NRK boss won’t rule out future transgressions
NRK received massive criticism after the Satiriks video in which the racist phrase «Pig Jew» was used. NRK boss Thor Gjermund Eriksen will not rule out future transgressions.
Eriksen reiterates the apology of Entertainment Editor of NRK, Charlo Halvorsen, in an interview with Aftenposten. The apology was made after the satire program Satiriks showed an animated video. In the video, a Scrabble player used the word «Pig Jew» (Jødesvin) to win over a caricatured Jewish man. NRK boss Thor Gjermund Eriksen has been on holiday but has followed the debate. He now answers why it took so long for NRK both to apologise and finally pull the broadcast.
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Defends satire
“We will always want to defend the room of expression for satire. It is part of our mission to dare to challenge taboos and address things that may hurt. You occasionally cross the thin line, and that may well happen again. At the same time, we have a responsibility to reflect and listen to people. There are many wise opinions that there were reasons to listen to in this case,” Eriksen tells Aftenposten.
He says that the animated sketch in Satiriks was inappropriate. The phrase used is clearly anti-Semitic, with an abysmal and cruel history attached to it.
“It is important to apologise when we have crossed the thin line. Satire will, however, burn at times,” the NRK bigwig concludes.
It took NRK a long time to apologise for this animation. Photo: Facebook.
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© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
