The 1980* have been a period marked by growth for the mass media In Sweden. The dailies have continued to develop advanced technology and many have Increased their number of editions. Television has undergone a reorganization and new radio channels have been established. The number of film-goers has started to rise. The expansion of new media has continued, home video at the predicted rate, teletext faster than expected and cable television at a slower pace than was predicted. At the end of the 1980*. the question of whether to introduce commercial advertising on television has become topical as a result of a number of Government commissions.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA

Sweden seems to have been the first country in the world to establish freedom of the press. In 1966, Parliament adopted a Freedom of the Press Act as a part of the Constitution. More recently, similar legislation has been passed for radio and television without becoming Constitutional Law.

After the promulgation of the first Press Act, the last decades of the 18th century witnessed a relapse into repression and censorship, but since the constitutional reform of 1809, freedom of the press has prevailed. The present Freedom of the Press Act dates from 1949, with several subsequent amendments.

As part of the Constitution, this Act is protected by special safeguards. Thus, to gain legal force, any amendment or abro-gation of the Act must be confirmed by two successive parliaments, with general elections taking place between first and second readings.

Unique safeguards

In Sweden, as tn some other democracies, public censorship of the press as well as other serious restrictions on publishing and distribution of printed matter are explicitly forbidden. However. the Swedish lawmakers set out to safeguard press freedom by an elaborate combination of measures.

Foremost among these Is the institution of the respon siblc publisher. Any periodica] appearing four times a year or more must appoint a responsible publisher, who alone is answerabk- for the contents of the publication. He alone can be held accountable for any violation of the Freedom of the Press Act.

The responsible publisher is appointed by the owner of the publication. He must be a resident of Sweden (an amendment, effective as of 1978, extended eligibility to foreign nationals domiciled in Sweden), and neither a minor nor an undischarged bankrupt.

Sources protected

With the introduction of a publisher with sole responsibility. the lawmakers have deliberately created a scapegoat for all violations, of the Freedom of the Press Act. By providing a person who—with his chain of substitutes — can always be held responsible for any transgression, they have quite intentionally exonerated the actual culprit. In fact, the law explicitly prohibits the investigation or disclosure of newspapermen's sources. It follows that a person who contributes to a newspaper as a reporter or Informant is not only protected against legal action, being unassailable, but his identity becomes immaterial and thus in admissible as a point of law.

It should be noted that this protection is extended even to State and municipal employees, who are thus free to give information to newspapers and other media without fear of legal repercussions or extra-legal pressures and intimidation.

The rationale for such extreme protection of media sources is that the mass media — the Third Estate"—need the fullest possible in sight into the operations of society and thus should have the conduct of the other two estates— Parliament and Government — under surveillance.

That the impunity of informants might induce some of them to "leak" irresponsible, harmful or even untruthful statements to the media is not considered too damaging. The law may protect the informant

but does not exonerate the crime.

Access to public documents

Another remarkable feature of the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act is the principle of free access to public documents. This. too. is an expression of the lawmakers' intent to support the media in the role of public watchdog

The principle that every Sweden citizen should have access to virtually all documents kept by State or municipal agencies was Introduced as early as 1766 tn the first Freedom of the Press Act. It was unique then and has been adopted by few other countries even today

The principle gives anyone — actually even aliens— the right to turn to a State or municipal agency and ask to be shown any document kept in their file*, regardless of whether the document concerns him pcrsopally or not. Officials arc legally required to comply and even to supply copies of the document requested. If this is feasible.

This right Is of great importance to any one concerned by any proceedings, lawsuits and the like involving public agencies. But it is equally essential to journalists seeking information about what is going on behind the walls of officialdom. Their search for the facts is clearly facilitated by the right of Swedish officials to give oral information concerning their activities.

The right of access is jealously guarded, not only by the ntedia themselves, but stop by the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO). Traditionally, the JO has considered It one of his major duties to supervise the implementation and enforcement of this right.

The Press Council and the

Press Ombudsman

For many decades, Swedish press organizations have been intent on guarding against abuse of the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. As early as 1916, the Swedish Press Council—the first of its kind in the world—was set up by the Publicists' Club (thc,na-tional press club), the Swedish Newspaper Publishers' Association and the Swedish Union of Journalists. A journalistic Code of Ethics was first adopted in 1923 by the Publicists' Club. After several amendments, the present Code was adopted in 1978 and has been acceded to by journalists, publishers and the broadcasting companies.

The Code aims at upholding high ethical standards in general and, especially, at protecting the integrity of individuals against invasion of privacy, defamation and otKer damaging publicity. A special sectton is devoted to combating editorial advertising and other undue outside influences calculated to mislead the readers. A special committee watches over this type of malpractice.

In 1969, the official of Press Ombudsman (PO) was established to supervise the adherence to ethical standards. Public complaints are to be directed to the PO, who is also entitled to act on his own initiative. He may dismiss a complaint If unfounded, or if the newspaper agrees to publish a retraction or rectification acceptable to the complainant. In clcar-cut cases of minor importance, the PO may issue ex-officio criticism of the newspaper.

When the PO finds that the grievance is of a more serious nature, he will file a complaint with the Press Council, which will then publish a statement acquitting or censuring the newspaper. The findings of the Council are published in the newspaper concerned and in the business papers of the press. In addition to publishing a censuring opinion, the offending newspaper also has to pay a fine.

The Council Is composed of six member*, two of whom represent the general public while three are appointed by the press organization* and the sixth Is the chairman who holds a casting-vote. The latter has always been a member of the Supreme Court.