Facebook in dialogue with Norwegian editors and the Norwegian Minister of Culture

Earlier this autumn the Norwegian Minister of Culture, Linda Hofstad Helleland and the chairman of the Association of Norwegian Editors, Harald Stanghelle invited Facebook to the autumn conference. Facebook has accepted the invitation and is looking forward to sending their Director for Media Partnerships for the EMEA region, Patrick Walker, to speak at the conference and to listen to the concerns from Norwegian editors and the Norwegian Minister of Culture.

I am looking forward to taking part in this important conference and to hearing from the Norwegian Editor's community. We know that a lot of people are coming to Facebook to get their news and we take our role in the media ecosystem very seriously. We work closely with our media partners and I am looking forward to listening to the views from publishers in Norway on how we can make news on Facebook work for them, Patrick Walker says.

The invitation was based on several recent events that have created deep anxiety and concern among Norwegian editors. In late August the Norwegian author Tom Egeland posted the iconic image of Kim Phuc fleeing napalm bombs during the Vietnam War.

Due to Facebook’s zero tolerance for images containing child nudity, the image was first removed from Facebook by the company’s safety team. While the image can now be shared on Facebook, the initial removal started a debate about freedom of expression, editorial responsibility and Facebook's role as a major global player, especially when it comes to the distribution of content from editor-controlled media. 9th of September the editor-in-chief of Aftenposten, Espen Egil Hansen, published an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg that got international attention.

The Minister of Culture, Linda Hofstad Helleland, Patrick Walker and Espen Egil Hansen will all share their opinions on the autumn conference. There will also be a Q & A-session.

We appreciate that Facebook has accepted our invitation and look forward to an open and constructive dialogue on these important issues. Facebook has become a world-leading platform for spreading information, for debate and social contact between people. Until now the company has to a limited extent responded to media inquiries and criticism. We hope this discussion can contribute to a better dialogue in the future, Harald Stanghelle, Chairman of the Association of Norwegian Editors, says.

Also the Norwegian Minister of Culture, Linda Hofstad Helleland is looking forward to a dialogue with Facebook and Norwegian editors.

This discussion is essential. It concerns important principles regarding public debate in Norway. The fact that Facebook wants to improve the dialogue with edited media is a positive signal of an increased will to take its role within the media landscape seriously, Linda Hofstad Helleland says.

The Association of Norwegian Editors autumn conference is held at Thon Hotel Opera in Oslo on 31st October and 1st November. After the conference Facebook will host a workshop where attendees can learn more about the tools Facebook offer publishers, big and small, to help them grow their audiences and monetize their content.

The Association of Norwegian Editors have 720 members - all editors in all kinds of medias. Our main duties are to safeguard the editorial independence of its members, to ensure freedom of expression, the publics access to government documents and the protection of sources.

Contact -  Association of Norwegian Editors:

• Harald Stanghelle, Chairman  +47 90 60 00 06
• Arne Jensen, Secretary general  +47 90 77 87 47 - arne.jensen@nored.no