Nils Vogt (journalist)

Nils Vogt in the 1880s

Nils Vogt (27 October 1859 – 27 June 1927) was a Norwegian journalist. A second cousin of the famous Norwegian poet Nils Collett Vogt, Vogt was the first chairman of the Norwegian Press Association and a right-winged figure in Norwegian politics. Vogt worked at the conservative newspaper Morgenbladet for 45 years, and was its editor-in-chief from 1894 to 1913. He founded the Conservative Press Association and was its chairman in two periods.

Early life and education

He was born in Bergen as the son of politician Niels Petersen Vogt (1817–94) and his wife Karen Magdalena ("Kaja") Ancher Arntzen (1819–70).^[1][2] His brother was Paul Benjamin Vogt (1863–1947) and his second cousins were Johan Vogt (1858–1932), Nils Collett Vogt (1864–1937) and Ragnar Vogt (1870–1943).^[1][2] He grew up in Kristiansand and Christiania, where he enrolled as a student in 1876.^[3] He thereupon studied law at the Royal Frederick University and graduated with a cand.jur. degree in 1881. After a short career in Statistics Norway, Vogt was offered a position in diplomacy. He rejected the offer, having decided to make a career within journalism.^[1]

Journalistic and political career

Vogt started his journalistic career in 1882 at Morgenbladet, where he stayed for 45 years; the rest of his life.^[1] Initially, he worked as sub-editor for the editor-in-chief Christian Friele. Vogt succeeded him as editor-in-chief in 1894, and did, according to his biographer Rune Ottosen in Norsk biografisk leksikon, unfold his "wide journalistic commitment for politics" in the newspaper.^[1] He also had a passion for high culture and wrote theatre reviews for the Morgenbladet. He recalled that Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen had "ignited his passion of drama".^[1] From 1905 to 1915, Vogt was a correspondent to The Times. After that, he was correspondent to Stockholms Dagblad and other newspapers in Northern Europe.^[3]

"I have frequented Swedish political environments quite much, and have felt the pitying condescension when the big brother pats his little brother on the shoulder when he is a good boy and does what big brother wants him to. This pat still burns me in the skin, and I want to no more make myself deserve it."

Vogt in an article directed at Hagerup.^{[quote 1][1]}

When it came to politics, Vogt was a conservative. However, he also had many liberal opinions. He disagreed with Francis Hagerup, who supported the Union between Sweden and Norway.^[1]

Vogt founded the Conservative Press Association in 1892,^[3] and was its first chairman, from 1892 to 1898 and from 1906 to 1909.^[1][4] He was also the first chairman of the Norwegian Press Association (NP), from 1910 to 1912.^[5] Owing to internal conflicts in the press of Kristiania, Vogt was a contentious candidate and was elected to the position with only 36 against 21 votes.^[1] In 1910, he penned an article for Samtiden entitled "Pressen og kapitalen" ("The Press and The Capital"), in which he made the distinction between newspaper editors who were solely motivated by profit and those who regarded the job as an ideal life mission. The article was reprinted in his 1913 book Under Frieles haand og paa egen.^[6]

In 1910, controversy arose in the Press Assocation when lawyer Olaf Madsen – who had cooperated with Ola Thommessen for more than 20 years at the newspaper Verdens Gang and was responsible for its financial priorities – wanted to have more dividend for his investments in the newspaper. Editor Ola Thommessen considered this to be an inappropriate intervention in the editorial part of the newspaper, and took his staff with him and started a new newspaper named Tidens Tegn.^[7] Vogt supported Thommessen in his decision, and came at odds with lawyer and politician Edmund Harbitz.^[6] Both left Morgenbladet in the summer of 1913 as a result of the strife, although Vogt continued as theatre and literature reviewer in the paper until his 1927 death.^[1]

Marriage, honours and death

On 6 November 1884, Vogt married Helena Andrea Ottesen (1861–1906). Vogt had many positions in the Nordic press partnership, and was Norwegian president at the Nordic press meetings in Kristiania in 1899 and in Copenhagen in 1902. He was also delegated to the international press congresses in Stockholm (1897), in Rome (1899) and in Berlin (1909). He was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1907. He was also a knight of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog and the French Legion of Honour. Vogt died in Aker (now Oslo) on 27 June 1927.^[1]

Notes and references

Endnotes

1. ^ Norwegian: Jeg har vanket nokså meget i svenske politiske kretser og følt den medlidende nedladenhet hvormed Storebror klapper Lillegutt på skulderen, når han er snild gutt og gjør det Storebror vil. Det klapp brenner mig ennu i huden, jeg ønsker aldri mer å gjøre mig fortjent dertil

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Ottosen 2005.
2. ^ ^{a b} Bratberg 2009.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Överland 1921, col. 959.
4. ^ Holand 1992, pp. 56–59.
5. ^ Ottosen 1996, p. 38.
6. ^ ^{a b} Ottosen 1996, pp. 40–41.
7. ^ Gylseth 2005.

Bibliography

• Bratberg, Terje (2009). "Vogt". In Godal, Anne Marit (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. http://www.snl.no/Vogt. Retrieved 22 June 2011. 
• Gylseth, Christopher Hals (2005). "Ola Thommessen". In Helle, Knut (in Norwegian). Norsk biografisk leksikon. 9 (2nd ed.). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Ola_Thommessen/utdypning. Retrieved 22 June 2011. 
• Holand, Johan E. (1992). "Den Konservative Presses Forening gjennom 100 år". In Holand, Johan E.; Larssen, Svein Døvle; Julsrud, Ottar (in Norwegian). Presse med mening: Den Konservative Presses Forening 1892–1992. Oslo: Conservative Press Association. pp. 55–111. ISBN 82-992630-1-8. 
• Ottosen, Rune (2005). "Nils Vogt – 2". In Helle, Knut (in Norwegian). Norsk biografisk leksikon. 9 (2nd ed.). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Nils_Vogt/utdypning_%E2%80%93_2. Retrieved 22 June 2011. 
• ––– (1996) (in Norwegian). Fra fjærpenn til Internett: Journalister i organisasjon og samfunn. Oslo: Aschehoug. ISBN 82-03-26128-0. 
• Överland, O. A. (1921). "Nils V.". In Westrin, Th. (in Swedish). Nordisk familjebok. 32 (revised and illustrated ed.). Stockholm: Nordisk familjeboks förlags aktiebolag. Col. 959. http://runeberg.org/nfcl/0512.html. Retrieved 5 July 2011. 

Media offices
Preceded by position created	Chairman of the Norwegian Press Association 1910–1912	Succeeded by Hans Volckmar

Persondata
Name	Vogt, Nils
Alternative names
Short description	journalist
Date of birth	27 October 1859
Place of birth	Bergen, Norway
Date of death	27 June 1927
Place of death	Aker, Norway