No more church services on the main channel of Norway's broadcaster
A man looks for a radio station inside a car in Oslo. Photo AFP, Berit Roald
Northern Europe
Norwegians could listen to a church service in the morning on the main channel of the public broadcaster NRK. From November 6 on, they will have to go elsewhere. The NRK decided to replace the program.
After 92 years, the morning service will disappear. Instead of a Christian devotional, listeners will then receive a new program, Kveldstanker, with content from many life views, Vart Land reports."We want to make the channels more diverse", NRK radio manager Bjørn Tore Grøtte explained. The manager pointed out that the morning service can still be listened to on another channel. "We don't want the same content in both places. Overall, our new programme will provide a better public offer", he said. "The change also gives us the opportunity to have a local focus in the district broadcasts", he added. "Local content and updates are very important for the morning listener."
Worry
Nevertheless, the channel to which the service will be transferred has only a quarter of the number of listeners as the main channel of NRK. However, this does not worry Grøtte. He is convinced that people who want to listen to the service will find it if the broadcaster explains it well enough.
On the new programme, Kveldstanker, participants from several religions and world views will be able to share their thoughts on the main channel. "We believe that it is important to show the breadth of outlook on life", Grøtte emphasises.
Happy
Not everyone is happy with the changes in the programme. Former priest Geir Gundersen has held the devotionals for fifty years, Vart Land writes. He has always enjoyed them because they reached so many people, Gundersen tells the newspaper.
He does not agree with the decision to remove the programme and replace it. "The brave thing for NRK now would have been to do both: take care of and develop the morning service and have a broad outlook on life in the evening. Now it appears as something connected where the new replaces the old as something better."
Unwise
Vart Land calls the change in programmes of the NRK "unwise." "We need more openness in our outlook on life, but that does not have to come at the expense of welcome content for close to 400,000 Norwegians", an editorial comment reads. According to the newspaper, the decision "sends a signal that the devotional does not belong where as many people as possible can listen to it."
Vart Land points out that not only Christians listened to the devotional, but also those who are searching and open-minded towards what the devotion offered them in their life.
And even though it is good that NRK reflects diverse views on life, this does not mean that Christianity must be excluded, the newspaper argues. "Opening a window does not have to mean closing a door. "NRK could have kept the devotional on P1 (the main channel, ed.) and at the same time offered Kveldstanker on the same channel."
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