Status: Free
Legal Environment: 1
Political Influences: 3
Economic Pressures: 7
Total Score: 11
Population: n/a
GNI/capita: n/a
Life Expectancy: 77
Religious Groups: Evangelical Lutheran (95 percent), Muslim (2 percent), other (3 percent)
Ethnic Groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Capital: Copenhagen
The media enjoy strong constitutional protections for free expression and a long tradition of press freedom. Independent print and broadcast media represent a wide variety of views and are frequently critical of the government. In August, however, reports surfaced that police had secretly recorded telephone conversations between journalist Stig Matthiesen and an editor at the newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Matthiesen was preparing a story on an alleged Muslim "death list" containing the names of prominent Danish Jews. He subsequently refused to cooperate with a court order to reveal his sources. The government provides subsidies to radio and television broadcasters. Although state-owned TV companies maintain independent editorial boards, private radio stations are tightly regulated.
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