Fritt Ord Foundation Oxford grant for 2019 awarded to Thea Storøy Elnan

October 24 2018

At the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Thea Storøy Elnan will be investigating whether the #metoo campaign has changed the way in which journalists in Norway, Sweden and the UK write about sexual harassment and the victims of abuse. What consequences has the #metoo campaign had on press ethics? How professional are the media in their coverage of incidents of sexual harassment and, in the wake of the campaign, how aware are journalists of the real price people pay when they come forward and talk about such experiences?

Thea Elnan (born 1989) works as a journalist in the cultural affairs section of the daily newspaper Aftenposten. She has a master’s degree in political science from the University of Oslo. The grant to study at Oxford is for the period from January to July 2019.

Read more about The Fritt Ord Journalism Fellowship – In Honour of Preben Munthe.

News

Eirin Larsen and Hadia Tajik join the Fritt Ord Board

August 5 2025

Eirin Larsen (36) and Hadia Tajik (42) bring valuable experience from journalism, technology, politics and jurisprudence to the Fritt Ord Board.

Making the film «Farouk» – on the geologist that secured Norway its oil

July 1 2025

Geologist Farouk Al-Kasim joined the the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in 1968, shaping Norwegian petroleum resource management for decades afterwards. Now, documentary film director Halkawt Mustafa and producer Janne Hjeltnes are making a film about Al-Kasim’s life and reflections.
“Farouk tells me something in this film that he has not talked about before, because he has always told the version he feels Norway wanted to hear,” recounts Mustafa, who has Iraqi roots himself.

Read the interview with the director and see the list of grants awarded by Fritt Ord in June 2025.

Bård Vegar Solhjell new chair of the Fritt Ord Board

July 1 2025

Bård Vegar Solhjell (53) has taken over as the new chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation Board.

Cultural newspaper TBATBA.no and new journalism grants – June 2025

June 19 2025

– Cultural journalism is under pressure. Part of the problem is media outlets failing to cover culture in formats and ways that appeal to people under 30, says Ida Madsen Hestman, editor, freelance critic, and founder of TBATBA.no. Last year, she started the kind of publication she herself would want to read.

The magazine TBA is among those awarded funding in June 2025. See the full list of grants in Norsk Journalistikk.