''Arbeidet'' ("The Work") was a Norwegian newspaper, published in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

county.

History and profile

''Arbeidet'' was started in Bergen as a socialist newspaper on 6 December 1893, by a grouping called . It was the first socialist daily newspaper in Norway. The first editor was Johan Frogner; Henrik Martin Olofsson edited the newspaper around 1899, and noted editor Ivar Angell-Olsen assumed office in 1904. A former editor of ''

Ny Tid ''Ny Tid'' (English: ''Modern Times Review'') is Norway's largest international quarterly review of non-fiction books – up to 50 in each issue. It is currently owned by Ny Tid & Orientering AS. ''Ny Tid'' is headed by the newspaper founder Tr ...

'', he introduced a degree of

sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emotion ...

in the newspaper and increased its circulation. In 1905, the newspaper got a formal tie to the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...

in Bergen. Angell-Olsen remained editor until January 1914, when he left with immediate effect. The reason was "an internal party affair" in which Angell-Olsen did not want to "go into detail". ''Arbeidet'' was edited by

Olav Scheflo Olav Andreas Scheflo (9 September 1883 – 25 June 1943) was a Norwegian Communist politician and journalist. Olav Scheflo was a member of the Norwegian Labour Party from 1905. After the October Revolution he fought hard to convince the Labor Pa ...

from 1914 to 1918, and Sverre Krogh from 1918. Other noted staff include Andreas Paulson, critic from 1895 to 1929,

Otto Luihn Otto Luihn (15 March 1890 – 3 March 1943) was a Norwegian newspaper editor, magazine editor and poet. Early life He was born as Otto Killingland in Drammen as a son of attorney Samuel Killingland (1841–1910) and Johanne Louise Luihn (1856 ...

, journalist from 1919 to 1923, and

Alfred Madsen Alfred Martin Madsen (10 April 1888 – 8 May 1962) was a Norwegian engineer, newspaper editor, trade unionist and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He began as deputy chairman of their youth wing, while also working as an engineer. In ...

, subeditor from 1919 to 1920. In 1923, the communists in the Labour Party broke away to form the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, and ''Arbeidet'' followed the new party. It became a regional newspaper covering

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

as well. Fridthjof Bergmann was hired as editor in 1925, but was soon fired as he was suspected for working with a union with the Labour Party. Reinert Torgeirson was editor from 1925 to 1929, and Jens Galåen was editor from 1929. Arvid G. Hansen was hired as editor in 1936. In 1938 Johanna Bugge Olsen took over. However, financially the newspaper did not fare well, partly because the Communist Party prioritized to prop up ''

Arbeideren ''Arbeideren'' ("The Worker") was a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. It was started on 2 November 1929 as the official party newspaper from the Communist Party of Norway, Communist Party. It lent its name from a Hamar-based Arbeideren ( ...

'', and ''Arbeidet'' was not released between 14 December 1938 and 30 March 1939. On 9 August 1940 (still with Olsen as editor) it stopped entirely because of the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

. Olsen was later sentenced for treason during the

legal purge in Norway after World War II The purge in Norway after World War II was a purge that took place between May 1945 and August 1948 against anyone who was deemed to have collaborated with the German occupation of the country. Several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens wer ...

, for having printed "un-national material" prior to its closing. ''Arbeidet'' resumed publication from 9 May 1945, one day after the war's end, but became defunct after its last issue on 16 November 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbeidet 1893 establishments in Norway 1949 disestablishments in Norway Communist Party of Norway newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Norway Labour Party (Norway) newspapers Newspapers published in Bergen Norwegian-language newspapers Newspapers established in 1893 Publications disestablished in 1940 Newspapers established in 1945 Publications disestablished in 1949