This important warning on journalism was published in anthology honoring the legendary editorial writer Nils-Eric Sandberg. Hans Bergström, his chief editor, wrote his contribution as a strong criticism of the tendency not any more to appoint true publicists as editorial leaders. Journalists become reduced to “content providers”, and editors to business leaders. The commercial perspective goes hand in hand with a superficial view of “news”. Both discard the need for intellectual reflection in editorial staffs and a higher purpose. The essay shows evidence of this trend, but also discusses the reasons for it.
In memory of Bertil Ohlin, the liberal party leader and opposition leader in Sweden for all of 23 years (1944-1967), an anthology was published in 1999. For the anthology, Hans Bergström wrote this text that provides a political science analysis of the roles for parties in opposition. In the Swedish party system, there is a strong tension between negotiating for results and campaign for a change of government. The essay predicts that the Social Democrats with reduced size will meet the same type of dilemmas as the non-socialists have long endured. It also notes that the leader of the opposition has a major impact on which issues are in the center of political dispute, as well as on the intellectual quality of public discourse.