Iceland news, front pages compared
Crosswire tracks 5 major Iceland news outlets. Preview their homepages side by side below — switch between two, three and four columns, go compact, or translate every page into your language.
The Iceland media landscape on Crosswire
Crosswire lays Iceland's front pages next to one another so you can see which stories lead where, how headlines are framed, and what one outlet foregrounds that another leaves out. Of the 5 titles tracked here, 1 lean left and 4 sit near the centre; Crosswire currently lists no right-leaning outlet in Iceland, so for a contrasting perspective it is worth reading one of these beside a title from another country.
By kind of outlet, the 5 titles break down as 2 digital-native outlets (Heimildin and DV), 1 news portal (Vísir), 1 daily newspaper (Morgunblaðið) and 1 public broadcaster (RÚV). The public-service broadcaster is RÚV — the natural fixed point for a comparison, because a public remit is breadth rather than a party line.
Iceland sits in Northern Europe, on Crosswire's Europe hub. By outlets tracked it is 7th of the 10 countries in Northern Europe and 30th of the 45 across Europe, where the average is 5.9 outlets per country. Its neighbours in Northern Europe with hubs of their own are United Kingdom (9), Sweden (7), Ireland (6), Norway (6), Denmark (6), Finland (6), Latvia (5), Lithuania (5) and Estonia (4).
Leaning groupings are approximate guides drawn from widely cited media-bias assessments — see the methodology and what the labels can and can't tell you. Counts are taken from the directory as of .
Which are Iceland's main news outlets?
Across Iceland's editorial spectrum, Crosswire currently lists on the left, Heimildin; near the center, Morgunblaðið, Vísir, RÚV and DV. Each outlet below links to a full profile — its facts, editorial leaning and a live front-page preview — and the comparison view above shows any of them side by side.
Morgunblaðið is one of Iceland's oldest and most widely read daily newspapers, published in Icelandic from Reykjavík. It covers national and international news, politics, and culture for a broad readership and operates the mbl.is news portal. It is one of the country's principal press titles and is generally regarded as conservative-leaning.
Vísir is a prominent Icelandic online news portal publishing in Icelandic, covering national news, politics, sports, and entertainment. Part of one of the country's major media groups, it provides continuous coverage for a broad online readership. It is among Iceland's most-visited news websites.
RÚV (Ríkisútvarpið) is Iceland's national public-service broadcaster, providing television, radio, and online news in Icelandic. Its news service covers national and international affairs, politics, and culture for a broad audience under a public-service mandate. As the country's principal public broadcaster, it is one of Iceland's most widely used news sources.
Heimildin is an Icelandic investigative news outlet formed in 2023 from the merger of Stundin and Kjarninn. Based in Reykjavík and independent of major interest groups, it is known for investigative and analytical journalism with a left-of-centre outlook.
DV is an Icelandic news outlet dating to 1981, now published primarily online from Reykjavík after its print edition ended. It mixes hard news with tabloid-style coverage and is among Iceland's widely read general-news websites.
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Reading the news critically
The vocabulary and the method behind these comparisons.