Written by: Elaine Lai Uen Ling & Johannes Hagelsø
Former Finance Minister Bjarne Corydon’s appointment as DR’s new Director-General has received mixed reactions. Experts say Corydon could safeguard DR’s public news role, but concerns linger over political influence.
Corydon served as Finance Minister for the Social Democrats from 2011 to 2015. He was also CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Dagbladet Børsen, a Danish business newspaper.
Søren Schultz Jørgensen, Associate Professor at Danish School of Media and Journalism, said that Corydon is a great fit for the job.
“I don’t think the appointment of Bjarne Corydon in any way increases political interference or political control. Quite the contrary, because he’s a strong man and he has his networks around the government and all political agents across the board in Danish society,” he said.
Public service media in Denmark have long faced criticism from liberal parties. Some have urged DR to be privatised.
Joachim B. Olsen, a former centre-right politician, called the appointment undemocratic in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Jørgensen said from private conversations he had with Corydon, he believes privatization of DR or previous influence won’t be brought to the table under Corydon.
“He’s quite aware of the fact that if we privatised DR, or if we just thought that the liberal democracy and our public could depend on private media corporations, we would be lying to ourselves,” he explained.
This story is for an international audience interested in public media governance, and democratic institutions, and could be published on www.politico.eu or www.theguardian.com.