Oddvar Stenstrøm (born 5 March 1946) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

journalist and former host of the TV2 debate program ''

Holmgang Holmgang (holmganga in Old Norse, hólmganga in modern Icelandic, holmgång in Swedish, holmgang in Danish and Norwegian bokmål and nynorsk) is a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a legally recognized way to settle disputes ...

''. Stenstrøm has worked in a number of different journals and news channels, including the local newspaper '' Akers Avis''/'' Groruddalens Budstikke'', the national tabloids ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

'' and ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'' (the latter as head of foreign news) and as news editor for ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

''. In television media, Stenstrøm has had several jobs for

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

between 1975 and 1987, and for TV2 from 1992. For NRK he has been the

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

correspondent, and head of the editorial board for the news broadcasts. For TV2 Stenstrøm was the editorial project leader from 1991 to 1992, before becoming Washington correspondent in 1997. He took over the ''Holmgang'' program after Nils Gunnar Lie in 1998, and held that until the program was shut down in 2008.

Dagsavisen ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

br>Holmgang over og ut
("Holmgang over and out") March 13, 2008 As host for ''Holmgang'', Stenstrøm was frequently under fire for what was perceived as frequently oversimplified topics, a genre viewed to favor the Progress Party. Among the criticisms were allegations from electoral researcher

Frank Aarebrot Frank Henrik Aarebrot (19 January 1947 – 9 September 2017) was a Norwegian political scientist, political commentator, and professor of comparative politics. Among the most quoted and popular academics in the Norwegian press, he became bette ...

that the program promoted

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, an allegation Stenstrøm strongly denounced.Dagbladet archive
"Jeg er ingen rasist" ("I am not a racist") May 4, 1999. In an interview before Holmgang was over, Stenstrøm pointed out that one of the programs had been on the needed work foreigners do, titled ''"Uten innvandrere stopper Norge"'' ("Without foreigners, Norway stops").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenstrom, Oddvar 1946 births Living people Norwegian journalists NRK people Norwegian television reporters and correspondents Norwegian expatriates in the United States TV 2 (Norway) people Norwegian television presenters