The year’s Digital news report from Reuters has revealed continued high confidence in the Danish news media.
About 58 percent of Danes said that they “trust news the most most of the time”, which makes Denmark one of the countries with the highest news confidence out of the 46 respondents.
Social media is still a common news source for people in Denmark, where Facebook dominates the field.
Downward global trend, and not different in Denmark
However, Reuters reported that interest in news in general has fallen in Denmark in line with a global downward trend.
“Although the proportion of Danes who often or occasionally avoid news is low compared to the USA, the number was also increasing in Denmark from 2017 to 2022,” says Professor Kim Schrøder, who has headed the Danish part of Reuters- the investigation.
“Previous research has shown that it is the many new digital offerings that attract attention away from the news media. In this year’s survey, it seems to be a special challenge for the younger target group. ”
Police are fighting drunk driving in the summer
The Danish police crack down on drink-driving over the next six weeks and mention the summer as a period of increased alcohol-related traffic accidents. Odometer checkpoints will be in operation along the roadsides and a campaign is underway to remind motorists of the possibility of being stopped and checked. On average, 18 people a day were charged with drink-driving in June and July last year, and a staggering 5 percent of motorists in Denmark admitted in a recent survey conducted for Wilke and the Council for Safe Traffic to have driven drunk driving.
The government proposes limiting entry requirements for higher education
The Danish government has proposed a restriction on admission requirements to higher education institutions. This would limit the schools in requesting average grades that are higher than 10 on the Danish grade scale, which goes as high as at. 12. Mette Frederiksen hopes that this plan will ease some of the pressure on high school students to focus on grades above all else. . Similar reforms have been put forward in the past, including one in 2020 by the Socialist People’s Party, which supports the current proposal.
Study highlights weaknesses in managing seniors’ exposure to COVID-19
A new study from VIVE has reviewed the areas where Denmark could have improved its COVID-19 preparedness in care centers and home care. Antigen testing was not offered as a self-test in connection with shift changes, which means that fewer employees were tested. Furthermore, efforts to screen staff were intensified after the epidemic had already peaked. “In retrospect, we could have considered whether we should have offered screening with PCR twice a week already from the beginning of the autumn,” said Pia Kürstein Kjellberg, project manager at VIVE. “The vaccines are the decisive reason why no more people died due to COVID-19.”
Citizens’ proposals for dental treatment receive 50,000 supporters
ONE citizen proposal to demand that health services include dental treatment has got the necessary 50,000 supporters to be presented to the Folketing. Published in January this year, the proposal condemns the current dental care schemes as cumbersome and bureaucratic, stating that “45 percent of citizens opt out of the dentist” because of the high cost. Once read in Parliament and discussed by the relevant committee, the proposal will be read at another Parliamentary session and finally voted on.
Citizens’ proposal for maternity leave to reach the Folketing
ONE citizen proposal requesting 26 weeks of extended maternity leave for multiple families has also received enough support to reach parliament. The authors argue that “in the ideal maternity and parental leave situation, both parents of twins and triplets can take the necessary overlapping maternity leave in the first weeks and months of the children’s lives and give them the best start in life. That way we give twins and triplets the same opportunities as single children. ” The proposal, which was published in March, will undergo the same consultation procedure that the dental proposal will face.
More Danes survive cancer, statistics say
The latest figures from the Cancer Registry show that more Danes are surviving cancer. One year after receiving their diagnosis, women and men had a survival rate of 85 and 82 percent, respectively, in the period 2018-2020 – an increase of 10 and 9 percentage points compared to the period 2006-2008. Five years after their diagnosis, women and men had survival rates 11 percentage points higher in the period 2018-2020 than in 2006-2008, bringing their rates up to 69 and 67 percent, respectively. “We have succeeded in improving survival after cancer,” said Tanja Popp of the National Board of Health. “Now we must also succeed even better in improving the quality of life after cancer.”
Data show that purchases of alcohol and cigarettes have increased
Data from Statistics Denmark show that an increased amount of alcohol and cigarettes was purchased in 2021. It was reported that 8.4 liters of pure alcohol were sold per inhabitant – 7.6 percent more than the year before. This corresponds to DKK 48.9 million, the turnover that would be generated if every Dane over the age of 18 bought 10.4 liters of pure alcohol a year. Meanwhile, sales of cigarettes increased by 5 percent in 2021 to a total of 825 pieces per cigarette. However, sales of smoking tobacco, cigars and cigarillos fell.
Planning law changes to promote green conversion
There is broad political agreement that revisions of the Planning Act 2020, the legislation that is to regulate planning and zoning in Denmark, must promote the transition to green energy. The Danish government and blue bloc trio Venstre, Konservative and Dansk Folkeparti have agreed to make changes to the law that will promote an environmentally sustainable future for the country. “I am really pleased that with a new agreement we ensure a significantly better framework for the green transition,” says Christian Rabjerg Madsen, Minister of the Interior and Housing. “For the government, it has been crucial to make it easier to set up wind turbines and solar cells.”
Joint action plan for the protection of journalists launched
The Danish Journalists’ Association, Danske Medier, International Media Support, UNESCO Denmark, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Culture have launched a joint action plan for the protection of journalists. In light of the harassment and threats faced by many journalists, especially on the front lines of the conflict, the plan includes provisions on monitoring abuses, following up on reports, encouraging dialogue between parties involved and exchanging knowledge with other countries. “The free press is crucial to our democracy,” said Minister of Culture Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen. “Therefore, journalists must be able to feel secure in their work.”
Dead seabirds found along the west coast
Dead seabirds have been found scattered across the beaches on Denmark’s west coast. Although their cause of death has not yet been confirmed by Aalborg University, where the birds will be examined, Egon Østergaard from the Danish Ornithological Society suspects that the forced migration of fish stocks by climate change may be at stake. Northern Owls account for the majority of the dead birds, but many sandwich stars and cormorants were also found. A similar incident took place last winter, which was also potentially linked to climate change.
Source: The Nordic Page