Swedish Radio celebrates 100 years

3rd January 2025
On 1 January 2025, Swedish Radio (SR) celebrated 100 years since its first broadcast. The Public Media Alliance applauds the public broadcaster for the services it has provided to the Swedish public for a century.
Swedish Radio
Photo: Mikael Grönberg/Sveriges Radio

In 1925, Swedish Radio (SR), then called AB Radiotjänst, went on air for the very first time. Since then, SR has made it a priority to provide their listeners with quality independent journalism and entertainment and elevated itself to become Sweden’s most trusted radio broadcaster.

“Our mission is the same today as it was then – to portray and review your and all Swedes’ everyday life and reality,” said Cilla Benkö in a speech on 1 January. “We want to give you more voices and stronger stories. We want to contribute to increased understanding, but never tell you what to think. We are there for you out in the world, but also locally close to you in your neighbourhood. We examine power but also want the voices that otherwise have difficulty reaching out to have an opportunity to be heard.”

SR has evolved over time, adapting to new technologies to fulfil its mission to reach all Swedish people.  For example, last year it tested new AI functionalities for its app-based services to offer text support for hearing impaired people and has been a pioneer in its approach to other public service-oriented uses of AI.

Yet SR has also made a pronounced effort on being present in communities, on the ground, accessible and available to all of Sweden. In 2023, it reached an audience of more than 7 million people every week through its four radio channels and apps. Swedish Radio has correspondents in 50 locations around the country.

“Impartiality is and has always been our guiding star and we work to constantly broaden and develop our range to be relevant in the times we live in. We intend to continue doing that together with you. By hearing others tell their stories, describe their challenges and share their joys and sorrows, we can get closer to each other and create a world characterized by greater understanding.

Together with you who contribute to our content and together with you who listen – we are Sweden’s Radio.”

– Cilla Benkö, CEO of Swedish Radio 

Foto: Mattias Ahlm/Sveriges Radio

However, the last two years has brought some significant  challenges to the public broadcaster, as it had to make substantial cuts to its budget while  the public service committee proposed a merger with the two other public service media organisations, SVT and UR. Following a public service investigation, SR, SVT and UR expressed their concerns over a funding proposal for the coming years, emphasising that despite an increase of 3 percent in public funding for 2026, the budget would still be too tight for them to fulfil their missions properly.

Despite challenging times, SR has continued to fulfil its public service mission, informing people in times of crisis and times of peace. It is continuously ranked as one of Sweden’s most trusted sources of news and information.

“Swedish Radio epitomises the very best of public media worldwide. Their commitment to their mission and ambition to reach and serve all of Sweden’s diverse communities, is exemplary. I know many of PMA’s members look to SR for their innovative approaches to many of the challenges facing public media today. And personally speaking, our alliance has benefitted enormously from having SR as a member.

This milestone provides a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the achievements of Swedish Radio over the past century while recognising the difficulties facing public media today – from the role of big tech to the strains on finances; from polarisation fuelled by mis- and disinformation to the increasing threats facing journalists.

While the demands on public media today are worlds apart from 100 years ago, the need for public media has never been greater: to provide trusted and impartial information in an era of contested narratives, to all audiences. The way in which SR has adapted and continued its relentless pursuit of its public service mission, offers a vision and a path forwards.

On behalf of all of us at the Public Media Alliance, I congratulate Cilla, our board member, Tomas Hedenius, and everyone at Swedish Radio – past and present – on 100 years, and I look forward to working with SR in the years to come.”

– Kristian Porter, CEO of Public Media Alliance

Kristian Porter
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