From financial news and in-depth weekly analyses, to tabloid and gossip: Your complete guide to Danish News Sources

Learning Danish can be a rewarding, but challenging endeavor, which is not helped by the lack of good resources for Danish Learners.

However, one of the most effective ways to enhance your language skills is by immersing yourself in Danish in every way that you can. That could for example be by following Danish News and Danish media, but where should you start?

Fear not, we have created a comprehensive guide for Language Learners and expats that want to fully immerse themselves in Danish!

This guide provides a detailed look at Denmark’s leading news sites, curated specifically for Danish learners. Whether you’re a beginner looking to refine your proficiency, a professional that wants to stay updated on industry trends or if you simply want to follow what’s going on in Denmark, then this is the guide for you.

Here’s an overview of what we’ll be covering – feel free to skip around:

• Public Service Media
• General News
• Tabloid and Popular News
• Business and Financial News
• Niche, weekly and in-depth analysis
• Danish News in English
• Pressenævnet – The Danish Press Council 

Public Service Media

Let’s start with public media in Denmark, as they are some of the most accessible, they cover the widest range, and they use the simplest language. If you are a beginner to intermediate learner, this is definitely where we would recommend that you start.

 

DR

DR, also known as Danmarks Radio, is not as the name suggests only radio. It is the largest and oldest electronic (so excluding print newspapers) provider of news in Denmark. DR is a so-called Public-Service broadcasting company, which means they are bound by regulations stating that their programs must be of a diverse, cultural and enlightening nature. Whether this is the case is frequently debated though.

Besides publishing articles on their website dr.dk (which can be accessed in a simple language, through dr.dk/ligetil) they publish 3 free to view (in Denmark) TV-stations: DR1 (flagship events, movies, shows, newsl), DR2 (In depth debates, documentaries, comedy, films) and Ramasjang (TV for children aged 3-13).

They also publish a number of radio channels that are a great way to mix in some music, while also honing your listening skills:

• DR P1: Thought provoking radio, factual programming, reports, discussion and debate.
• DR P2: Music and cultural radio
• DR P3: Hit radio, popular entertainment. Also covers major sporting events.
• DR p4: The most popular radio channel in Denmark. They cover a mix of pop music with national and local news. However, perhaps they are popular for their traffic messaging during the day.
• DR P5: Older music from the 50’s and 60’s mixed with some newer music
• DR P6 Beat: In depth focus on underground and popmusic
• DR P8 Jazz. Jazz music. (You may have noticed we skipped P7 which was last broadcast in 2020).

Unfortunately, despite being free to access, none of DR’s programs are available outside of Denmark. If you have a permanent residence in Denmark you can take your access with you on vacations by registering with your MitID on DR’s website. Other than that, there’s Very Probably No good way to listen or watch outside of Denmark (as Weird Al famously put it).

 

TV 2

TV-2 is also a Public-Service broadcaster in Denmark, but unlike DR that is free across all channels, you need to pay to watch programs from TV-2. Their website, TV2.dk however, still has plenty of free news you can read or short clips you can watch. TV-2 is a “regular” company (although it is state owned) with a public-service contract from the government. A bit confusing, we know. The company was originally established to compete with DR, which was mainly a wish from more conservative political parties that felt that DR was leaning to far left. TV 2 has always been partly financed by commercials, so be ready for that as well, even if you pay.

TV-2, which is also the name of their main TV-channel, has been the most watched channel in Denmark for many years. Just like their streaming service TV-2 Play is the most popular streaming service in Denmark. Yup. Even bigger than Netflix.

The service is (I think) a bit pricy, but they host a lot of Danish made productions (movies and series), a lot of Danes also upgrade their package to include sports, which is probably a big reason for their popularity.

TV2 is also a great source for local news, as they host 8 regional tv-stations:

• TV2/Bornholm: Covering Bornholm
• TV2/Kosmopol: Covering Copenhagen and the surrounding areas. It used to be called TV2/Lorry and many will still refer to it by this name.
• TV2/Øst: Covering the east and south of zealand
• TV2/Fyn: Covering Fyn
• TV Syd: Covering southern Jutland
• TV/Midt-vest: covering the middle and west of Jutland
• TV2/Østjylland: Covering the eastern part of Jutland
• TV2/Nord covering the northern part of Jutland.

 

 

 

General News

Now we arrive at those ‘general news’ sites that have everything you need from a newspaper, with classical and proper journalism. All of the below are traditionally print newspapers, but have in the recent years switched to be primarily online to stay competitive. None are free by default, but they might allow a few free articles before locking you out. Expect the language to be intermediate to advanced.

 

Politiken

Politiken is a major Danish newspaper founded in 1884. Since its founding it has been a left-leaning newspaper. You’ll find general news, in depth articles, commentaries, satire and much more. Their website iBYEN.dk is also worth a visit for their restaurant guides, cultural happenings, city-guides, wine-know-how and much more. Worth mentioning for linguistic reasons, iBYEN articles are also slighty simpler, than, say commentary on foreign policy. Politiken is owned by JP/Politikens hus, a major publisher that owns several media outlets in Denmark. The publisher is then in turn owned by two foundations aimed at keeping the newspaper alive, and supporting free journalism in general. Aesthetically, Politiken is a very pleasing newspaper, which I know should not count for much, but is still a bonus point in my book.

 

Berlingske

Berlingske, also known as Berlingske Tidende, founded in 1749 is Denmarks oldest newspaper and is a more conservatie / right-leaning publication. The selection of news is in many ways similar to Politiken, and you’ll find general news, in depth articles, commentaries and much more. Subscription wise, Berlingske is slightly cheaper than Politiken. Berlingske also publish a pendent to iBYEN called Alt om København, with guides to everything in Copenhagen. Berlingske is owned by Berlingske Media who are in turn owned by the Belgian media conglomerate De Persgroep.

 

Jyllands-Posten

Jyllands-Posten is the last of the three major Danish newspapers. Founded in 1879, it has been a more conservative, and right leaning newspaper and has adapted the slogan “Danmarks internationale avis” (The international newspaper of Denmark). The newspaper was originally opposed to the Copenhagen-Centric point of view of many other publishers, but has in recent years dialed the province-focus down. The newspaper has a few controversies behind them, most notably the infamous “Mohammad Drawings” of the prophet Mohammad. The Wikipedia article is worth a read if you are not familiar with the drawings and the events that followed, described as as Denmark’s worst international relations incident since the Second World War. Jyllands-Posten is also owned by JP/Politikens Hus. This configuration is quite interesting as Jyllands-Posten and Politiken are not at all politically aligned, yet still chose to join in a business alliance to stay alive, while keeping editorial staff completely separate.

 

 

 

Tabloid and Popular News

There are two major publishers of tabloid and popular news in Denmark, Ekstra Bladet and B.T., again owned by JP/Politikens hus and Berlingske Media. To be honest, we really don’t recommend any of these two producers of clickbait and seemingly endless “breaking” news. Yet, they still deserve a mention as they are the Danes main source of gossip.

 

Ekstra Bladet

Ekstra Bladet or EB was originally an appendix of extra pages to Politiken, hence the name. Famous for very agressive coverage, yellow headlines, and previously a very agressive comment section known as “nationen” (the Nation) that has since been removed.

 

B.T.

BT’s name comes from Berlingske Tidende, and was a shorter, easier to read version of Berlingske. Today it is very similar to Ekstra Bladet, but owned by the other major player in Denmark, Berlingske Media.

Honorable mention: Se og Hør Danes favourite magasine for, pretty much solely, celebrity gossip (especially regarding the royal family).

 

 

 

Business and Financial News

 

Dagbladet Børsen

Børsen is a business focused magasine (also part of JP/Politikens hus). They cover notable business news, lifestyle, private finances, politics and stuff in that genre.

 

Finans

Finans is a magazine very similar to Børsen. I was quite surprised when I checked this, but it is also owned by JP/Politikens hus, so I guess you don’t have much of a choice there. You might ask, where is Berlingske Media in all of this? They choose to publish the site Euroinvestor.dk which is much more finance and stock analysis related news, than it is general business.

 

 

 

Niche, Weekly and in-depth analysis

The newspapers Information, Weekendavisen and Kristeligt Dagblad are known as the three “niche” newspapers in Denmark. They don’t try to cover everything, and that has proved to be a recipe for success in an industry that is in rapid decline. Arguably, the difference between Information + Weekendavisen and the other major newspapers (Politiken, Berlingske, Jyllands-Posten – the so called “Omnibusaviser” (omnibus papers / general newspapers)) is not big anymore, but we have still chosen to include it in the in-depth, analysis section, as you will not find sports, election results and similar breaking news. Instead you might find commentary or analysis regarding the same events. As such, you can also expect the language to be the most advanced here.

 

Information

Information is a more left-leaning newspaper, rooted in the illegal press of the resistance during the Second World war. Information is known for being the newspaper for academics, teachers and students and cover most topics. Information is not a publically traded company, but it is still owned by more than 4500 shareholders, noteably a Danish Pensionfund, and an organisation consisting of their own employees.

Weekendavisen

Weekendavisen is a weekly-published newspaper (although the online version is of course always available) similar to Information in terms of coverage – minimal general news, but lots of in-depth articles and commentaries. Weekendavisen a slightly right-leaning publication, and is published by Berlingske Media.

 

Kristeligt Dagblad

Kristeligt Dagblad is as the name implies a Christian, conservative publication in Denmark. They are not as large as the previous two publications, but they are still a large player, and are at least by name, known by most Danes. They cover recent events, but tackle it from the perspective of faith, (Christian-conservative) ethics, and existential angles. It is partly owned by a private foundation, and Chr. Augustinos fabrikker (a former tobacco manufacturer, turned investment company).

 

Honourable mention: Zetland

Zetland is a pretty new publication, but they are still worth a mention, and a recommendation in the niche/in-depth section. Zetland is a company started not that many years ago with a focus on in-depth, non-clickbait journalism. They stood out from other publications by also publishing in an audio-format, with all articles published both in writing, and in an almost podcast-like format. Many of the other publishers have since copied this, and also publish articles in two versions: written and spoken. Great news for Danish learners!

Zetland is highly listened to by younger people, and is probably more left-leaning. As a company, it is currently owned by the founders.

 

 

 

Danish News in English

We’ll put these here, mainly just for completeness. They will not help you on your journey to learn Danish, but they might help you understand what is happening in Denmark.

The Copenhagen Post

CPHPost.dk covers expat and immigrant relevant news in Denmark along with things like guides for things relevant to life in Denmark. The Copenhagen Post is an independent company, and pretty small compared to other mentions in this blogpost.

TheLocal.dk

TheLocal is an international publisher owned by venture capital firms that publishes local news for many different countries, including Denmark. You’ll find similar content to that of the Copenhagen Post, but as they are a larger company, it seems they have more frequent posts than the Copenhagen Post.

 

Pressenævnet – The Danish Press Council

When you are browsing Danish news sites, you’ll often find in the bottom of their webpage, that they are a member of “Pressenævnet” or the Danish Press Council. What is that, and why does that matter? The Danish Press council, is a public, independent council that can make decisions regarding complaints about the media. People and companies can complain to the Danish Press Council if they think articles that have been published are untrue, misleading or otherwise don’t conform to customs. If the council rules in favour of the complainant, the media can be forced to issue a correction, apology or similar retribution that is determined by the council.

Some media are by law under the jurisdiction of the Danish Press Council (such as the Public Service Publications), whereas others can choose to join voluntarily, and thereby also be bound by their decisions. All mentions in this article, except for thelocal.dk (at least as far as I can find) are members. Looking for this stamp on news sites is a good initial way to judge the professionalism of the media.