Our Daily Read

photo by Niklas Palmklint

The news doesn't always have to be serious business.  Just ask the Web editor for Sweden's leading morning newspaper.  "DN.se is Dagens Nyheter, but our hair is a little more dishevelled!" Charlotta Friborg laughs.

Translating the news to the web isn't about perfectly matching columns of ink to pixels.  DN.se offers something different than what's in print.  "We try to add new things to Dagens Nyheter's trademark. Like Dagens Nyheter, we have credibility and depth, but we also have other things that are more light-hearted. We have, for instance, new and modern entertainment coverage without the usual celebrity journalism."

DN.se is Dagens Nyheter, but our hair is a little more dishevelled!
—Charlotta Friborg

Charlotta embraces the spirit of the Web, often experimenting with content.  "We try to recruit people who are a little bit of entrepreneurs. It should not be so dramatic to start new things on the Web-if it doesn't work, just try again."

DN.se was named "Sweden's best newspaper on the Web 2008" by the magazine Internetworld.  Charlotta credits their mix of creative coverage.  "Our private economy material has attracted incredible attention, as well as some political stuff. During the American election campaign, we for instance made a deal with the New York Times, which gave us exclusive rights to publish material from their Web site."  Though it was in English, Swedish readers flocked to the site for the special coverage.

DN.se scored another coup when the first Swedish astronaut, Christer Fuglesang, blogged live from outer space.  NASA's web-TV simultaneously broadcast him directly from the space capsule, bringing the experience of space travel into homes across the country in a whole new way.  "The interest from the audience was huge!" Charlotta says.

Charlotta is most proud of DN.se's special "focus sites", covering large topics like the Middle East and the Nobel Prize with a critical eye. One of their more popular innovations are their award-winning slideshows, which have provided a powerful new format for DN.se's photo journalism.

"Telling a story with animated audio slideshows is actually unprecedented.  It is a more powerful emotional medium than television is. And on the web-unlike in the paper-the content lives on for students and others who want to search for information in a new way."