Gefle Dagblad

Founding and early years (1895–1918)

It was founded by Theophil Petersson [sv] in collaboration with Linkoln Blom, a printer.^[3][4] Its first edition was published on 11 April 1895.^[5] Karl Lindh [sv] was appointed editor-in-chief in 1896.^[6] In 1901, it was among three newspapers in Gävle, the other two being Gefle-Posten and Norrlandsposten.^[7] It was described as a liberal newspaper in 1906.^[8] Alongside Dagens Nyheter and Karlstads-Tidningen, Gefle Dagblad expressed support for women's suffrage by 1911.^[9] The paper published a series of articles commissioned by the National Association for Women's Suffrage.^[10] Karl Lindh's wife Klara Lindh, a notable suffragist, herself penned two articles, which were published in February 1912.^[6] The paper was pro-prohibition in 1913, but their editorial statement also clarified that both supporters and opposers of the policy were represented in the Liberal Party.^[11]

1919–1999

Jonas Modén [sv] became editor-in-chief in 1919.^[12] By 1938, the street they were located on, Hattmakargatan, was known as "Gävle's Fleet Street" because four newspapers existed in close proximity there: Gefle Dagblad, Arbetarbladet, Norrlandsposten, and Nya Extrabladet.^[13][14] In 1951, Modén was succeeded by Erik Brandt [sv].^[12] In 1958, the paper won Pressen Tidning's Award for Best Front Page.^[15] By 1965, Gefle Dagblad and Arbetarbladet were the two primary newspapers in Gävle.^[16] Per Hilding [sv] was editor-in-chief from 1968 to 1988.^[17][18] There was controversy in 1971 after Arbetarbladet received press support and Gefle Dagblad did not, despite a circulation difference of about 500 between them.^[19]

2000–present

The newspaper received a bomb threat in September 2015 after reporting connections between a mosque in Gävle and the Islamic State.^[20] The person who called in the threat demanded they remove an article about the imam Abo Raad [sv] of Gävle Mosque from their website. No bomb was ultimately found.^[21] In 2017, Abo Raad's son Raad al-Duhan [sv] was convicted of threatening journalist Anna Gullberg [sv], who was then the editor-in-chief of Gefle Dagblad.^[22][23] The same year, the paper moved with Arbetarbladet to a new building in Brynäs [sv]. Gefle Dagblad had been previously located on Hattmakargatan since their inception in 1895.^[13] In January 2019, one of the newspaper's reporters was allegedly threatened and forced to delete pictures he had taken while reporting on the Nya Kastet school in Bomhus.^[24] The school, which had Islamist links, was later closed by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate and the former principal was later convicted of accounting violations.^[25][26]

In February 2019, it was announced that Bonnier News would be acquiring Mittmedia [sv], a group of local newspapers including Gefle Dagblad.^[27] The paper received press support for the first time in April of that year.^[28] Katarina Ekspong [sv] became editor-in-chief in November.^[29] In 2023, it was announced that printed newspapers would no longer be published on Sundays, starting 1 October.^[30] In February 2025, newspaper's culture editor Kristian Ekenberg [sv] was recognized with the Dagen Nyheter critics' award, Lagercrantzen [sv].^[31] Jacob Hilding, the grandson of Per Hilding, became editor-in-chief of Gefle Dagblad in July.^[32]