iTromsø (formerly Bladet Tromsø) is a daily (save for Sunday) newspaper published in Tromsø, Norway.

History and profile

Bladet Tromsø was first published on 24 January 1898 with Erling Gjemsø as the first editor-in-chief. He was followed by Erling Steinbø in the post. The newspaper initially supported the Liberal Party. Following the party split in 1972, it aligned with the new Liberal People's Party for a short time before declaring its support of the Conservative Party. The newspaper was owned by the company which owns Verdens Gang from 1986 to 1992. It is now published by Mediehuset iTromsø A/S, a subsidiary of Polaris Media, which was earlier owned by the Schibsted Group. The editor-in-chief is Stig Jakobsen. In December 2009, the newspaper changed its name to iTromsø. , it had a circulation of 9,500 copies.

Editor in chief

Lindberg case

Bladet Tromsø became internationally known in 1988 when they published an official report on seal hunting written by Odd F. Lindberg. The report received international attention and led to a discussion about the Norwegian seal hunt and freedom of speech. The newspaper was sued by the seal hunters and sentenced after two court rounds to pay compensation. In May 1999, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg reversed the ruling of the Norwegian court, marking a change in the standards of publication.