I wrote this on Sunday, but did not have time to post it before now:
Well, some posters (in PMs and the thanks button) wanted my thoughts on this. - So, here we go:
What happened:
The (garbage) magazine Se og Hør ran an elaborate story (in late March) about the relationship between Marius Borg Høiby and his girlfriend and model Juliane Snekkstad (who was described as a ''Playboy model'' on their cover).
They stated in the article that Juliane had posed for Playboy, posted photos of herself and Marius at Skaugum on Instagram (which she has now deleted), celebrated parts of the Christmas with the CP family, and that Marius had moved in with her in London.
Here is the article/cover - with google translation:
Marius har fått ny kjæreste - Se og Hør -
translation
On April 6th, The CP couple (in reality MM), then reacted as usual:
The press release - translated by me:
Kronprinsparet ønsker å ta opp forrige ukes oppslag i Se og Hør - kongehuset.no
The CP couple wants to take up last week's publication in Se og Hør:
Se og Hør had a publication last week, focusing on the private life of Marius Borg Høiby. Marius Borg Høiby has said on many occasions that he does not wish any media attention on his private life. He is grateful that the Norwegian press has mostly respected that wish.
The CP couple finds the publication of Juliane Snekkestad in last week's Se og Hør regrettable.
We view this as a violation of the peace of private life with very unfortunate use of headlines and layout on the magazine's front page. We view Julianne as both hard-working and clever. She should have been able to avoid coming on the front cover of Se og Hør in this manner.
And unsurprisingly, Se og Hør defended themselves:
Norwegian Royal Court upset over publication of information on Marius Borg Høiby’s girlfriend – Royal Central
The editor of Se og Hør has defended his publication by saying that the Norwegian people just happen to be interested in Marius’s private life and had the right to know more about it. Juliane herself is quite active on Instagram and even posted some photos that were said to have been taken at the home of the Crown Prince couple. These images have since been taken down. Marius is also active on Instagram but is more reserved. The last photo is of two dogs.
There is also a translation of the press release in the Royal Central article - which is rather bad (pretty sure it has been don with a google translation).
Mine (OTOH) is a direct translation of what the statement actually said.
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My opinion of this:
Was it wrong of Se og Hør to publish that article on its cover/website? No. - Why?
Because they just stated the obvious. Juliane has posed for Playboy, posted photos of herself and Marius at Skaugum on Instagram, celebrated parts of the Christmas with the CP family, and she has let Marius move in with her in London.
Was it right of the CP couple to criticize it? No. - Why?
Because Marius has participated in an epicode of the popular Norwegian teen drama Skam (in 2016), been at parties with rich/celebrity friends where the press is present, attended premieres with celebrities where he has posed in front of the cameras, and posed on several Instagram accounts with own-designed jackets with rough descriptions on.
Was it smart of the CP couple to criticize it? No. - Why?
Because as Helge Andre Njåstad (MP from the Progress Party) said on TV2 News Channel (when he was in the Studio to look at the papers on Saturday), almost no-one in Norway reads/cares about Se og Hør, but when the CP couple goes out like this, then everyone knows about it.
Will this damage the monarchy? No. - Why?
Well, despite the intense media coverage/criticism of the CP couple's bad choices (since 2013), the mega-intense criticism from Dagbladet (tabloid newspaper) about the Royal Court's finances (since 2016), the criticism of Märtha and her so-called Angel School (since 2007), the criticism of Ari (since 2001), and the criticism of Marius (since 2016), the support for the monarchy is actually increasing here. - That's due to the almost extreme personal popularity of the King and unpopular politicians (after several political scandals since last year), and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Read more from post 105 to 140 in the ''Norway: Republic or monarchy?'' thread.
Will this hurt the CP couple? No. - Why?
Because their reputation is already totally broken here (and it can hardly get worse than it is today, I think).
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The Media coverage of this. - Until yesterday evening:
NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation):
One balanced article and almost no mentioning of it on television.
TV2 (Largest commercial television broadcaster):
One balanced article and almost no mentioning of it on television.
VG (Tabloid, but very pro-monarchy - and the most read online newspaper in Norway):
One balanced article.
Aftenposten (Used to be pro-monarchy, but now much more balanced - and the largest printed newspaper by circulation in Norway):
One balanced article.
Other news-sites:
Mostly one article, used by all of them - written by NTB (Norwegian News Agency).
But it was the main story on the NRK and VG websites on April 6th for about an hour, but then came in the background due to the announcement of Marit Bjørgen's retirement from cross–country skiing, the same day.
(Bjørgen is very big here BTW.)
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There is little understanding in the Norwegian press for the CP-couple protesting about Marius being written about:
https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/eksperter-ut-mot-slottet--prover-a-fa-i-pose-og-sekk/69680968
Well, that's Dagbladet (which I didn't even bother to include in my media summary above).
Their hatred of the monarchy is worse than that from The Mirror, The Guardian, The Independent and Extra Bladet combined.
And yes, I use the word "hatred" - and that's because much of their criticism seems to personal, and not out of the so-called ''principle'' (a word that most republicans love to use when it comes to the monarchy).
But let's go through that article. - They talk to 4 so-called experts:
Gunnar Bodahl-Johansen (expert on press ethics): He agrees with the CP couple.
Johan T. Lindwall (Editor of Svensk Damtidning): He doesn't agrees with CP couple.
(Dagbladets favourite guy to talk to about the monarchy, he isn't even Norwegian, and not very reliable.)
Morten Hegseth (Celebrity-expert for VG): He doesn't agree with the CP couple.
(He works for Dagbladets rivalising newspaper VG, where his main task is to cover reality shows such as Paradise Hotel. - He even participated in Big Brother in 2006, and is not very reliable.)
Anine Kierulf (Jurist): She doesn't agree with the CP couple.
(Always used by Dagbladet to criticize the monarchy.)
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I wrote this today:
More news from yesterday evening and today:
TV2 article - written on two VG articles from yesterday evening:
Playboy fjernet bildene av Marius Borg Høibys kjæreste - TV2 -
translation
As one can read in the article:
1. Playboy has deleted the photos of Juliane Snekkestad from their website. They say that the pictures of Snekkestad have never been printed in any paper edition, but that they were taken by Los Angeles photographer Sophia Sinclair and sent to Playboy with the 22-year-old's approval.
2. Eivor Øvrebø (Model boss in Team Models) says that Juliane has never worked on booking from Playboy - or been paid by them.
She criticizes Se og Hør and the way the magazine refers to Snekkestad. However, the criticism does not bother Ulf Andre Andersen (rditor of Se og Hør).
"That the pictures have now been removed doesn't change the fact that it was correct to call her a Playboy model," says Andesen to VG.
From me:
1. I stand by what I wrote above, but they shouldn't have described her as a ''Playboy model'' on their front cover.
2. But that's what Se og Hør does to everyone - and the article about her wasn't critical at all.
Oh yes, we can easily agree on rights and how it ought to. But life is not fair.
