He was the secretary-general of the Norwegian Press Association from 1996,[1][2][3] until succeeded by Kjersti Løken Stavrum in 2013.

[4] He was in 2014 elected to chair the Norwegian Broadcasting Council for the period 2014 to 2017.

[5] In 2006, controversy arose when Kokkvold advocated publishment of the Muhammad cartoons.

[6] He received several death threats related to the controversy and needed police protection for long periods.

[7] He was awarded the inaugural Gunnar Sønsteby memorial prize together with Kristin Solberg in 2015.