Media trust — SOM Institute (share with fairly/very high trust)
Sweden, a high-trust country — but trust in both the daily press and public service has fallen from the 2020 peak. Full time series at the SOM Institute, University of Gothenburg.
Source: SOM Institute — Swedish Trust Trends 1986–2023 (rounded illustrations).
The ownership map — groups and brands
Bonnier News
Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Dagens Industri, Sydsvenskan, HD and a large share of local newspapers.
Schibsted
Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Omni, Blocket. Norwegian listed parent.
Gota Media
Barometern, Borås Tidning, Smålandsposten and others. Broad base of regional daily press in Götaland.
Public-service funding
Until end-2018, SVT, SR and UR were funded through a household-based TV licence fee (Radiotjänst). From 1 January 2019 it was replaced by an individual public-service charge levied through the tax bill, with a maximum of SEK 1,422/year (2024). The change shifted funding from households to individuals — and from a dedicated agency to the Tax Agency — but not from the tax bill to another source.
What the data does NOT say
- — Ownership and funding say nothing about the quality, selection or angle of individual articles.
- — Terms like 'biased' or 'left-leaning' are evaluative and not directly supported by measurable data — such claims belong to opinion, not this inquiry.
- — Trust figures are self-ratings in the annual SOM survey — they measure perception, not the truthfulness of reporting.
- — Concentration measures vary by metric (circulation, reach, revenue). Nordicom reports several.