicting Islam and
Muhammad. The most notorious of these showed Muhammed with a bomb in his turban. This drew protests from Danish Muslims, followed in early 2006 by protests throughout the Muslim world.
The newspaper has been accused of misusing
freedom of speech by Muslim groups and a number of non-Muslim Danes. The Muhammad cartoons controversy resulted in withdrawal of the ambassadors of
Libya,
Saudi Arabia and
Syria from Denmark, as well as consumer boycotts of Danish products in a number of Islamic countries.
The newspaper has apologised for offending Muslims, but maintains it has the right to print the cartoons, saying that Islamic fundamentalism can't dictate what Danish newspapers are allowed to print. The newspaper's two main offices have since been the subject of several bomb threats.
In April 2003, a different editor on the newspaper rejected a set of unsolicited
Jesus cartoons submitted by
Christoffer Zieler. The Muhammed cartoons were solicited for a specific story, about self-censorship springing out of fear of Muslim extremists, after the author of a Children's book about Muhammed had to use an anonymous illustrator.
Ahmed Akkari, spokesman for the Danish-based
European Committee for Prophet Honouring, saw this as a double-standard. However Jyllands-Posten stated that they rejected the Jesus cartoons because they were poor quality.
In February 2008, following the arrest of three men who allegedly had conspired to kill one of the cartoonists, Jyllands-Posten and 16 other Danish newspapers republished the cartoon in question to "show their commitment to freedom of speech".
Public perception
References in fiction
- In the novel Den hårde frugt (1977, winner of "Kritikerprisen") by the celebrated Aarhus author Tage Skou-Hansen, a group of left-wing terrorists plan to blow up the house of Jyllands-Posten. The main character, Holger Mikkelsen, a well-off lawyer known from Skou-Hansen's other novels, is confronted with his own past in the resistance movement during the German occupation of Denmark.
- The novel Stasiland (2001) by Flemming Christian Nielsen is widely perceived to be a satirical roman à clef account of Jyllands-Posten. According to the publishing house: "The newspaper views its mission to praise democracy and freedom, but are they mere words meant to hide that its reporters are the victims of a creeping totalitarianism?"
Further Information
Get more info on 'Jyllands-posten'.
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