The Copenhagen Report

I always like to give a little shout-out whenever I come across pages linking here, and it recently came to my attention that National Geographic was kind enough to feature The Copenhagen Report right here on their 48 hours in Copenhagen page. Thanks a lot - it's fantastic to have a link from such a popular and reputable publication and website!

Incidently, National Geographic also featured my other project, MyDenmarkTV.com among the featured links on their Copenhagen page, as well.

I had a quick read-through what they had to say and recommend in Copenhagen, and by-in-large their suggestions are sturdy ones to get you started, in my humble opinion.

I've complained on more than a few instances about the calibre of Danish news. Yes, the subject matter on a daily basis is limited, but that doesn't excuse the formulaic approach to reporting DR and other Danish channels insist on taking. So, have you ever wondered how to create your own professional-sounding news program, ala, DR (Danish Radio) or BBC news, and countless others. It's not all that hard. Charlie Booker, columnist at The Guardian and sometimes BBC journalist shows you how its done in this step-by-step video.

I would suggest that if you only had 22 minutes to watch TV each weekday, and perhaps even listen to the news, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart might be about the best way to spend that time. Living in Copenhagen, one never has available quite the full range of American TV shows available to watch (which doesn't mean you're necessarily missing much), luckily The Daily Show is one that happens to be broadcast twice daily in Denmark, on DR2 (or you can just click over to www.thedailyshow.com to see a streamed version of every episode).

This past week has been one of the most memorable weeks in the shows history, as Jon Stewart has unflinchingly targeted his satirical guns at CNBC, the cheerleading and often mindless 24-hour American financial network, for 'missing' the fact that the market had become wildly overinflated, which included the stock valuation of countless companies. This attack by Jon Stewart in turn prompted Jim Cramer, host of one of CNBC's popular shows, to lamely fight back, which lead to an invitation to appear on The Daily Show on Thursday.

For anyone with a passing interest in journalism, have a look as Jon Stewart pulls off his comedian facade to give a little lesson in how to give a hard-hitting, uncompromising interview. It's quite a piece of work - a true moment of zen.

And if you did happen to catch the show and see Thursdays episode, it's worth taking a second view of the full, unedited version of the Jim Cramer interview (embedded below), which The Daily Show posted on their website.

Each week, The Copenhagen Post passes across my desk at work. For those with a limited knowledge of Danish with an interest in Copenhagen, it's a often the starting point for picking up a bit of Danish news (though a better one is probably the handful of English article published at www.politiken.dk). As I can pretty much follow along with the normal Danish press, my need for the Copenhagen Post is limited - a good thing as it is hardly a comprehensive news source. But they do gamely (and oftentimes lamely) try.

The Copenhagen Post has been making effort to resemble a more traditional newspaper over the years, for example, by adding an editorial section, where newspaper takes a stand on one issue of the other. Which is what motivated me to sit down a write this little piece.

Now, trying to gracefully convey my feelings after reading the pile of smelly tripe they attempted to pass off for the reasoned opinion of the editor in the Feb. 20-26, 2009 edition will not be easy. But I shall attempt to. Fortunately, they did not pollute the cyberworld with this editorial - it can only be found in the print edition. What a shame. I shall therefore allow myself to quote at length from the article, so the nature of it's content can be understood well enough.

The subject was dual citizenship. That is, the ability for citizens to hold 2 passports. In Denmark, this is not permitted (there are a few exceptions, for example, children with parents of 2 nationalities). This in itself has always annoyed me, as it represents a very small-minded way of thinking.

However, reading this editorial left me seeing red by the end of the first paragraph. It only got worse from there.

"It is a fundamental principle of democracy that members of a community should have a say in making decisions about their community. But just as it is impossible to serve two masters, so too is it impossible to live in two countries - by belonging to both, one never fully becomes a member of either," intoned The Copenhagen Post to kick-off the editorial.

Oh, my. Are you fu*king kidding me?!? Um, what is this sh*t about not being able to serve two masters? Are we living in the times of slavery? And then to artificially equate this to serving two countries?

Elequent it may be, but nonetheless idiotic rubbish.

Personally, I don't think I could count how many entities I 'serve'. Is 'the country' really such an important one, amongst the many? And is it the 'ultimate' one (we'll return to this term shortly)?

Let's see.

I'm Canadian and my parents, sister and extended family live in Canada (and some in the U.S.A). They are pretty important to me. I live in Denmark and have for quite some time (which incidently is also a member of the European Union, which is a pretty important entity in itself). I like Denmark, in general. My girlfriend is Danish, as is her family. Would I chose country over her...hmmm, let me think about that for a while... And I have close friends all over the world, obviously some closer than others. They are also important. My employer is a Danish company, situated here in Denmark, but is actually owned jointly by a German company and a Norwegian company (oh no, two masters again!), but on a daily basis I'm working with people situated in 8 different countries (all working for this same company). Impossible to serve 2 masters?!? Impossible to serve 2 countries?!? What century was this editorial written in?

But let's allow ourselves to plow on further, even if we must hold our noses.

"Citizenship is bestowed upon us at birth, and giving it up is the ultimate sign of commitment to one's new country. But before one can make that commitment, one must be permitted to do so: to become a new citizen, one must not only be permitted to enter a country, one must be allowed to live there, and then one must demonstrate a knowledge of the country's history, language and culture by passing immigration tests," continues The Copenhagen Post.

The 'ultimate' commitment to one's new country? Well, I suppose for some it could be, but since when should making the 'ultimate' commitment, whatever it is, be the grounds for gaining something so practical as a passport? Is there not a much lower and more practical threshold that is somewhat more meaningful, or at least 'sufficient'. Does one really have to give up their first passport to make this commitment? Is there not simply, say, any number of actions that would do, such as living and working in a given country for some time (and thereby paying significant taxes), maybe raising a family there, with no additional conditions really necessary? And certainly no arbitrary judgment about which is the 'ultimate' among them.

Although The Copenhagen Post, and sadly the Danish government, supports this antiquated law, the 'ultimate' problem, if I dare suggest it, seems to be an insistence upon viewing the passport as something that is rather romantic in its nature.

Newsflash: it is not.

A passport is a practical and unfortunately necessary document. Something that enables people to move around from place to place. To cross borders. To live their lives as they see fit to. To be together with the ones they love. To make a living as they choose to, and to utilise the abilities they have chosen to develop in themselves. While there may be plenty of romance within these ideas, a passport is merely a facilitator and a cold bureaucratic reality - and those have always had the unfortunate trait of never ever being in any way romantic in nature.

Being able to acquire an additional passport simply makes it easier for those living in a given country to become productive members of society there. Being a productive and deserving member of society can happen in many, many ways. It also so happens that it can be done without the demonstration of knowledge of a given countries language, history, and so-called culture. Or to put it another way, one can 'integrate' into society in countless ways. There is no single correct way to integrate - for example, by giving up one's former passport or passing some sort of 'immigration test'. Of course, especially with regards to language, everything should be done to encourage those who make a country their home to learn it's language.

As for reading history books?!? Give me a break! Will they tell you everything you need to know to be a good little citizen of your new country? Give you a balanced picture of society? Yeah, sure.

Which brings us to 'immigration tests'. Oh, geez. There are certainly some worthwhile practical questions potential citizens could be asked: about laws specific to Danish society, maybe some basics about government that are of practical importance. But it's pretty limited, quite frankly.

That may be tough for those who believe everything can be measured and then converted into some numerical value to understand, a group which apparently includes the editors of The Copenhagen Post. But here's the truth: sorry boys (there are no female editors of the newspaper listed), the real world ain't quite so.

Okay, let's push further into the editorial, into the Disneyland-like make-believe world of The Copenhagen Post editors. There is more still.

"Citizenship carries with it certain rights, but those rights are paid for by living up to the obligation of national service, national pride and national unity. Dual citizenship is divided citzenship, and will always prevent a 'citizen' from fully living up to those obligations."

Yes, at this point we have moved fully into fantasy land that I would never want to be a part of. In fact, it's somewhat scary. What kind of deluded nonsense is this about being 'paid for by living up to the obligation of...national pride'?

Is the implication that if someone does not demonstrate enough, ahem, 'live up to the obligation' of national pride, then they are unworthy of citizenship? What exactly is 'enough national pride'? Maybe singing the national anthem in a loud voice whenever it is demanded? Perhaps when stopped by the police? Or perhaps simply cheering wildly whenever the Danish national handball team scores a point would be enough? Whatever. What a complete joke.

This is the point when the writers have completely lost the plot. And where I have lost my respect for The Copenhagen Post's ability to write a meaningful editorial opinion.

So boys, do enjoy your freedom to express your opinion - but please, show the 'ultimate' respect for this freedom by not forgetting to engage in a bit of critical thinking while doing so. It serves us all so well.

Most weeks, the Tjek section of Politiken makes for an interesting read. One focus of the section is on comparing a number of similar products sold in various shops around Denmark, and assessing which one represents the best value. 'Value' in the check section is typically a fairly holistic measure, encompassing price - but quality is really at the heart of it. The range of products that have been put to the Tjek test is quite broad – recent examples range from the mundane - like table salt (who would have known there was much of a taste difference between different types of sale, but Tjek made a convincing argument that there indeed is), the distinctly Danish, like packaged fish (mackeral, for the most part I believe) in tomato sauce, to this weeks featured produce - shaving cream.

Tjek really is a pretty useful endeavour, because frankly without investing a lot of time, effort and energy, it's pretty hard to assess most products in any detail, especially when it comes down to examining what sorts of additives they contain, and so forth. Which is where this weeks assessment of shaving cream was pretty revealing.

So let’s talk about shaving cream.

Now personally, I'm a big fan of 'Brig' shaving cream, which can be bought in Netto for a whopping 8 kroner (or approximately 1 Euro). This has always struck me as a far better value than the widely available alternative, Gilette (at about 5 times the cost). Comparing the two, Brig to me has an equally pleasant scent, does what it is supposed to do (ie. foam) - and a can of it seems to last forever. And really, who can quibble with the price?

So it was revealing to read Tjek to see how Brig rated, and how the alternatives stacked up. Brig was among the cheapest, but points were awarded for organic contents, no perfume, and non-harmful additives. I should also add at this point that I’m a huge fan of organic and non-perfumed products – soaps, etc. As more and more of these relatively natural products enter our apartment, the alternatives seem to become progressively less appealing - in many cases, at least. Especially when it comes to unnaturally flowery smelling perfumed soaps and detergents, and such.

So, Brig shaving cream it turns out, received a score 3 out of 6, handily outscoring Gilette (which managed a pitiful 1 out of 6 and was red-flagged in all categories).

But the clear winner was Anglamark Shaving Cream, available at the supermarket SuperBrugsen for 26 kroner - the only shaving cream to score 6 out of 6 – as it was the only shaving cream to contain absolutely no offending additives. As for Gilette, well, don't believe the advertising hype. There you have it.

Oh, be warned, the assessment did not get into niche categories such as 'best shaving cream pie' - should you be looking for just the right way to celebrate the winning goal in a future football victory, or such.

Out came the announcement a short while ago that one of Copenhagen's 4 free daily newspapers, Nyhedsavisen, had (at last) run aground, apparently after bleeding some 1 million kroner per day (!!). It officially closed its doors for good yesterday.

Here's a couple of comments I can offer:

Firstly, this is hardly a surprise. In the last apartment we lived, Nyhedsavisen used to get delivered to the door most mornings, for some reason or other. We certainly never ordered it. Interestingly, it was generally there on the doorstep in the late evening, the day before. That is to say, the news was about as fresh as a loaf of stale bread - and an extremely low quality one, with not much taste to begin with, at that.

Secondly, bike anywhere around the center of Copenhagen and one cannot avoid the free newspapers. MetroXpress and Urban are arguably at the absolute bare minimum level of acceptability of the lot - lest you misunderstand what I'm mean, let me define 'minimum level of acceptability' as not unlike choking back an abnormally bitter and horrid morning coffee that is just a tiny bit above room temperature, when no other alternative is available (and your fighting off a mean hangover). So it's not saying much.

To put it another way, while basically it was barely even worth bothering to flip through Nyhedsavisen, MetroXpress and Urban can provide a bare level of distraction during a 5 or 10 minute metro ride. But not much more. And the fact that I'm even suggesting this is the definition of a 'minimum level of acceptability' suggest the depths to which daily journalism standards and expectations have fallen, at least in the area of free newspapers.

Imagine if somebody actually managed to put out a free daily morning newspaper that managed to provide some original insight, even if it wasn't comprehensive in it's coverage. That could actually be something worthwhile, and a much better way to kill time during a metro ride.

So good riddance Nyhedsavisen, we really won't be missing ya'.

*Ed. note: Upon second thought some hours later, I believe it was actually '24 timer' that arrived at our door each day, not Nyhedsavisen. Nonetheless, this doesn't really change the bottom line, since the free newspapers are virtually interchangeable anyway...and I should acknowledge that they do, every once in a while, pull out some half-baked piece of journalism that is mildly original. It just doesn't happen all that often, and it takes them rather a lot of forest in between...

I am not typically a reader of the Danish (tabloid-style) newspaper BT. But yesterday, I felt obligated to purchase a copy for the first (and probably only) time.

You see, my girlfriend's parents happen to be BT subscribers, which proved lucky for me, as it was they who discovered what I otherwise I would never have known - which was that in yesterday's BT issue I had been quoted extensively, though rather cryptically, in an article in BT's travel section.

Yes, it seems the good folks at BT (or at least one of their journalists, Kåre Welinder) was trolling around CNN's website and came across the interview I recently contributed about life in Copenhagen. Kåre was kind enough to write a very positive article based on a few of quotes and comments from that interview, translated into Danish - attributing them to 'den canadiske journalist Tim' ('the Canadian journalist Tim'). Nice.

A shame Kåre didn't bother to actually give my full name, or directly mention The Copenhagen Report, or drop me a line to mention he was writing the article (I promise I don't bite...even tabloid journalists) but no matter - Kåre was kind enough to suggest that the whole interview could be found on CNN's Travel webpage. I'm not entirely sure why he didn't instead quote from Connie Nielsen's slightly more high-profile and interesting interview from the same CNN page, on the same 'life in Copenhagen' theme - not that I'm complaining!

I also must admit that yesterday, for the first time in my life, I felt like a bit of a media whore, since only a few hours earlier I had finished ghost-writing an interview-article for an upcoming issue of World Finance magazine (an article about banking, that had nothing to do with life in Copenhagen...). From BT to World Finance, all in a day - talk about covering the media spectrum...

And one last personally amusing side-note. Each Monday, during one of the twice weekly 3 1/2 hour sessions of Danish lessons I subject myself to, each class member has to bring in an article from a Danish newspaper or magazine to talk about...I already know what article I'll be bringing to class this coming week...


A little surprise from BT...you've been quoted...

It's a bit frustrating that I just haven't had time these last few weeks for this blog, but as I promised, that will change soon.

In the meantime, perhaps this interview I did with CNN International about life in Copenhagen in connection with one of their shows, My City_My life could be of interest.

It's not often that you get to share the stage with Connie Neilsen, somewhat metaphorically in this case, and I certainly couldn't ask for anymore publicity for this blog than this!

The Danish daily newspaper Politiken is currently running an outstanding - and much needed - campaign entitled 'Jeg er dansker' ('I am Danish'). It features daily photos of 'typical' and 'less-typical' Danes. These less-typical Danes have all to often, in recent years, been cast as something - anything - but truly Danish by a minority of Danish politicians (and their supporters). Sadly, these politicians at this point have all but managed to hijack not only the issues and agenda, but also much of the language of the ongoing 'discussion'.

Nowadays, when one hears talk in the Danish media of what (and who) is traditionally Danish and so forth, it is almost left assumed and unsaid that what this means is precisely as it has been defined - in a frustratingly monopolistic way - by this small xenophobic minority.

Of course, it didn't help that the one political party that tried to stand up against this issue with their heart and soul quickly fell flat and rather hard on their faces owing to their own inept clumsiness when put to the electoral test - and have since remained laying on the ground with heavily bleeding noses.

Anyway, well done Politiken. This is an issue which the volume needs to be turned up higher and higher in the coming months and years. Of course, if Politiken was really clever they should probably take out these same ads elsewhere, as readers of very liberal Politiken are probably the least likely to be the ones espousing the problematic viewpoints, or voting for the most troublemaking of the political parties in this area.

Thank you very much! This is one link to The Copenhagen Report that, in my mind, I've always wanted - but yet that came completely out of the blue.

Fantastic. In fact, I'm chuffed (link for non-Brits).

You see, if I was to answer the timeless question (in many versions), "which newspaper would you take with you if you were stranded on a desert island" (you know, that question...) I would most certainly say The Guardian (though I must admit I would miss the sports section of The Toronto Star).

Incidently, on a related note, if stranded on the same island and forced to choose between having an iPod filled with music and a sexy female companion of my choice, I'd take Pernille Rosendahl (one of my favourite Danes...formerly of the Danish band Swan Lee, these days The Storm) without a moment of hesitation) and allow her to serenade me to sleep every evening. Ahhh...

...and now back to normal blogging.

Or not. To follow up the last post, this was the scene in the heart of Nørrebro last evening. The same place that continues to take a whacking in the media owing to all the so-called rioting, protesting and such.

On the ice rink at Blågårds Plads last night as I cycled by, I was attracted by the sound of reggae music, and the sight of families and children skating and playing on the ice. A DJ was playing at a small stage set up on one end of the rink, and bright spotlights illuminated the ice. It was a great atmosphere.

Of course, this was a stark contrast to the portrayal of an unsafe area of the city, out of control and in the grip of violent and out of control gangs and 'rioters' and the like.

Unsafe? Dangerous? Yeah, if you slip on the ice and manage to crack your head open, perhaps.

Don't believe a word about Nørrebro being out of control these past few days - anyone talking such talk is talking from their ass. Nothing more, nothing less (as I mentioned in the previous post).

Central Nørrebro is probably the most vibrant, lively, diverse and generally amusing area of the city to hang out, and a great place to live (even if Vesterbro remains my personal favourite...). The worst part is that around Denmark, those who rarely, if ever, have set foot in the area have been fed such a nonsensically different view over the past days and months from the media. But what can you do?

Below: more scenes from the rink...

by: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)

There has been a lot of talk about the violence around Nørrebro lately. It can be heard on the streets, behind closed doors and not least of all from the talking heads in the media. It is essentially nonsense.

There has been something of an 'uprising' in Nørrebro over the past days, though the reality is it's the same old crowd generally found hanging out somewhere around Stengade and Griffenfeldtsgade (and sometimes around Blågards Plads later in the night). The police have a pretty good beat on the area (it's like 3 small streets) since there's always always a few people lurking around looking 'unsavory' - though I would prefer to use the term 'bored'. It's a feature of every city of any size.

Speaking of bored, that is a fair description for the media in Copenhagen as well. It's forgivable - they've got a lot of print space and air time to fill, and some weeks there's just not a lot going on. So when something happens, like a loud protest in Nørrebro, packs of hungry journalists and photographers are quickly dispatched (sometimes they arrive even before the events have begun, in anticipation) and producers and editors greedily lick their lips knowing there will be plenty of tasty morsels with which to fill airwaves and column inches.

The latest round started a little over a week ago when a car was torched and a couple garbage containers were lit on fire. This may sound a bit disturbing, but seriously it was pretty tame - I happened to be cycling by the incident when the garbage container was on fire. I wasn't alone - plenty of pedestrians and cyclists were in the area. And as (unintentional) proof of how innocuous it was (and overblown in the media) - even in one of the photo published by one of the major newspapers in Denmark, Politiken, intended to show how crazy the situation, a young couple could be seen sauntering by the burning overturned garbage bin holding hands (apparently passing by on a evening walk). Yet if you heard or read the media coverage you'd imagine the street was ablaze half the night, and the situation out of control.

There is precisely one purpose that these fires are started (and cars are torched) - and that is to get the police to show up. It's basically the equivalent of seeing a frog and poking it with a stick to make it jump. The fun is knowing there will be reaction, and having the power to provoke it. Nothing more, nothing less - it's not about theft and violence, and it's not about the Muhammad cartoons though it is always easy to mention those in the same breath as the fires.

One also must understand that in the area of Nørrebro in which this typically happens (as is the situation in the rest of Copenhagen), the nature of the urban layout means it is a relatively simple exercise for the police to patrol and control - and maintain a heavy-handed handle on the situation (which also tends to provoke things further, it must be openly acknowledged).

They just place their vehicles along all the side streets, follow the herd of demonstrators ('rioters'), both in front and behind and that's about it. Yes, windows can potentially get smashed and garbage containers can be set alight, but nonetheless there's not really any place for the protester to run - anyone trying anything stupid tends to get picked up by police almost instantly. Being in the area when something is going down isn't much of an issue either - a short detour of about one street will generally allow you to steer clear around the whole situation, even at its worst. It's certainly not a war-zone.

And one last point about those 'torched' cars: if you ever park your car on Stengade, you're an idiot anyway - no sympathy from this quarter if it gets damaged or worse torched one day. Seriously, find a smarter place to park - choose another of the hundreds of other streets in the city, plenty of which are extremely close by...

And of course, all of this subsequently makes a nice story for the lazy international media to grab ahold of, but that doesn't make their portrayal any more accurate or realistic...

This is one of those very embarrassing incidents. For those non-Danes unfamiliar with Danish TV, 'God Morgen Danmark' ('Good Morning Denmark') is a live daily news program broadcast each morning. Actually, in the background is the central station in Copenhagen where the show is broadcast from each day, if you're curious.

A shockingly good laugh, but my goodness, she surely won't be hearing the end of this one for some time...and for good reason!

Below is an English-subtitled version (the offending remark occurs around the 1.20 mark...). If you're a Danish speaker, you can click here to watch a slightly longer non-subtitled version.



* English translation: "Is it an ape?"

Denmark is not exactly the most widely known country in the world, though it does have it's moments of fame and imfamy. These clips from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show are pretty classic. Nothing like good old black Danish humour - and they really were shot in Copenhagen.


Part 1 - with excellent Wulff & Morgenthaler and Jan Gintberg segments


Part 2 - more good stuff...

And for a great taste of Danish humour in comic strip form, click over to www.wulffmorgenthaler.com.

'There seems to be an unusually large concentration of bicycles along Vesterbrogade today, we're going to check it out. Over and out.'

Those regular readers may have noted that I occasionally direct a few derogatory comments at TV2 News, Denmark's 24 hour news channel (that just went into operation a few months ago).

As I am involuntarily subjected to this channel for several hours each day at work, I have a pretty good idea at this point how the operate. For example, there was the recent extensive coverage of the Crown Prince and Princess putting their son into daycare for the first time, which extended on for several hours. I'm not kidding.

TV2 News also managed to buy themselves a helicopter, the first news operation in Denmark to have such a thing. And this is what I want to talk about.

Please, PLEASE, please - somebody stop them. Force them to ground that damn machine.

There is basically never any news worth flying around in a helicopter to cover (and should there be, I recommend renting one on that day!), yet that bloody TV2 News helicopter is constantly flying around Copenhagen. It's f*#king noisy and annoying. It sounds like a lawnmower drowning on endlessly and loudly - which, I don't need to point out, is kind of irritating.

And yet in spite of all the noise, there's no news to actually cover. So what the hell are they doing all day in that thing!!?

Somebody, PLEASE stop them. I know I can't be the only one to feel this way.

by: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)

Sitting in the office where I work, a media bureau, small flat screen TV's line the columns down the center of the office. Most play TV2 News, Denmark's 24 news channel, throughout the day.

Almost constantly, for several hours all this morning, TV2 News focussed on the tragedy in Virginia involving the deranged gunman who ran amok. Not only that, the editors and producers at TV2 News chose to incessantly play the video the gunman sent to NBC, along with various still images of the gunman (waving his guns around).

Why would TV2 News do this? Not only TV2 News, but all the other TV stations and news organisations around the world covering the story in a similar manner.

Are the producers and editors of these news organisations so intellectually challenged, shortsighted and generally boneheaded that they cannot comprehend that by broadcasting the gunman's picture and his message, they are playing right into his hands - even when he's dead?

TV2 News and the rest may as well make it an official policy and print it on their respective websites:

'As long as any deranged individual out there is willing to step up and make a suitably horrendous and presumably bloody statement, we will without prejudice broadcast any accompanying message in the form of video or text that they (the perpetrator) would like to have heard by the world at large.'

Broadcasting the gunman's picture and his homemade videos should never happen. It's an embarrassment to these supposedly respectable news organisations.

Because the question repeatedly asked is why do these shootings keeping happening?

And the newsmedia must bear at least a small portion of the blame. By exactly doing the gunman's bidding, the event becomes far more than a tragedy - it also becomes a means for the gunman to get a specific message out and heard, far and wide. Far beyond the borders of those directly affected by the tradegy itself.

Not only is it a shame, it's the greatest disservice imaginable to the victims, and their families and friends. The greatest message a media organisation could send is to report the tragedy, but to steadfastly refuse to play even a single video of the gunman, show a single picture of him, or read (or print) any statements of his on air. It's even debatable if revealing his name at all has any value.

That is, news organisations should send a message loud and clear they they will not be turned into a platform for any crazed individual wanting to get their words out and heard (and their image seen) simply by virtue of having carried out a horrendously violent act, as this one was.

But surely those at TV2 News, and all the various other news organisations out there around the world, are well aware of this? And knowing this, one would think it would be enough to stop them cold in their tracks.

Are there not a few courageous producers and editors out there willing to take a principled stance, even if they are in the minority, and refuse to broadcast these images? There must be. You certainly won't find them employed at TV2 News in Denmark.

Okay, this whole Ungdomshuset issue is getting rather confusing.

First, an update.

Following the eviction of Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen (click here for a little background on this) on Thursday, plenty of action has occurred Friday and today. Some of it obnoxiously violent and destructive (like a school in Christianshavn in Copenhagen getting looted and heavily damaged and a lot of cars getting torched yesterday). It seems an undefined portion of it was caused by troublemakers coming in from abroad in order to get in on the action. That is, opportunists using the Ungdomshuset controversy to attract attention to themselves.

Once again, thanks is in order to TV2 News (and all the rest of the mainstream media) for playing right into their hands with their largely superficial but in-your-face coverage. The police, it seems, have done a good job arresting those causing the violence, and expelling a number of people from the country. What choice did they have?

There has been a lot of peaceful protest actions, as well.


today's (peaceful) demonstration heading down Istedgade

For example, a demonstration that originated just down the street from our place on Istedgade just went by. It was as peaceful and calm as they come - there were people of varying age involved and plenty of parents with their children mixed into the crowd. And plenty of Ungdomshuset support banners. Unfortunately, there was no obvious denunciation of the more violent actions that have been occurring in the name of support for Ungdomshuset - which was a shame.




a closer look at today's protest crowd - what you didn't see much of in the news coverage - lots of kids and bikes

Because the mainstream media in Denmark (as most places) has a difficult time covering the nuances of the story - and the peaceful side of it - it's hard to know how things really are. It's easiest for the mainstream media to basically to lump everything that has happened under the same banner ('support for Ungdomshuset'). Naturally, this tars the purpose and viewpoint of all of those who are trying to peacefully make their point.

Given the violence that has broken out, should those who still believe in the wider (peaceful) cause simply abandon it and disappear?

I hardly think so. If people abandoned a worthy cause every time a few undesirable people tried to latch on to it with differing ideas and viewpoints (including the use of violence), well, frankly there wouldn't be much in the world worth trying to stand up for. People would just be continually splitting up into their own little factions and refusing to discuss, cooperate and resolve their differences. And the level of debate, in general, would remain rather unsophisticated.

That said, had the protest over the past days (and months) remained entirely non-violent, personally, it would be much easier to continue supporting the Ungdomshuset cause. This became rather more difficult to do when it came out that a number of individuals were 'protecting Ungdomshuset' by loading up piles of bricks on the roof (so they could throw them at police) and making gas bombs - just in case. There was also the rather violent clash in December with police out front of Ungdomshuset. Not terribly intelligent or productive moves (and not moves likely to succeed). You could say this was the point when they basically lost me.

Nonetheless, there has never been enough evidence to conclude that all the right decisions have been made by the local government during the dispute, prior to where we are now.

It's hard to believe the outcome - all that has occurred this week, including all the violence and demonstrations across the city - was inevitable. If the local government in Copenhagen had accepted the idea from the that start that there would always be a small minority of people who would stake out anti-establishment position (and for whom a place like Ungdomshuset could meet their social needs quite well), then an agreement could likely have been found long ago. In terms of the Ungdomshuset crowd, we're not talking about a fixed set of faces, but rather a constantly evolving group - because inevitably numerous of its members are forced by, well, reality to become increasingly part of the very establishment they claimed to be against. At the same time, those fashioning themselves as adamentently anti-establishment (for a time) will always find a place to gather, somewhere or other in the city.

Providing an outlet for such people to 'hang' is pretty progressive and clever, as I see it. Those using Ungdomshuset had a place to congregate, and they could organise parties and events to raise money they needed to keep the place functional. At the same time, the police could put a clear a definite border around what was and was not permitted - and could continue to come down heavily on any of those who tried to cross this border (i.e. causing damage to neighbours property, etc.).

Much like pouring a few resources into facilities for drug abusers (not that I'm suggesting that the Ungdomshuset crowd should be lumped in the same category as drug abusers) - you don't do it because you necessarily agree with the decisions they made to get them there - rather you do it because it's an effective way to deal with this permanent reality. And it makes it much easier to deal with as an ongoing issue. You also assume that those who use the facilities will be a changing group of faces over the years - much like those who use Ungdomshuset.

Yes, it does require a significant level understanding to acknowledge this reality and to accept that though it may have a cost (a very small one in this case - just let them continue using the crappy place they've been using for the past 25 years anyway), it can actually be worth it.

Now that Ungdomshuset has been taken away from them, eventually another similar place will likely emerge as the chosen 'hang-out' - probably some rundown and neglected building somewhere in Copenhagen that has been forgotten. Which means that nothing productive will have been accomplished out of all of this. And when it does, the city will be forced to deal with it. Again.

The local government may have made its point ('you are not a group that deserves any special privledges') - but so what? It's a hollow victory, if ever there was one.

But of course, it has made for a great news story.

For the record: Apparently over 600 people have now been arrested for 'rioting' over the last 3 days. At the same time, one of the largest demonstrations in support of Ungdomshuset, 2000 -3000 people, took place at Raadhuspladsen at the center of Copenhagen and was the entirely peaceful (and included those who marched by our apartment). Talk about a tale of two protests...

Read more about the news coverage of what went on here, the peaceful demonstrations and what it was all about here, a nice eye-witness commentary on the 'riots' here, and or watch an amusing video of a couple of the demonstrators getting arrested here

A version of this article appeared under the title Copenhagen: Riots in the streets appeared on Shortcut: A European City Blog.

by Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)

Today was a big news day in Copenhagen - especially for TV2 24 News and the TV2 News helicopter. Politiken, one of the local newspapers, also got into the action publishing a special after-hours extra edition (a couple page supplement being handed out on the streets). Must have been big news!


the TV2 News helicopter - in action over Ungdomshuset

Yeah, I suppose. The police tried to clear out Ungdomshuset early this morning with predictable results (fighting, riot police, etc.) - apparently they succeeded. The aftermath of this carried on throughout the day, with a good number of people arrested (100-200 hundred, by some reports). In fact, at this moment there are a couple demonstrations in support of Ungdomshuset going on. The last time there was such a large scale demonstration in support of Ungdomshuset, the protesters (some who came from as far away as Germany) marched peacefully right by our apartment, trying to make lots of noise. These ones today seem to involve more in the way of projectiles, bonfires, blocked streets, smoke and well, action.


the previous (peaceful) demonstration right outside our window
- it wasn't much of a big deal

This story, as anyone living in Copenhagen knows, has been ongoing for some time but seems to at last be coming to a head.

Now on a normal day, TV2 News (the new 24-hour Danish News channel) must have a painfully tough filling 24 hours with of (mostly) Danish-oriented news, since so little of what happens in Denmark could be considered 'newsworthy' (i.e. out of the ordinary).

In that respect, the coverage of the events surrounding Ungdomshuset - particularly today - is becoming quite a story in itself. According to police, there were about 100-150 journalists hanging out around the house covering the story. You can be sure for every punch thrown, there was a crowd of photographers.


WE WERE THERE!! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!

For those unfamiliar, Ungdomshuset is a squat in Norrebro in Copenhagen that has been used by a large group of young people for many many years (since 1982, in fact). Regular events and parties are held there - and those who now considered the building to be theirs didn't want leave, unsurprisingly. Unfortunately, the place was sold a couple years ago by the local government, and the buyer would kind of like to take over the place.

Personally, I do have some (not complete) sympathy for the Ungdomshuset crowd - a crowd often portrayed as unruly, anarchist-types who are just freeriding off the city (and there's little doubt many of them are). I've been inside the place and actually enjoyed a couple of the club/party evenings they have put on. I also remember the toilets and urinals overflowing - the washrooms were beyond revolting, believe me.

Since there will always be a small minority of such anti-corporate/supposedly anarchist-type young people in every major city going through such a phase of thinking (some more determined than others to hang onto it for a prolonged period of time), one part of the question is certainly how to best convince them that there are many ways they can meaningfully contribute to society that extend beyond sitting around and doing nothing much.

The other equally important part of the question is how best to deal with this permanent (if evolving) discontented minority. Allowing them a place to gather would seem a potentially good way to keep them contained and relatively contented - and at a pretty low cost. It would be foolish to pretend that it wasn't normal to find such a group of people - somewhere in the city. In Copenhagen, they just happen to have a highly visible hangout located in a fairly central spot.

This does not excuse some of the more violent behaviour that certain residents and supporters of Ungdomshuset have been resorting to over the past weeks and months as the dispute has escalated and the police have increasingly become involved. In fact, it was likely that behaviour that ensured no real solution would ever be found. If the group had steadfastly avoided all violence, I suspect they would have found much more sustained sympathy for their situation, even from those who didn't really share their views.

That said, those like myself who are on the outside looking on, must consider that it's not likely one is going to ever be able to sit down and have an entirely rational conversation with such people. Does this mean the best long-term solution simply to remain uncompromising and pretend that the more rational of the people holding these beliefs about the nature of society, don't exist?

More importantly, TV2 News (among others) got completely carried away with the story - particularly yesterday, and should shoulder some (small) portion of the blame for what transpired. Sitting at work today and watching the flat screen TV's that are positioned around the office (they normally show TV2 24 news throughout the day - as it's a media bureau office, you see), unsurprisingly a huge part of TV2's newsday was spent covering the goings on at Ungdomshuset.

Or to put it another way, all day today the violent faction of the Ungdomhuset crowd has had a live voice. One almost exclusively focused on them. You might wonder if TV2 News might be blowing up the story a little out of proportion. And in doing so, this only fans the flames.

Because let's face it - those of us momentarily enthralled by watching and reading about the Ungdomshuset story are more excited about the fact that something of this well, exciting nature is actually happening - something a little bit violent and unpredictable. Something that kind of resembles a TV show. It's not that the average person in Copenhagen truly cares one way or the other about this eventual outcome - it's just fun to watch it happen.

And hence the nearly continuous and ridiculously over-dramatic live-on-the-scene coverage of the events by TV2's 24-hour news channel.

For more about the Ungdomshuset events you can read about the peaceful demonstrations and what the whole mess was about here, what an eye-witness saw during the 'riots' here, or watch an amusing video of a couple of the demonstrators getting arrested here).

A version of this article appeared under the title Copenhagen: Riots in the streets appeared on Shortcut: A European City Blog.

snow, snow, snow, snow...

Yesterday's top news story in Denmark was the snow, of course. Fair enough, a lot of it had fallen over the previous 24 hours. As I happen to love snow, the more of it that falls, the better my mood.

Nonetheless, one of my (least) favourite pastimes is being subjected to the evening news in Copenhagen. The fact that a snowstorm is big news should give you an idea why. Be it the national news or the local news, you can be certain of one thing - Danish news is dead boring. I would say it is nearly unwatchable (an opinion that tends to create a little bit of friction in our home whenever the news is turned on).

Not that those responsible for broadcasting the news seem to agree with me - in December, a 24-hour news channel focusing on Danish news went on the air.

The 24-hour news station even cobbled enough kroner together to buy a helicopter (they keep on their helipad in front of their office in Copenhagen). Now you can be sure there has yet to be anything newsworthy enough in this country to actually put it to good use since then, but it makes a lot of noise when they fly it around the city, which they do like to do. And I suppose it does give a sort of illusion that something newsworthy is occurring in the city right at this very moment.

But trust me when I tell you that as this is Denmark, there surely is not. This is not a bad thing - in fact, it's a very good reason to live here. It just doesn't make for terribly interesting news broadcasts. There's not even enough traffic in and around Copenhagen to usefully report about.

I've always imagined it must be quite funny to be a producer in the newsroom in Copenhagen putting together the day’s news and trying to find the stories to fill the air-time with. As a producer, listening to non-story after non-story being pitched, how exactly do you actually choose between them?

There is a silent 'click' each night that occurs immediately following the one or two mildly newsworthy items, when the 'filler' news stories begin.

But watching the news does provide moments of amusement, from time to time - and this brings us back to yesterday's newsworthy topic: the snow.

One of yesterday's classic news moments involved a snow story, naturally. It was live remote report (from Slagelser) - a classic way to make non-news seem important. It's a technique employed regularly during new broadcasts in Denmark, especially in Copenhagen where reporters are constantly spread across the city to deliver their reports 'live'.

In the same vein, the classic technique of changing the camera angle on the presenter constantly after each news item is delivered (and oftentimes during it) is also vigorously employed during all Danish newscasts. Did they never watch Monty Python?

So to describe my favourite story of yesterday:

It began with the reporter standing outside and in the middle of nowhere, naturally surrounded by a lot of snow. He informed us that there was a lot of snow and that this snow was keeping Falck drivers very busy (surprise, surprise - Falck being the equivalent of the 'Danish automobile association' - they're the people you call when you need a tow). But this introduction was really just a little trick, as at this point the camera panned over to a...Falck driver! Yes, he was standing there ('live'). The Falck driver then got to say a few words about how many people had (predictably) gotten stuck in the snow and how busy he was because of this. Fine, fine. Alas, this was only another little trick. With another little pan of the camera, a minivan stuck in the snow was revealed. That's right, stuck in the snow - 'live' during the broadcast! A microphone was foist into the driver's face ('Yes, I'm stuck in the snow, so I had to call Falck...') and then the moment of truth was upon us. With a shout to his colleague in the tow-truck, 'live' across Denmark we watched the Falck truck pull the minivan out of the snow. Another sterling moment for live news reporting.

Then back to the newsroom in Copenhagen we were taken. For more, um...news.


'So tell us, is it snowing where you are Mr. Anderson?'
'Yes, there's a lot of snow. And it's cold. Very cold.'
'Are you expecting more snow?'
'Um, yes, I think there will be...'
'How are people coping with it?'
'Well, it seems most people are choosing to stay inside.'
'Yes, that's probably a good idea. Thanks very much for that live report. And try to stay warm.'
'I will.'