The Liberal party has clarified its stance on the powers of a future media ombudsman, stating that it should not be able to stop media coverage of a case. This position, articulated by Liberal party vice-chairwoman and Minister of Economic Affairs Stephanie Lose, contradicts earlier statements made by Liberal party spokesperson on culture, Kim Valentin.

Lose emphasized in a written statement to Journalisten that the Liberal party believes the media ombudsman must operate with full respect for freedom of the press, which is considered fundamental to democracy. She affirmed that the party does not support a media ombudsman with the authority to prevent media from covering specific cases.

Valentin had previously suggested in debate articles that the media ombudsman should possess broad powers, including the ability to halt coverage of a story if “the debate has gone off the rails.” These remarks sparked widespread criticism from media executives, prompting intervention from the Liberal party leadership.

The proposal for a state-funded media ombudsman originated from the government-appointed Media Liability Committee in January. The committee recommended establishing an independent, public body with the competence to prosecute defamation and libel cases in mass media. Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt announced in August that he and the government support the creation of a media ombudsman.