The most important content journalists on breaking news desks can offer their readers is the coverage of ongoing accidents and events.

After years of having an emergency network without restrictions, where journalists could listen to what was happening and know where it was happening, the emergency services transferred to closed emergency communications.

At the same time, they started using Twitter as their preferred platform to inform about ongoing events.

One of the consequences was that everyone received exactly the same information at the same time, and there was no difference in the information given to professional journalists who were familiar with working with emergency services and citizens. The information the police conveyed and when they could convey it was restricted because the information was available to everyone simultaneously.

Rather than accepting these poor working conditions, Budstikka and NTB took the initiative to talk with the Oslo Police Department, the biggest in Norway, and the National Police Directorate. Our main goal was to ensure that routines were in place to notify the press in a manner that both parties could accept. We didn’t ask what was possible but how to solve this challenge.

A new approach

The result of this cooperation is “The Oslo-pilot,” released on January 3, 2022. Some of the elements that are positive both for media and police worth mentioning are:

• A column specifically for the press enables the police to inform of more events. They provide updates to ongoing events more often, with more details than they can provide on Twitter.
• The time spent on the phone is greatly reduced for both the press and the police because a specific press column allows more information regarding the who, what, and where that the police can provide to the press immediately. This enables the press to be in the right place, and the reporters and photographers are informed of what to expect on the scene.
• The police can publish sensitive information only meant for journalists and the press in addition to the Twitter messages everyone can read.

We surveyed 18 people at the police operation centre who deal regularly with the media. The main findings from the survey relate to the question, “What are the main consequences of the relationship between the press and the police as a result of the Oslo-pilot?”

In response, 80% claimed that the Oslo-pilot had improved the relationship, while 20% say they experienced no difference. None of the respondents believed the Oslo-pilot had aggravated the relationship between the police and the press. 

Gaining attention

In 2022, the Oslo-pilot won prizes such as the Flavius prize (the Norwegian Press Association’s transparency award) and Innovation of the Year by NONA (Norwegian Online News Association). The Oslo-pilot has also received international recognition and has been discussed in Denmark and Poland.

Almost 500 journalists use the Oslo-pilot. Even though they work in only a few selected media outlets, the effort put in by Budstikka and NTB in this project will now benefit all the media in Norway.

Widespread adoption

In 2023, this approach will be adopted by all police departments in Norway — and made available for editor-controlled media from north to south. We will also start cooperation with all the national fire departments to achieve the same positive results that the Oslo-pilot has led to between the police and the press.

This unusual and powerful cooperation between Budstikka (local media), NTB (national news agent), and the police (a public service) has contributed to a new way of how journalists and the emergency services solve their social mission — as co-players and not as opponents.

We are proud of this service, which is important for police, journalists, society, and democracy.

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