''Byavisa'' (The Town Gazette) was a free newspaper published in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

from 1996 to 2016. It was distributed to all households in Trondheim as well as the central part of the municipality of Melhus. The paper was issued every Wednesday. The newspaper was discontinued due to a long-term operating deficit. The last issue was released on May 25, 2016.

History

''Byavisa'' was established by former employees of '' Avisa Trondheim'' when that paper went bankrupt in February 1996. The first issue was released in May 1996. ''Byavisa'' was purchased by the company Norsk Avisdrift in 1998. Denmark's ''

Søndagsavisen ''Søndagsavisen'' is a free Danish countrywide weekend newspaper. It has a circulation of 1.2 million and approximately 1.3 million readers each weekend. That makes it the most widely read newspaper in Denmark. Its primary focus is weighted towa ...

'' and later

A-pressen Amedia AS is the second largest media company in Norway (the largest is Schibsted and the third largest is Polaris Media). The company is whole or partial owner of 50 local and regional newspaper with online newspapers and printing presses, and ...

joined as owners in 1999, replacing among others former pornographic magazine founder Sten Ture Jensen as owners. In 2001, A-pressen completely sold its share to the Danish company. In addition to ''Byavisa'', the company Norsk Avisdrift published four other free newspapers in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

. In 2002 all of these newspapers were discontinued, including '' Osloposten'', which was costing its owners

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

100 million alone. However, ''Byavisa'' was allowed to continue. In 2003 the newspaper started to publish ''Byens Næringsliv'' (City Business Life). In November 2005 a sister publication was established in

Stjørdal Stjørdal () or is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stjørdal, also called Stjørdalshalsen. Some of the villages in the municipalit ...

and the surrounding area called ''Byavisa Stjørdal'' (The Stjørdal Town Gazette). ''Byavisa Stjørdal'' was discontinued after one year of operation. In 2008, the paper's Danish owners sold ''Byavisa'' and its publishing company Norsk Avisdrift to the company NR1 Adressa-trykk Orkanger, which is owned by A-Media AS (Nr1trykk AS) (50%) and Polaris trykk Trondheim AS (50%), which are affiliates of Amedia and Polaris Media. ''Byavisa'' had a print run of approximately 73,000 copies in Trondheim and central parts of the municipality of Melhus. The newspaper was distributed by Adressa Distribusjon AS. Karina Lein was the editor until June 1, 2016, and Erlend Rogstad was the paper's manager until May 31, 2016. The newspaper was officially discontinued on June 1, 2016.

References

{{italic title Defunct newspapers published in Norway Norwegian-language newspapers Mass media in Trondheim Newspapers established in 1996 Publications disestablished in 2016 Free newspapers 1996 establishments in Norway 2012 disestablishments in Norway