Danish Media

Ok, so it's a beautiful day out today (Sunny, 45) and I plan to possibly take a walk to the beach, but I thought I would fill you in on some interesting stuff that I learned this week about Danish media.

We were given a 2 hr overview of Danish media this week by a professor from Arhus University, which is unaffiliated with the Journalism school. A very interesting thing about the media here is that it's completely based off an honor system. The government expects everyone who has a TV or radio to pay for the service they get and pay the taxes on their equipment. However, I don't think they send you a bill, you are just supposed to do it on your own. How many people in the U.S. do you think would actually pay if this kind of system was available at home? None! I think it's policed similarly to the whole pirating music thing at home. Of course you know the remote chance of getting caught is out there, but who actually ever expects to get caught. Again, no one.

The honor system seems to be very big in Denmark. There are many public services that just expect you to pay even though it isn't thoroughly policed. It's not like in Rome and Paris where you have to go through turnstiles to get to the subway. Something like that makes it much harder to not pay and still ride. In Arhus, you get on the bus in the back (exit in the front) which means you aren't forced to pass the driver and automatically pay upon entering the bus.

Ok, so back to the media. Paying for radio works the same way as TV, but the interesting thing is that the radio is completely state run. Which means...no commercials! Imagine if every radio station at home was like NPR and almost consistently ran information or entertainment without annoying breaks. That's what they have here and the interesting thing about it is, censorship isn't a problem. Despite the fact that it is state run, the radio still has a voice in politics and says what they want (to a degree) about whatever they think. Basically it's like what's on XM radio or any other satellite radio service at home. It's the best of both worlds, a state run service that can still question the state.

Another interesting talk for another time...Denmark has one of, if not the highest tax rate in the world, and yet their economy is doing great and the people are happy! Just something to think about as you eagerly await the next installment of EricAbroad08.

Hej Hej!