News

Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Belarusian journalists and media to receive five Free Media Awards for 2026

This year’s prize laureates for the Free Media Awards from the Fritt Ord Foundation and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius are:
The investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach from Ukraine
The investigative media outlet iFact from Georgia
The online media Factor TV from Armenia
The online media Verstka from Russia (in exile)
The journalist and media director Andrei Aliaksandrau from Belarus (imprisoned)

Fritt Ord's grants for master’s degrees

Is your master’s project about freedom of expression, social debate or journalism? If so, you can apply for a student grant from the Fritt Ord Foundation.

The Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute 2026

The rap duo Karpe has been awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for giving voice to the experiences of many young people from minority backgrounds. Through the language of rap, they are expanding the space for the expression of identity and belonging.

The 2025/26 Monitor survey

The Fritt Ord Foundation and the Institute for Social Research (ISF) invite you to the launch of a report and a subsequent discussion on Monday, 8 June 2026, from 9.00 to 11.00 am, at Fritt Ord’s premises at Uranienborgveien 2 in Oslo.

Where do people draw the line when it comes to freedom of expression, and what do they believe to be the greatest threats to an informed debate at a time characterised by unrest, crises and international conflicts? Do they feel there is sufficient diversity of opinion and enough room for divergent viewpoints? And how do people assess access to truthful and relevant information in a media landscape featuring new formats, new voices and artificial intelligence?

Outside the Storm: Launch of Reuters Digital News Report 2026

The Fritt Ord Foundation, the University of Bergen and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in Oxford invite you to a breakfast seminar on Tuesday 16 June 2026 from 08:30–10:00 at Fritt Ord’s premises at Uranienborgveien 2, Oslo.
The event presents the Reuters Digital News Report 2026 – the world’s largest and most important media survey – which launches internationally on the night of 16 June.

Hilde Henriksen Waage has been awarded the 2026 Fritt Ord Prize

Historian Hilde Henriksen Waage has been awarded the 2026 Fritt Ord Prize for her critical, courageous research and her fearless speaking of truth to power over several decades.

Call for applications: Fritt Ord Grants for Master's Projects 2026

The Fritt Ord Foundation hereby invites applications for grants for master’s projects that deal with freedom of expression from the legal perspective and/or the culture of expression in a broader, cultural sense. Key topics may include the role of technology in freedom of expression and in the culture of expression, or the relationship of minorities and other groups to freedom of expression.
The grants are for NOK 40 000 each.

Master's grants in spring 2026

What happens to public debate when it takes place outside editor-led media? That’s the question posed by master’s student Emilie Kaland Lindseth. Nora Smevold writes about politics on TikTok, Oda Overvåg about women’s organizations in Tunisia, Alma Owing about student protests, and Eline Ruud Kristiansen about journalism on Venezuela. Read about some of the new master’s grants on freedom of expression, spring 2026.

Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for Lisanne Dijkstra

Lisanne Dijkstra (30) is awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for having revealed a mayor’s abuse, and for demonstrating great courage of expression in the face of powerful actors and forces in society.
“She reminds us of the importance of such civil courage for us as a society and as individuals”, remarks Bård Vegar Solhjell, chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation Board.

The freelance study is completed in 2025

The share of freelancers in the media has been increasing for years in many countries, but until recently, there has been little research-based knowledge about the scope of freelance work and the working conditions of journalists, photographers, and critics without permanent employment in the media.

The Genocide in Gaza and Big Tech

Sunday, 19 October 2025 at 3.30 PM at Cinemateket, Oslo
Fritt Ord, Masahat and Oslo Dokumentarkino invite you to a lecture and conversation with Nadim Nashif about Big Tech’s complisity in the genocide in Gaza.

New Oxford fellow – How Journalists Interview “Monsters and Victims”

VG journalist Håkon F. Høydal has been awarded Fritt Ord’s journalism fellowship at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford in the spring of 2026.
His project explores what journalists can learn from new trauma research when interviewing both “monsters and victims” in crime and abuse cases.

What's happening in Georgia?

Monday 29 September 2025 at 6.30–8 pm at Vega Scene, Oslo

“While art is often relegated to the bottom of financial priorities, it paradoxically becomes the first target of dictators.”

Fritt Ord invites you to a presentation of a hyper-relevant, upcoming documentary film “Untitled” from Georgia and a conversation with two film directors about the political developments in the country in collaboration with Oslo Dokumentarkino, Stray Dogs Norway, Viken Filmsenter and the Norwegian Film Federation. Journalist Ingerid Salvesen is the moderator. For the safety of the filmmakers, we will not mention their names in advance.

“This documentary is not for the faint of heart” New grants awarded in September 2025.

Integral Film has been given grant for the production of the documentary “Rehearsal for Justice” by Palestinian filmmaker Dalia AlKury. “The film is not for the faint of heart,” says the director. See all the projects that received funding in September 2025.

Free Media Awards for 2025

The Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius hereby announce that the Free Media Awards for 2025 will be presented to media outlets and journalists from Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan

Greater diversity among journalists results in greater diversity among sources

A recently published report reveals biases in who is allowed to participate in the public debate. According to a new report from Retriever commissioned by the Fritt Ord Foundation, men who have Nordic names dominate both as sources and journalists in Norwegian media. Women, younger people and people with foreign names are less likely to be included. This is true both as interviewees and as authors of articles. That being said, greater diversity among journalists results in greater diversity among sources.