“To make money, it’s good to have unique content,” says Magnus Karlsson, editor-in-chief of Smålandsposten, a newspaper based in the Swedish city of Växjö.

Karlsson recently gave a talk at the Media Education and Media Literacy summer school organized by FOJO Media Institute and held in Kalmar, where he mentioned that his newspaper contains many infographs and video content has a huge role on the newspaper’s website. 

The newspaper is an active participant in the life of the community, turning it into quality content.

Smålandsposten’s employees record matches played between amateur football teams in Swedish cities and towns using high-quality images and audio and even hiring a sports commentator. 

“We go to the villages and towns to film football, organizing small, local fêtes. Almost all the residents gather and we offer free coffee and cookies. After the match, all the local residents, their families and friends watch the reportage on the website. They are all subscribers of our newspaper and website,” he says. 

By organizing events that are part of the local life, Smålandsposten also addresses a social issue. 

“We see ourselves as part of society: we have an obligation to society, and we give back the trust that the public has in us,” he says. 

Smålandsposten’s editor-in-chief Magnus Karlsson

The newspaper allocates more and more space to video content. Smålandsposten’s journalists use iPhones to shoot video. They all know how to shoot good-quality video using smartphones. The paper has two journalists who previously worked in television and help with video editing.

The videos help to secure additional funds. According to Karlsson, each view of a video provides an income of 1 Swedish Krona (about $0.12 USD). Within a year, the newspaper’s owners intend to offer also internet TV. 

Smålandsposten has been publishing six times a week since 1866. A monthly subscription to the print paper costs 149 SEK (a little over $18), while a monthly subscription to both the print and online versions costs 209 SEK (a little over $25). Visitors to the website can access official news and information of social significance but not the unique content. The paper currently has 36,000 subscribers. 

Despite the subscription fee and significant amount of advertising, Smålandsposten has financial difficulties. Every year, the number of its subscribers drops by 1.5%, while the advertising volume drops by 10–15%.

“We have 60 employees, six of whom are correspondents working in different Swedish cities. I already know that five of our journalists will lose their jobs next year,” says the editor-in-chief. 

The Swedish paper struggles to maintain financial stability. The editor-in-chief anticipates that the the successful launch of internet TV will ensure the salaries of 10 of their journalists. 

The newspaper’s most read articles are about crime and sports, and headlines play a big role in number of site visits. “Some of our journalists don’t write articles; they spend all of their time creating suitable headlines,” says Karlsson.

He says they’re fighting against the crisis in the media industry. The crisis isn’t only in print media, though it affects it the most. In Sweden, there’s a culture of reading the newspaper, and in many cities and villages, 70% of families read the paper. But the numbers are changing, with the internet occupying more and more space. 

“We make money so we can print a newspaper; we don’t print a newspaper so we can make money,” the editor-in-chief says, summing up the work of his team.

Gegham Vardanyan
Kalmar/Yerevan