Reformivriga tidningar och svårflörtad överhet : Stockholmspressen och den högre förvaltningen under 1820-talet

(Reform-minded newspapers and impervious authorities. The Stockholm press and central government during the 1820s.)

During the last fifteen years the number of publications about Swedish newspaper history has increased markedly. On the one hand an authoritative five-volume summary of developments up to the present time has been published. On the other hand a new view has emerged among press historians of the most important modernizing endeavours in the early history of the Swedish press.

Previously, the emergence of Aftonbladet in 1830 was seen as the beginning of a new era, much more professional than the earlier one. Now, however, young researchers, especially Cecilia Rosengren, have noted that some new traits attributed to Aftonbladet can already be found in other prominent Stockholm papers in the early 1820s. I agree with these authors. But their arguments can be extended and honed, which is what I have tried to do in this volume. The most important of the newspapers started around the year 1820 was Argus, a severe critic of the government and of regional-based bureaucracy and an ardent supporter of the liberty of the press. Some weaknesses of the new press are noted, too.