Media presence
I’ve always believed that one of many obligations scholars have is to make their knowledge known to interested citizens, civil society and the media. After all, our education has been paid for by taxpayers, and why not give them back something?
I am also convinced that it is not only the task of researchers to describe, analyse and criticise the world as it is but also – like a doctor – to outline some kind of treatment, suggest ways towards solving urgent problems. I’m what you may call a policy-oriented scholar.
So how do I reach out?
Newspaper articles & columns
Since the 1970s, probably a couple of thousand debate articles, book reviews/notes, comments, and columns in predominantly Nordic daily media. I was a regular contributor to the then Danish liberal daily Politiken 1974-1994. And thereafter a regular contributor to the cultural page of Helsingborg Dagblad in Sweden well beyond 2000. Then a couple of free dailies, and today I write a column every second month or so for the Danish Arbejderen and 3-4 times a year and editorial for Transcend Media Service, TMS.
Commenting
Another way to reach out and influence the ways of the world is by commenting and being interviewed on radio and television. During a large part of the 1990s, I often participated in the Danish Radio’s leading foreign policy program Orientering, in particular about events in Yugoslavia. Today I’m used very infrequently by Danish media, with the exception of the legendary Arne Hansen Nielsen’s Frederikshavns Local Radio “Dialog”.
Interestingly, the Swedish media pay no attention to TFF or to me.
I’ve been interviewed on countless media once or more times over the years, e.g. Tokyo International Correspondents’ Club, National Public Radio (NPR), CNN, and BBC and I have participated in local media in conflict zones where I have worked.
Since 2014 I have, now and then, made comments on Russia Today – the world’s third-largest TV network after CNN and al-Jazeera, with allegedly 650 million viewers and on Iran’s international TV network PressTV.
The Western world that preaches free media has blocked access to both Russia Today and some thirty other Russian media and, long ago, thrown PressTV out of YouTube.
From December 2021, I publish articles and do interviews with Chinese media like CCTV – the national television – here in English and Chinese, CGTN, People’s Daily, China Investment, Global Times and others.
Those in Chinese media are listed – when I remember to – here.
From April 2022, I also serve as a columnist for the independent online daily, The Citizen, in New Delhi.
TFF PressInfo
I am the editor and publisher of the e-mail service, TFF PressInfo – 4-5 times a month reaching about 6.000 people and some 12 000 social followers (2023), a large proportion of which media – journalists and editors – around the world. I also now and then publish my own stuff through that channel. And, of course, here on my online home.
Reposting and reprinting
Reposting and -printing is a great booster when you want to reach out to the world – and I would like here to thank those who more or less regularly reprint articles that I post either as myself or as director of TFF.
TFF PressInfo content are quite often re-printed by Dissident Voice, the Pressenza international press agency, CounterPunch, Tuoitre Weekly in Vietnam, News360 news reader app where TFF PressInfos are part of the Publishers Program (until 2019), some independent Nordic media – to just mention a few. These external links can be found under “Miniblog and Notes” both here and on TFF’s homepage.
Some PressInfos lead to interviews from Mexico to Australia on local radio stations or are published here and there on the Internet and also linked on the “Miniblog” just mentioned.
In 2016 TFF and I started a permanent cooperation with Human Wrongs Watch – Baher Kamal and The Like.
Most of the mentioned media are independent like TFF and me, and operate on shoestring budgets. TFF’s and my own publications are freely available to anyone. I am just happy that others help us spread the message and think that what we say and do is important.
Permission to reproduce materials
If you want to reproduce my work, contact me before, do not shorten without my acceptance prior to publication and state the due reference and my copyright.
Social media
Under the menu Sites you’ll see that I have, for years, systematically tried to build a comprehensive social media presence. According to some measures like (now closed-down) Klout – for whatever it is worth – I’m among the 5% most active on the Internet.
Media policy – journalists and editors please read before contacting
I apply the following principles to any request for interviews, studio discussions, panels, articles or other participation in media:
1. I respond positively, in principle, to any request from any media.
2. I expect to be treated professionally and politely, for instance, that the title and institutional affiliation I have is respected. And I appreciate that some research has been done before contacting me.
3. Agreements about participation shall be mutually binding. If for instance, I have spent time explaining my analysis/arguments/debate points in advance of a program and the editors have informed me that, knowing these, my participation is desired, I expect that agreement to be held in terms of actual participation, that questions agreed upon are actually asked and the agreed role I am supposed to play in the program is the one I actually play.
4. I simply drop journalists and editors who either take my time in the research phase and then drop me for the actual program or change the whole thing between our prior agreement and the live program.
5. If an editorial office wants, say, a 7 min interview with me, 7 or 8 minutes is what I give, not more. I do not grant a journalist or media I work with for the first time more than by and large what is desired in order to maximise my control over what is said and what may be cut out. If a long-term relationship with a media has developed, I may be more generous because then it builds on established trust.
6. Interviewers should record and not just take notes and, first-time interviewers with me will have to submit the written interview for my endorsement before printing.
7. Media that censor, cut out, do political editing, quote me for things I’ve never said or characterise my standpoints as belonging to this or that (pejorative) category, or seek to frame me shouldn’t bother about contacting me again.
8. As a freelance intellectual, I am grateful for any size honorarium. Like any other commercial enterprise, the media should pay for knowledge and experience – as they pay their own staff members. Independent knowledge is essential for democratic free opinion-formation.
The alternative is to obtain comments only from people who are paid by their party, state organs and institutes or businesses for conveying representative viewpoints. However, I am also aware that over the last 2-3 decades media are generally unable or unwilling to pay for knowledge and, so, it is not a precondition for my participation.
9. I appreciate that media, as a small token of their appreciation, send me print copies, links or other follow-up and alert me to comments or other reactions of importance for my further dialogue with readers, listeners and viewers.
Last updated May 6, 2023.