Dramatic events sometimes have to happen before the nation acts

Jón Pétur Zimsen says the disappearance of Sýn’s television news service from Iceland’s media market should force the country to confront what he calls the “elephant in the room”: public broadcaster RÚV.

The deputy chairman of Alþingi’s General Affairs and Education Committee described the development as “a wake-up call for the nation.” He said Sýn’s withdrawal had been foreseeable for months, and that changes such as removing television news from the weekend schedule and renaming the channel amounted to rescue measures designed only to prolong the company’s survival.

Zimsen said Iceland urgently needs more than one television news provider. He argued that the current situation is rare among Western countries and warned that RÚV’s dominant position in the advertising market leaves too little room for private media. He also acknowledged that advertising flowing to foreign social media platforms creates a broader problem affecting the media industry worldwide.

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This is a wake-up call for the nation. Sometimes dramatic events like this have to happen before we do something.

The Independence Party politician said he hoped another company, such as Síminn, might acquire the operation and run it more effectively. Private television news, he said, would give RÚV stronger competition and accountability. “If nobody else can take your bread away, you simply become complacent,” he said.

Zimsen also linked multiple television news sources to young people’s literacy and critical thinking. He rejected Culture, Innovation and Higher Education Minister Logi Már Einarsson’s statement that it was sad the government had not acted sooner to strengthen Icelandic media. Zimsen called those remarks hollow, noting that Sýn was one of two media companies whose state media-support allocation was reduced in the second distribution. He said the company’s financial difficulties had been clear and criticized calls for a broad future review as the language of inactive politicians.

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If nobody else can take your bread away, you simply become complacent.