New Teknik reporter receives prize for energy journalism: “More important than ever”

ENERGY

Ny Teknik’s energy reporter Linda Nohrstedt receives the Engineering Sciences Academy’s award for scientific excellence in journalism. “It is so important that this depth of explanation exists.”

The prize is awarded for the ninth time by the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA. The academy’s CEO Tuula Teeri is chairman of the prize jury.

– Linda Nohrstedt does important work at Ny Teknik in analyzing, reviewing and explaining questions about energy technology. The questions are more relevant and important than ever. It is so important that this depth of explanation exists, says Tuula Teeri in a press release from IVA.

Linda Nohrstedt has been a journalist at Ny Teknik since 2012, and has had energy as an area of ​​coverage since 2016.

She reports on electrical systems, energy types, electricity production, battery technology and research. Among all the articles there is the report on what actually went wrong in Ringhals 4 – and recently a report from the repair of the reactor.

Here is also a report from Finland’s new nuclear power reactor Olkiluoto 3 shortly before commercial operation started in April, a review on how the capacity of the main grid drops with more renewables in the electricity system, another on how the electricity grids move out to sea with more offshore wind power.

What is most important to you in your work as an energy reporter?

– I want to feel that I am useful as a journalist, either by presenting something new, or something that is relatively unknown or by explaining something that is difficult to access, says Linda Nohrstedt.

What is the most fun about the work?

– The funnest thing is that I learn new things every day at work. It is also very exciting to familiarize yourself with things that you might otherwise just take for granted that they should work, such as the electrical system or a battery, for example. It’s fascinating that every single battery is such a complex system, ions have to jump just right at just the right time for my phone to work, and ideally it shouldn’t catch fire.

Since you started covering the energy sector in 2016, has the sector changed a bit for you as a journalist?

– Interest in energy issues has exploded. Above all, nuclear power has become a much more contentious issue. I feel that the discussion about energy has become much more polarized, says Linda Nohrstedt.

How has it affected your work?

– It is more difficult to navigate between opinions and facts. Many who represent a position sell only one side of reality. Then it becomes difficult to get an overall picture.

What is the most frustrating thing about being an energy reporter?

– Yes, it’s the unnecessarily polarized debate and politicians who don’t seem to be interested in nuanced views on energy issues. I find that unpleasant, says Linda Nohrstedt.

IVA’s prize will be awarded on 19 June, then IVA also holds a seminar on how the Swedish media handled the energy issue during the election campaign. A starting point is the media poll on the 2022 electiona report from Gothenburg University and the Institute for Media Studies.

How do you think the Swedish media handled that reporting?

– Many Swedish journalists have very quickly grasped the complexity of the electricity system. But you also saw examples of when the reporting went bad, but if there are any I want to blame, it is actually the politicians. I don’t think you can expect every single reporter in the country who is dispatched to a press conference to be able to ask all the follow-up questions that should be asked.

Can you give an example?

– There were, for example, many articles about electricity shortages, do we have an electricity shortage in Sweden or not? When politicians discussed this in debates, it was as if they were from different planets, when really it was just a matter of time scale. In a whole year, we have a surplus of electricity production, but on occasional occasions a deficit can still prevail. It will be a completely imbecile discussion, says Linda Nohrstedt.

Linda Nohrstedt has previously worked at Byggvärlden, Aftonbladet, Upsala Nya Tidning, Uppsala University and Östhammars Nyheter.