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Norwegian Christian weekly faces internal conflict

14-06-2022

Northern Europe

CNE.news

Finn Jarle Sæle. Photo YouTube, Daniel Haddal

Finn Jarle Sæle, the editor in chief of the Norwegian Christian weekly Norge iDag, is in a conflict with his first assistant, Bjarte Ystebø. The team seems to be in an open conflict with each other that is fought on the website as well.

Even though Sæle passed his 75th birthday, he does not want to give the power to a successor. However, the employees of Norge iDag seem to support Ystebø.

That is reported by other media, such as the Christian daily Dagen and Vart Land. In an open letter. Ten employees of the news agency announced that they support Ystebø. "We mourn the situation that has arisen after the newspaper's editor-in-chief, and founder Finn Jarle Sæle decided not to implement the plan for a real change of editor this summer, a plan that had long been a clear agreement between him and Bjarte Ystebø", the journalists, desk staff and administration employees write. According to them, Sæle only offered Ystebø the title of editor-in-chief but not the corresponding authorities. Therefore, Ystebø declined the offer.

Bjarte Ystebø.jpg
Bjarte Ystebø. Photo Facebook, Bjarte Ystebø

The ten signers of the letter, which make up the majority of the staff of Norge iDag, appeal to the shareholders of the newspaper, who have the deciding voice in the conflict, to support Ystebø at the general meeting on June 29.

Not the first conflict

Ystebø has been Sæle's closest assistant from the time that the newspaper was founded (1999) up till now. He was seen as the apparent heir as editor-in-chief, Dagen reports.

As Sæle passed his 75th birthday, he was expected to hand over power soon. But a press release from Norge iDag showed that he attempted to keep the authority himself. In practice, his assistant and successor would have three bosses above him. Two of them were related to Sæle. Thus, Ystebø rejected his appointment as editor-in-chief.

It is not the first time that Sæle has been in dispute like this. At the end of the last century, he also fought for several years to retain his power. At the time, he could gain the shareholders' support. However, it remains uncertain whether he will achieve this support again.

Chain

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