Avisenes Nyhetsbyrå (ANB) - 3 Stories
1) Kanadisk olympier drept i bilulykke (By ANB) 12 September 2006
http://www.hadeland.net/Rikssport/article2284073.ece
In this story the Norwegian ANB journalist writes Ontario is a "state" in Canada. It states: "...byen Hawkesbury i delstaten Ontario..." This is a mistake. Ontario is a province located in central Canada. There have never been states in Canada. The mistake was changed within hours of notifying ANB of the mistake. ANB is quite good at getting Canadian facts correct. It is extremely rare that there is an error related to Canada. ANB does not include Canada in with USA stories that have nothing to do with Canada, like Norway's NTB for example, and the Canadian political, geographic, currency is properly used and quoted.
2) Dronning Elizabeth slipper pucken (By ANB) 4 October 2006 http://www.siste.no/63/57/27/5.html
In this story ANB writes: "Dronning Elizabeth II vil slippe pucken og åpne treningskampen i amerikansk ishockey mellom San Jose Sharks og Vancouver Canucks søndag. Dronningen besøker Vancouver under sitt 12 dager lange besøk i Canada." This is an excellent example of the ignorance by many in the Norwegian press relating to Canada. In Canada, we do not play American hockey, and the hockey played in the NHL is not American hockey, it's Canadian hockey. The National Hockey League (NHL/LNH) was founded in Canada in 1917, by Canadians. The first American team did not play in Canada's league until 1924. In 1917 almost 100% of the NHL players were Canadians, and today over 55% of the players are Canadians. There may be more American based teams in the NHL because of the USA's population compared to Canada, but that doesn't make the NHL or the sport American. The hockey played in the United States is Canadian hockey. The game was exported to the USA from Canada (and several other countries), and it not correct to say as this Norwegian journalist has written that it is American. Aside from NHL hockey being invented and founded in Canada by Canadians, the Vancouver team is Canadian, and Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Canada. The Stanley Cup was a gift to hockey in Canada and was given by Canada's Governor General (the Canadian Monarch's representative in Canada) to Canadian hockey in 1883. It is not only ignorant, but insulting to give the Americans credit for a sport loved in Canada and played around the world from its origins in Canada. This would be live a Canadian journalist giving credit to Germany or Sweden for Norwegian skiing or Norwegian ski jumping.
3) Lovprises etter avskjeden (By Stian Grythaugen at ANB) 18 August 2008
http://www.sognavis.no/Rikssport/article3725518.ece
In this story by ANB, and distributed to various newspapers in Norway that subscribe to ANB's services, the Norwegian journalist writes; "Even Pellerud legger nå bak seg ni år som amerikansk landslagstrener." This is a mistake. Pellerud is the coach for the Canadian national women's team. Canada is the country neighbouring the USA, not part of it. Pellerud worked in the country of Canada, not in the USA. How can he possibly be the national coach of two different national teams from two different countries at the same time, for the last nine years? This would be like writing a Canadian coach training the Norwegian national team, and a Canadian journalist writing in Canadian newspapers he was the coach for the German or Swedish national team. Are Norwegians Swedes or Germans? We're not too sure in Canada? This is an excellent example of how so often when Norwegians think of the continent of North America, the USA must be the only country they see. It seems often Mexico and Canada are confused with the USA, even when the stories are about just about Canada or Mexico. The story was later corrected by ANB on September 2nd, after contacting Sogn Avis, (who did not write the story); they picked it up from ANB who made the mistake. ANB has corrected in their client's various newspapers in Norway. It seems amazing that Norway, a country that doesn't like to be referred to as part of Sweden, or Norwegians to be called Swedes, so often applies to Canada, the same disregard they receive from non-Norwegians about being Swedish, or some part of Sweden. But, in comparison to Norsk Telegrambyrå AS (NTB), at least ANB doesn't add Canada into hundreds of USA's news stories that have nothing to do with Canada, Canadians, or Canadian culture. Norwegians have such a limited view about what is Canada, what is a Canadian, and what is Canadian culture, that NTB's habit of having a classification system that adds Canada into the USA's news stories, leads to the perception that much of what is going on in the USA must be happening in Canada as well, especially when NTB does not even state which of the two countries in which the story is taking place. The reply received on this story from ANB is as follows: "For some reasons the text to the picture stated «amerikansk» while in the rest of the story he was «canadisk» landslagstrener. The text that is written by Stian and was correct, but when the desk published the story to the internet they put «amerikansk» in the text below the picture they used to the story. I guess the desk got a little confused. The mistake is corrected. Regards, Thomas." I have never seen a country report so many errors on Canada as the Norwegian media.
In this story the Norwegian ANB journalist writes Ontario is a "state" in Canada. It states: "...byen Hawkesbury i delstaten Ontario..." This is a mistake. Ontario is a province located in central Canada. There have never been states in Canada. The mistake was changed within hours of notifying ANB of the mistake. ANB is quite good at getting Canadian facts correct. It is extremely rare that there is an error related to Canada. ANB does not include Canada in with USA stories that have nothing to do with Canada, like Norway's NTB for example, and the Canadian political, geographic, currency is properly used and quoted.
2) Dronning Elizabeth slipper pucken (By ANB) 4 October 2006 http://www.siste.no/63/57/27/5.html
In this story ANB writes: "Dronning Elizabeth II vil slippe pucken og åpne treningskampen i amerikansk ishockey mellom San Jose Sharks og Vancouver Canucks søndag. Dronningen besøker Vancouver under sitt 12 dager lange besøk i Canada." This is an excellent example of the ignorance by many in the Norwegian press relating to Canada. In Canada, we do not play American hockey, and the hockey played in the NHL is not American hockey, it's Canadian hockey. The National Hockey League (NHL/LNH) was founded in Canada in 1917, by Canadians. The first American team did not play in Canada's league until 1924. In 1917 almost 100% of the NHL players were Canadians, and today over 55% of the players are Canadians. There may be more American based teams in the NHL because of the USA's population compared to Canada, but that doesn't make the NHL or the sport American. The hockey played in the United States is Canadian hockey. The game was exported to the USA from Canada (and several other countries), and it not correct to say as this Norwegian journalist has written that it is American. Aside from NHL hockey being invented and founded in Canada by Canadians, the Vancouver team is Canadian, and Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Canada. The Stanley Cup was a gift to hockey in Canada and was given by Canada's Governor General (the Canadian Monarch's representative in Canada) to Canadian hockey in 1883. It is not only ignorant, but insulting to give the Americans credit for a sport loved in Canada and played around the world from its origins in Canada. This would be live a Canadian journalist giving credit to Germany or Sweden for Norwegian skiing or Norwegian ski jumping.
3) Lovprises etter avskjeden (By Stian Grythaugen at ANB) 18 August 2008
http://www.sognavis.no/Rikssport/article3725518.ece
In this story by ANB, and distributed to various newspapers in Norway that subscribe to ANB's services, the Norwegian journalist writes; "Even Pellerud legger nå bak seg ni år som amerikansk landslagstrener." This is a mistake. Pellerud is the coach for the Canadian national women's team. Canada is the country neighbouring the USA, not part of it. Pellerud worked in the country of Canada, not in the USA. How can he possibly be the national coach of two different national teams from two different countries at the same time, for the last nine years? This would be like writing a Canadian coach training the Norwegian national team, and a Canadian journalist writing in Canadian newspapers he was the coach for the German or Swedish national team. Are Norwegians Swedes or Germans? We're not too sure in Canada? This is an excellent example of how so often when Norwegians think of the continent of North America, the USA must be the only country they see. It seems often Mexico and Canada are confused with the USA, even when the stories are about just about Canada or Mexico. The story was later corrected by ANB on September 2nd, after contacting Sogn Avis, (who did not write the story); they picked it up from ANB who made the mistake. ANB has corrected in their client's various newspapers in Norway. It seems amazing that Norway, a country that doesn't like to be referred to as part of Sweden, or Norwegians to be called Swedes, so often applies to Canada, the same disregard they receive from non-Norwegians about being Swedish, or some part of Sweden. But, in comparison to Norsk Telegrambyrå AS (NTB), at least ANB doesn't add Canada into hundreds of USA's news stories that have nothing to do with Canada, Canadians, or Canadian culture. Norwegians have such a limited view about what is Canada, what is a Canadian, and what is Canadian culture, that NTB's habit of having a classification system that adds Canada into the USA's news stories, leads to the perception that much of what is going on in the USA must be happening in Canada as well, especially when NTB does not even state which of the two countries in which the story is taking place. The reply received on this story from ANB is as follows: "For some reasons the text to the picture stated «amerikansk» while in the rest of the story he was «canadisk» landslagstrener. The text that is written by Stian and was correct, but when the desk published the story to the internet they put «amerikansk» in the text below the picture they used to the story. I guess the desk got a little confused. The mistake is corrected. Regards, Thomas." I have never seen a country report so many errors on Canada as the Norwegian media.
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