Mektig og avmektig: Tore Tønne, media og maktspillet bak kulissene
Encyclopedia
Mektig og avmektig: Tore Tønne, media og maktspillet bak kulissene (English
: Powerful and powerless: Tore Tønne, media and power play behind the scenes) is a biographic novel
written by Norwegian journalist
Ivar Hippe
. The book is about Tore Tønne
's last days and ends with his suicide
.
interviewed 60 people linked to the Tore Tønne
-case, which included key lawyer
in the BA-HR and leading investigators at Økokrim
. However, he was not able to set up an interview with Kjell Inge Røkke
. In an interview, Hippe asserted that the main purpose of the book was to allow all key players to tell their version of the story, and not judge on specific group. According to Hippe, one of the main themes in his book is, that the modern media are going to extremes to get their stories.
broadcast a news montage on the book, which according to Hippe was produced with a deliberately negative bias towards him and his book. The montage included an interview with Kjell Inge Røkke
, who had since the start been a vocal critic of Hippe and his book. Hippe considered the montage one-sided, since no supporters of the book were invited, but instead one notable critic. The news anchor
of the montage was Jon Gelius
. In the interview, Røkke said the following:
Dagsrevyen-leader Annette Groth
said that the montage was fair and without bias, stating that Røkke did not attack the book but rather the timing of its release.
, wrote positively about the book, saying; "Straightforward analysis of events and loose ends in the Tønne-case, the author wisely refrains from claiming that he has one final answer". The reviewer in Dagbladet
, Erling Borgen, called the book "fascinating", further stating that it gave a "glimpse into a environment remote to ordinary people".
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Powerful and powerless: Tore Tønne, media and power play behind the scenes) is a biographic novel
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
written by Norwegian journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Ivar Hippe
Ivar Hippe
Ivar Hippe is a Norwegian political consultant, former journalist and presenter. He received national media attention in 1982 when he was expelled from Argentina by the government. Upon returning to Norway he began working for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation...
. The book is about Tore Tønne
Tore Tønne
Tore Tønne was the Norwegian Minister of Health and Social Affairs 2000-2001 in the first cabinet Stoltenberg. Tønne committed suicide after newspaper writings about investigations over alleged economic improprieties committed after the conclusion of his term in the Norwegian cabinet...
's last days and ends with his suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Background
Ivar HippeIvar Hippe
Ivar Hippe is a Norwegian political consultant, former journalist and presenter. He received national media attention in 1982 when he was expelled from Argentina by the government. Upon returning to Norway he began working for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation...
interviewed 60 people linked to the Tore Tønne
Tore Tønne
Tore Tønne was the Norwegian Minister of Health and Social Affairs 2000-2001 in the first cabinet Stoltenberg. Tønne committed suicide after newspaper writings about investigations over alleged economic improprieties committed after the conclusion of his term in the Norwegian cabinet...
-case, which included key lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in the BA-HR and leading investigators at Økokrim
Økokrim
The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime is Norway's central unit for fighting economic and environmental crimes. The unit, created in 1989, has its main office in Oslo....
. However, he was not able to set up an interview with Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke is a Norwegian businessman and among the richest people in Norway, controlling the Norwegian company Aker Solutions...
. In an interview, Hippe asserted that the main purpose of the book was to allow all key players to tell their version of the story, and not judge on specific group. According to Hippe, one of the main themes in his book is, that the modern media are going to extremes to get their stories.
Publication
The book was released on May 7, 2003. However, on May 6, DagsrevyenDagsrevyen
Dagsrevyen is the daily evening news programme for the Norwegian television channel NRK1, the main channel of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation , broadcast at 7 pm. In 2007, the programme started airing simultaneously on NRK's dedicated news channel NRK2, but this arrangement ended that same...
broadcast a news montage on the book, which according to Hippe was produced with a deliberately negative bias towards him and his book. The montage included an interview with Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke is a Norwegian businessman and among the richest people in Norway, controlling the Norwegian company Aker Solutions...
, who had since the start been a vocal critic of Hippe and his book. Hippe considered the montage one-sided, since no supporters of the book were invited, but instead one notable critic. The news anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
of the montage was Jon Gelius
Jon Gelius
Jon Gelius is a Norwegian journalist. He is the television news editor of NRK, and as such the editor of Dagsrevyen, the news channel NRK2 and other programmes....
. In the interview, Røkke said the following:
Dagsrevyen-leader Annette Groth
Annette Groth (journalist)
Annette Groth is a Norwegian journalist working for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.She was prominent in the feud between Ivar Hippe and Kjell Inge Røkke in 2003 which started because of Hippe publishing the book, Mektig og avmektig: Tore Tønne, media og maktspillet bak kulissene.-...
said that the montage was fair and without bias, stating that Røkke did not attack the book but rather the timing of its release.
Reception
The book received mostly good reviews by the Norwegian media. Per Anders Madsen, reviewing for AftenpostenAftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
, wrote positively about the book, saying; "Straightforward analysis of events and loose ends in the Tønne-case, the author wisely refrains from claiming that he has one final answer". The reviewer in Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
, Erling Borgen, called the book "fascinating", further stating that it gave a "glimpse into a environment remote to ordinary people".