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Historisk tidskrift 122:2 • 2002

Innehåll (Contents) 2002:2

Uppsatser (Articles)

Kampen om erindringen under 1980’ernes nationale tv-monopol

Claus Bryld

Fulltext (pdf)

Summary

The Battle for Memory: The Danish National Television Monopoly in the 1980s

In the analysis [Kampen om erindringen under 1980’ernes nationale tv-monopol] the author examines media coverage during the 1980s of two historical events, each of which constitutes a significant area of historical interest in the Danish context: the occupation of Denmark (1940–45) and the labour movement (starting in the 1870s). The representation of these events on television is subjected to an analysis that reveals interesting differences, not least in regard to audience response in the print media. During the 1980s, programmes regarding both the period of occupation and the labour movement unleashed intense public debate regarding the legitimacy of the critical treatment of these events on television, whereas programmes in the 1990s did not give rise to debate of this kind. One of the factors explaining this point of difference is identified as change in the structure of the media as such. By the late 1980s, public monopoly of the single- channel television service in Denmark had been replaced by a competitive structure embracing several channels. On the basis of the fact that contemporary media representations no longer provoke serious public discussion it is concluded that this may be a signal of the declining role of history in society and the disintegration of the communities of memory. Finally the question is raised how to change this situation in order once more to place history on the public agenda