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The Donald & the Duckpond

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STOCKHOLM (Rixstep) — 'Twas a night like any other, and all through the pond, not a duck was stirring... Then came news that the feared POTUS had mentioned the pond in a speech...

Not much of a mention actually. Trump just said something had gone down in Sweden again. Business as usual, in other words.

Sweden: a country infamous today for its blackouts of WikiLeaks, as anything related to that organisation makes their own journalists look like the useless clowns they really are.

Needless to say, such an aspersion by the Donald could not go uncommented. And it was amazing how so many Swedes, who ordinarily stick to strict regimes of early sleep and early rise, were flooding Twitter with sarcastic comments that ultimately made them look even bigger fools than already perceived.

And somehow the major 'zines' roused staff to meet the challenge.

Sweden Rising!

Sweden rose. At least a few did. At least three of the four major news outlets.

Never before had anyone witnessed such nocturnal activity. Save, of course, when Niklas Svensson and Thomas Mattsson led the charge against Julian Assange. But that, of course, was a different matter, as Mattsson and Svensson had already understood that their 'scoop' would be the biggest in their sordid publishing career, reaping millions upon millions.

So three of the four major duckpond outlets blasted headlines - in the middle of the night when the only thing other Swedes were reading was labels on sugarplums.

1. Expressen

Here comes the rabid Bonnier Expressen of Thomas Mattsson and Niklas Svensson.

2. Aftonbladet

Here comes high-ranking sleaze rag Aftonbladet.

3. DN.se

Here comes Bonnier's more 'mature' DN.se.



Then there was a lull. Not all four rags at once? Only three?

4. SvD??!?

This needs a bit of explaining. For journalism in the pond is basically controlled by two monster holding companies. One is actually Norwegian, and the other is Bonnier. Aftonbladet is part of the Norwegian group, but the odd one out, SvD, also part of the Norwegian group... They seem at times to have minds of their own. Here's their leader at the same time as the others.



Nope, that doesn't look like the Donald, and that doesn't appear to have anything to do at all with Sweden.

WTF? Wassup, ducks?

Tove & the Spectator

A Korean orphan raised in Sweden, Tove Anna Helena Soo Hee Jensdotter Lifvendahl is political editor-in-chief of SvD.

This guest appearance in The Spectator was published hours before Trump's speech, giving the sharp journos of Sweden plenty of time. But, after all, it was a Sunday.



Tove has severely limited real estate to cover a complex issue, but as anyone in the know can attest, it all boils down to staggeringly incompetent governance. That, of course, and a perverse agenda-driven media with no respect for the truth.

See Also
Industry Watch: Twelve Hours That Shook the World
Tove Lifvendahl: Trump is right: Sweden's refugee policy has led to problems it never imagined

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