Ólafur Th. Stephensen, who resigned from his post as editor-in-chief of Morgunbladid daily last year, has now been hired to edit Iceland’s other major daily, Fréttabladid. He replaced Jón Kaldal on Wednesday, who has been chief editor of Fréttabladid since 2007.
Today’s cover of Fréttabladid.
Kaldal is also the former editor of Iceland Review and Atlantica.
Ari Edwald, CEO of 365 Media, Fréttabladid’s publisher, told ruv.is that there are two reasons behind the change: to strengthen Fréttabladid’s position as the country’s leading newspaper and to strengthen cooperation between the company’s different media outlets. Edwald thanked Kaldal for his work.
Stephensen said he will place increased emphasis on news reviews, which he described as the advantage newspapers have in competition with the broadcast media. He is also keen on showing that Fréttabladid stands by its readers in their daily battles.
Stephensen is planning to write more about the part the average citizen plays in society as a consumer, debtor and tax payer. He also wants to make the newspaper more accessible for general discussions about national affairs.
When Stephensen left his post at Morgunbladid last September, he was replaced by former Prime Minister and Central Bank chair Davíd Oddsson and former editor of Vidskiptabladid business weekly Haraldur Jóhannessen a few days later.
Stephensen said he is not afraid of the competition; competition is fun and will encourage all parties to improve, he stated.
Click here to read more about the new Morgunbladid editors.
