Jyllands-Posten

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Image:Jyllands-Posten logo.png
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Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet

Owner	Jyllands-Postens Fond
Publisher	JP/Politikens Hus A/S
Editor	Carsten Juste
Founded	October 2, 1871
Political position	Centre-right
Ceased publication	{{{ceased publication}}}
Price	DKK 15.00 (17.00 on weekends)
Headquarters	Viby J, Denmark

Website: www.jp.dk

Jyllands-Posten ("The Jutland Post", full name: Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten (help·info)) is the largest-selling daily newspaper in Denmark. It is based in Viby J, a suburb of Aarhus, and has a circulation of approximately 150,000 on weekdays[1]. Since 2003, it is published by JP/Politikens Hus after the merger with Politikens Hus, although Jyllands-Posten and Politiken continue as separate newspapers.

As specified by the Jyllands-Posten Foundation since 1971, Jyllands-Posten is an independent newspaper that is liberal (in the traditional sense of the word, not the contemporary American sense). Until 1938 the paper supported officially the Conservative Party. Since then the paper has regarded itself as an independent right-wing newspaper[2].

1 History
2 Cartoons Controversy
3 References
4 External links

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History

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1920-30s

In the 1920s and '30s the paper was, like many other European newspapers and political parties at that time, infamous for its sympathy for fascism and understanding of the German Nazi dictatorship. When Benito Mussolini in 1922 became the leader of a fascist coalition government in Italy, the paper wrote: "The very strong man, that Mussolini absolutely is, is exactly what the misruled Italian people needs" [3]. In 1933 the paper even claimed for the introduction of dictatorship to Denmark: "Now the electors know that the democracy has been transformed to a pure rule of parties, where objective matters are pushed aside for the party political. And that is why we must assume that a majority of the voters sincerely wishes the dictatorship as the only solution to healthy conditions in the administration of the state" [4].

But in 1938 the newspaper published on its front page an open letter to Mussolini written by the prominent anti-democratic Danish priest Kaj Munk critizising the persecutions against Jews [5]. Munk was later killed by the Nazis during the German occupation.

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1940-90s

At the end of the second world war several of the employees at the paper were involved in the resistance against the German occupation[6].

After the war the paper continued to grow, and its ties and sympathy to business interests and industries grew equally. Thus it increasingly developed liberal (in the traditional sense of the word, not the contemporary American sense) views, more and more replacing the national-conservative line. In 1994 it became the biggest daily morning-newspaper in Denmark with 153,050 subscribers[7]. It had now established itself as a strong advocate of democracy and personal freedom, thereby clearly distancing itself from the rather grim past in the thirties.

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2000s

Image:Stop hand.svg

The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see discussion on the talk page.

In 2004 the paper was still Denmark's highest-selling daily with a circulation of 158,000, compared to 134,000 for its rival Politiken and 129,000 for Berlingske Tidende.[8]

Jyllands-Posten played a crucial role in the 2001 election bringing the right-wing party Venstre and its leader Anders Fogh Rasmussen to power. Some journalists covering parliamentary and governmental politics were subsequently employed as "spin doctors" of his government. The 2001 election focused primarily on the immigration question. Rasmussen succeeded in convincing the public that he would be able to tighten the allegedly liberal "family reunification"-legislation of the Social Democratic government of then prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. The laws he suggested would, he claimed prevent forced marriages by immigrants. Jyllands-Posten contributed to this campaign with articles and editorials supporting the opinion of Anders Fogh Rasmussen. For example, two days before the election, the newspaper ran an extensive article about welfare fraud amongst immigrants, a series which is sometimes credited with the collapse of the vote amongst pro-immigrant parties. [9]

A 2004 report by the European Network Against Racism, funded by the EU, concluded that the Danish media devoted an excessive proportion of their time to the problems posed by immigrants, and most often Islamic immigrants, while often ignoring the problems that these immigrants face. They hold newspapers such as Jyllands-Posten to blame for the rise of the anti-immigrant right-wing in Danish politics.

"The seeds of xenophobia, or cultural and religious intolerance have in fact been sown by a range of political, cultural and media elite for several years which have brought Denmark to the brink of violation of international and European conventions on human rights." <ref>ENAR Shadow Report 2004 Denmark</ref>

As part of this study, Jyllands-Posten was singled out as one of the most anti-immigrant of all Danish papers. Over the 3 month period studied, from September 1 2004 to November 20 2004, 19/24 of Jyllands-Posten's editorials on "ethnic issues" were negative, 88/120 op. ed. pieces on "ethnics" were negative, and 121/148 letters to the editor on "ethnics" were negative.

Some organisations, such as the Danish anti-racism group, Faklen or "The Torch" have collected the anti-immigrant editorials posted by Jyllands-Posten which have attacked or smeared Danish immigrants. They conclude that a large number of editorials have been slanted against immigrants. <ref>Faklen report to the UN</ref>

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Cartoons Controversy

The paper gained international attention after its publication of 12 satirical images of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in September, 2005 led to a diplomatic crisis between Denmark and many predominantly Muslim nations.

Main article: Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons

Following the discussion in Denmark, Jyllands-Posten published a series of interviews with Muslims and articles about Islam to show the other side of the story. This did not calm tensions though.

The newspaper was accused of misusing free speech by Muslim groups - as well as groups of progressive Danes, and the resulting controversy led to the withdrawal of ambassadors by Libya, Saudi Arabia and Syria, as well as consumer boycotts of Danish products in several Islamic countries.

The newspaper has apologised for offending Muslims, but maintains it has the right to print the cartoons (and whatever else is not illegal by Danish law), saying that Islamic fundamentalism cannot dictate what Danish newspapers are allowed to print. The newspaper's headquarters has since been the subject of several bomb threats.

In regards the controversy, the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen was quoted as saying:

"I have a very important message for you [protestors]: the Danish people have defended freedom of expression and religious freedom for generations. We deeply respect all religions including Islam and it is important for me to tell you that the Danish people have no intention to offend Muslims.

On the contrary we will do our utmost to continue our historic tradition of dialogue and mutual respect. And therefore I am deeply distressed that many Muslims have seen the drawings in a Danish newspaper as a defamation of the Prophet Mohammed."

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