''Vestfold Arbeiderblad'', often referred to as simply as ''VA'' and for a long period just ''Vestfold'', was a

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

published in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

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 ...

History and profile

The paper was established in 1909 under the name ''Vestfold Arbeiderblad''. The first issue was published on 2 June 1909, ahead of elections to the Norwegian Storting in the autumn of the same year. Initially the paper only came out a few days a week and contained only a few pages. Everything except printing was done by volunteers. By 1911 circulation was 640. The paper became a daily in 1916. Politically it belonged 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 ...

, but in 1924 it was usurped by the newly established

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 ...

. The Labour Party eventually found a new newspaper in ''Vestfold Socialdemokrat'', founded in 1921 as a local organ for the Social Democratic Labour Party. ''Vestfold Socialdemokrat'' took the name ''Vestfold Arbeiderblad'' in 1929—by that time the Communist newspaper of the same name had gone defunct. ''Vestfold Arbeiderblad'' was stopped between September 1940 and May 1945, during the German occupation of Norway. The most popular newspaper in the Tønsberg area was the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Tønsbergs Blad ''Tønsbergs Blad'' is a local newspaper published in Tønsberg, Norway. The newspaper was founded by printer Hans Jørgen Magnus Hansen on 3 August 1870, with an initial circulation of 210 copies. By the turn of the century the circulation had gr ...

''. On the other hand, ''Vestfold Arbeiderblad'' was the largest newspaper in

Holmestrand is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Holmestrand. The town was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). ...

and Hof. It absorbed other Labour Party newspapers; '' Horten Arbeiderblad'' in 1962 and '' Vestfold Fremtid'' in 1983. By 1983 had a circulation of about 8,500 copies compared to 26,248 copies of ''Tønsbergs Blad''. ''Vestfold Arbeiderblad'' went defunct in 1988.

References

1909 establishments in Norway 1988 disestablishments in Norway Communist Party of Norway newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Norway Labour Party (Norway) newspapers Norwegian-language newspapers Publications established in 1909 Publications disestablished in 1988 Mass media in Vestfold Tønsberg {{norway-newspaper-stub