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''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropolita ...
, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries.


History and profile

The newspaper was founded by
Lars Johan Hierta Lars Johan Hierta (; 22 January 1801 – 20 November 1872) was a Swedish newspaper publisher, social critic, businessman and politician. He is best known as the founder of the newspaper ''Aftonbladet'' in 1830. Hierta was a leading agitator for ...
in December 1830 under the name of ''Aftonbladet i Stockholm'' during the
modernization of Sweden The period following the accession of Oscar II to the throne of Sweden in 1872 was marked by political conflict. The Lantmanna Party, representing peasant proprietors, dominated the Lower House of parliament, and demanded tax reductions and refor ...
. Often critical and oppositional, the paper was repeatedly banned from publishing. However, Hierta circumvented the bans by constantly reviving the paper under slightly modified names, as, legally speaking, a new publication. Thus, on 16 February 1835, he issued the first edition of New Aftonbladet, which would – after yet another ban – be followed by Newer Aftonbladet, in turn followed by Fourth Aftonbladet, Fifth Aftonbladet, and so on. In 1852 the paper began to use its current name, ''Aftonbladet'', after a total of 25 name changes. It currently describes itself as an "independent
social-democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...
newspaper." The owners of ''Aftonbladet'' are the
Swedish Trade Union Confederation The Swedish Trade Union Confederation ( sv, Landsorganisationen i Sverige ; literally "National Organisation in Sweden"), commonly referred to as LO (), is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fourteen Swedish trade unio ...
(''LO'') which bought it in the 1950s and Norwegian media group
Schibsted Schibsted Media Group is an international media group. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The CEO is Kristin Skogen Lund. In 2019, Schibsted spun off the majority of their online marketpl ...
, which acquired its share in the paper in the late 1990s. LO sold a large of its shares in the paper to the Schibsted group. As per 15 June 2009 Schibsted bought another 41% and became the majority owner with 91%. However, LO has the right to appoint the political editor of the paper. ''Aftonbladet'', based in Stockholm, is published in tabloid format. The paper reported news and also criticised the new Swedish king
Charles XIV John sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...
. The king stopped ''Aftonbladet'' from being printed and banned it. This was answered by starting the new newspaper "Det andra Aftonbladet" (The second Aftonbladet), which was subsequently banned, followed by new versions named in similar fashion until the newspaper had been renamed 26 times, after which it was allowed by the king. During its existence, ''Aftonbladet'' has leant in different political directions. Initially liberal, it drifted towards conservatism under
Harald Sohlman Harald Sohlman, (born January 24, 1868, in the Court parish, Stockholm, died on May 1, 1927, in Kungsholms parish, Stockholm), was a Swedish publisher. Newspaperman He was the son of the editor August Sohlman and Hulda Sandeberg. Sohlman att ...
,
editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
from 1890 to 1921. In 1929 the newspaper came under the control of the Kreuger family, when a majority of the shares was bought by
Swedish Match Swedish Match AB is a Swedish multinational tobacco company headquartered in Stockholm. The company manufactures snus, nicotine pouches, moist snuff, tobacco- and nicotine-free pouch products, chewing tobacco, chew bags, tobacco bits, cigars, ...
, at that time the heart of
Ivar Kreuger Ivar Kreuger (; 2 March 1880 – 12 March 1932) was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. In 1908, he co-founded the construction company Kreuger & Toll Byggnads AB, which specialized in new building techniques. ...
's corporate empire. ''Aftonbladet'' was labeled "neutral". In 1932 it backed
Per Albin Hansson Per Albin Hansson (28 October 1885 – 6 October 1946) was a Swedish politician, chairman of the Social Democrats from 1925 and two-time Prime Minister in four governments between 1932 and 1946, governing all that period save for a short-lived ...
's new Social Democratic government. Just a few years later it realigned with the Liberal Party and turned to advocate liberal politics. Heavily influenced by pro-German staff members, the newspaper supported Germany during World War II. The Kreuger era came to an end on 8 October 1956. Despite interest from both the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
and the Centre Party,
Torsten Kreuger Torsten Kreuger (17 June 1884 – 12 October 1973) was a Swedish engineer, industrialist, newspaper owner and banker. Personal life Kreuger was born in Kalmar, a son of , and a brother of Ivar Kreuger. He was married three times, first to Elsa A ...
sold ''Aftonbladet'' as well as ''
Stockholms-Tidningen ''Stockholms-Tidningen'' ( Swedish: ''The Stockholm Times'') was a Swedish-language morning newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1889 and 1984 with an interruption from 1966 to 1981. It was one of the major dailies in the country tog ...
'' to the
Swedish Trade Union Confederation The Swedish Trade Union Confederation ( sv, Landsorganisationen i Sverige ; literally "National Organisation in Sweden"), commonly referred to as LO (), is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fourteen Swedish trade unio ...
. Since then, the editorial line has been supportive of the
Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promot ...
. The ownership change was first followed by a slight drop in circulation. In the 1960s, however, the newspaper saw its circulation surge rapidly, peaking at 507,000. By the early 1990s ''Aftonbladet'' had run into economic problems, and many had begun to question the competence of the trade union movement as a media owner. On 2 May 1996, the Norwegian media group
Schibsted Schibsted Media Group is an international media group. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The CEO is Kristin Skogen Lund. In 2019, Schibsted spun off the majority of their online marketpl ...
acquired a 49.9 percent stake in the newspaper. The Swedish Trade Union Confederation kept the remaining 50.1 percent of its shares. The same year its circulation passed that of long-time tabloid rival ''
Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being ''Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...
''. In 2005 ''Aftonbladet'' started a Web portal for business news as a joint venture with ''
Svenska Dagbladet ''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...
''. In 1998 the circulation of ''Aftonbladet'' was 397,000 copies on weekdays and 502,000 copies on Sundays. The circulation of the paper was 402,000 copies in 2001. As of 2004 the paper was the most selling daily both in Sweden and in other Nordic countries, having a circulation of 422,000 copies. It was 429,000 copies on weekdays in 2005. In 2006 the paper had 1,425,000 daily readers (Orvesto research 2005:2), circa 15% of the Swedish population. The paper had a circulation of 310,900 copies in 2010. It had a circulation of 154,900 copies in 2014. The journalistic quality of ''Aftonbladet'' and other tabloid newspapers has sometimes been questioned. In late 2006, the paper's own journalist Peter Kadhammar criticized the paper's treatment of the love life of Swedish tabloid celebrity
Linda Rosing Linda Maria Elisabeth Thelenius (born Linda Gedin on 21 January 1974 in Västerås, and also known as Linda Rosing) is a Swedish glamour model and singer. Thelenius (then Rosing) became known in Sweden when she was a housemate on '' Big Brothe ...
as equally important to the
war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
. However, Aftonbladet has drawn more attention for the strident left-wing stance and controversial publications of its cultural section. Under former culture editor Åsa Linderborg, the cultural section was criticized by pro-Israel groups for taking an anti-Israeli stance, and in some instances Linderborg was accused of publishing opinion pieces that alluded to anti-Semitic concepts. Linderborg was also criticized over a series of articles relating to
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
, and there have been persistent allegations that the cultural section has promoted pro-
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
narratives, including on the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Re ...
. Linderborg denied the accusations. However, after sparking yet another round of Russia-related controversy, she resigned in 2019.


Internet publishing

''Aftonbladet'' adopted
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
publishing early on. It has been published on the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
since 25 August 1994, and the main news service is free. Since its inception, aftonbladet.se has consistently been rated as one of the five most visited Swedish websites in various surveys.


See also

*
List of newspapers in Sweden The number of newspapers in Sweden was 235 in 1919. It decreased to 125 papers in the mid-1960s. In 2009 the number of the newspapers in the country was 90. This is a list of Swedish-language newspapers with their respective cities of publication ...


References


External links

*
Company history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aftonbladet 1830 establishments in Sweden Daily newspapers published in Sweden Newspapers established in 1830 Newspapers published in Stockholm Social democratic media Swedish-language newspapers Swedish news websites