Type Daily newspaper Owner(s) 365 prentmiðlar Headquarters Iceland | Format Tabloid Founded 2001 | |
Editor Kristín Þorsteinsdóttir | ||
Fréttablaðið (English: The Newspaper) is the Icelandic newspaper with the largest circulation. The paper is distributed free of charge to homes in parts of the country. Each paper is read by about 60% and at any given time only 20% will not have read it at all over the past week.
History and profile
Fréttablaðið was established in 2001. The paper was published 6 days per week, Monday - Saturday until September 2003 when its frequency was switched to daily. It is owned by the media group 365 media. The publisher of the paper is Visir.
Fréttablaðið has been accused of siding politically with the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) and for favouring Icelandic membership of the European Union. However, many of its editors have had ties with its main political opponent the conservative Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) and its former editor-in-chief and regular columnist is its former leader and Prime Minister Þorsteinn Pálsson.
In the period of 2001-2002 the paper had a circulation of 70,000.